Link: Hightower Finds Leadership Role Frustrating

[UAME]

Crimson Tide's Dont'a Hightower, other team leaders are on the spot | al.com

Hightower speaks with awe about the influence his mentor had on his teammates.

"A lot of guys wouldn't really think that he would have to be a leader because we had so many veterans on the team," Hightower said. "Sometimes, in certain situations, it would be the veterans joking around or goofing off and Rolando, sometimes he would stop practice and have periods re-done because guys were joking around.

"You've got to look up to that. Coach Saban looks up to that. Those things that were expected of him, I'm trying to do the best I can to step up and be the leader that he was."

More talk about what it means to "Buy In" to The Process - holding teammates accountable for doing it right.

 

[bamanut_aj]

this begins to answer the question I asked in the thread I started. Thanks for the link.

 

[SavannahDare]

You're either a natural leader or you aren't. Sometimes, you don't know you're a natural leader until you make yourself speak up and hold your teammates accountable for their behavior.

If you'll all remember, when Rolando was a freshman, Coach Saban would talk about Rolando being the signal caller on defense because he had the best mental grasp of the schemes, but that he was too quiet and hadn't found his voice yet in terms of leadership. Coach really leaned on him to be more of a leader and Rolando, even though he later said that it was initially hard for him to do, began forcing himself to be more vocal with his teammates, even though most of the other starters were older than he was.

By halfway through his sophomore year, Ro was respected, not just as the signal caller, but as a leader on and off the field. By the start of his junior year, there was no question who the heart and soul of the defense was.

My point is: Rolando didn't know he was a born leader. Quite the contrary, he was initially happy doing his job and being quiet. But he responded to what Coach asked of him, forced himself to be vocal and discovered his natural leadership in the process.

My hope is that someone on our team has that same potential and will start making himself step forward more - step out of his comfort zone and tap into something remarkable.

 

[BamaBeta]

You're either a natural leader or you aren't. Sometimes, you don't know you're a natural leader until you make yourself speak up and hold your teammates accountable for their behavior.

If you'll all remember, when Rolando was a freshman, Coach Saban would talk about Rolando being the signal caller on defense because he had the best mental grasp of the schemes, but that he was too quiet and hadn't found his voice yet in terms of leadership. Coach really leaned on him to be more of a leader and Rolando, even though he later said that it was initially hard for him to do, began forcing himself to be more vocal with his teammates, even though most of the other starters were older than he was.

By halfway through his sophomore year, Ro was respected, not just as the signal caller, but as a leader on and off the field. By the start of his junior year, there was no question who the heart and soul of the defense was.

My point is: Rolando didn't know he was a born leader. Quite the contrary, he was initially happy doing his job and being quiet. But he responded to what Coach asked of him, forced himself to be vocal and discovered his natural leadership in the process.

My hope is that someone on our team has that same potential and will start making himself step forward more - step out of his comfort zone and tap into something remarkable.

I share your feelings on this, but I would like for this turning point to happen NOW and not mid-way next year. I am jussss sayin' it would be nice to know that such a person is going through bowl game preparation and spring drills in Tuscaloosa and not in NFL training camp or whatever.

 

[bamaslammer]

I think the next three weeks may speak volumes about how 2011 will go. I'm not saying we have to win out to have a good year next year, but if we don't see some better execution we will have to go back to the drawing board this spring, and find some leadership.

 

[wood78221]

I agree. I think that so many figured that Barron would step up, and it would be alright because he is known as such a playmaker.

 

[ART]

Staci, your wisdom is beyond words!! :smile: This happens every day folks. It just takes someone like CNS to help nurture that type of person to get them to that next level.

 

[kayakerjess]

I keep thinking about how Rolando nixed the Gatorade bath in the SECCG last year because he knew that only part of the goal had been achieved - not time for celebration. That one action speaks volumes about his intangibles.

I guess we can only hope that the right player(s), possibly with some encouragement from Coach Saban, will be able to step up and bring the team together.

 

[TideMan09]

Staci, your wisdom is beyond words!! :smile: This happens every day folks. It just takes someone like CNS to help nurture that type of person to get them to that next level.

I agree 100%..And I have a feeling we're going to see CJ Mosley & 'Dre(he's already vocal) become the leaders on D next year..

 

[GMacFan]

Rolando McClain was irreplaceable. We knew that. Now we really know it.

I think we overlooked it. The consensus was Hightower has a higher ceiling, we could potentially be better at that position this season. Oh what fools we were.

We will never have another player like McClain. McClain was the kind of guy who didn't stand around and wait for directions, he took initiative. He was a coach on the field.

 

[Hal Bennett]

The two best leaders we have had on defense since Saban has been here were McClain and Rashad Johnson.

Both of them were highly intelligent.

It seems to me that to be a leader on a Saban defense requires high intelligence. You've got to understand the concept, the philosophy, then you've got to understand the details, and third, you apparently have to be able to relay the details (and philosophy) to your teammates, sometimes on the spur of the moment.

If you were not in Baton Rouge in 2008, when Rashad Johnson intercepted three times and Rolando McClain intercepted once, you may remember Gary Danielson's remark that Johnson was one of the most intelligent football players in the country. That was after his third interception that day, in the end zone during overtime.

If a ballplayer makes it to the NFL Pro Bowl, he usually is well spoken and obviously intelligent. The Process by now has weeded out the lesser intellects. I expect McClain to be there. Maybe even Johnson.

I have to wonder if the difficulty of learning a Saban defense has been a factor this year, given the fact that so many of the players are young. I don't suppose that a Bryant defense was a piece of cake, but from what I have heard -- and seen, defenses nowadays are a good deal more complicated than those back in the sixties and seventies.

And a Saban defense is surely one of the most complicated in college football today. I have never noticed so much emphasis upon being in the right place at the right time. They do so much one-on-one stuff along with blitzing that it is easy for a "bust" to take place if someone doesn't cover the right receiver. A similar thing may take place if a defensive end or outside linebacker gets sucked inside and the runner goes outside.

But we seem to have seen confusion here and there on this defense. There seems to be now and then a "You take it, I'll take it" moment, and then a "he who hesitates is lost" moment. That sort of thing surely needs to be ironed out in practice. It probably takes one or two guys out there with high intelligence to help the others catch on. If the opposing offense pulls something not seen before, the presence of a McClain or a Johnson becomes even more important.

The few glaring "busts" that have occurred this year in the defensive backfield will probably serve as great experience. I expect that defense next year to be improved, no doubt. Obviously, maturity will take place over the intervening months.