I keep seeing all these projections of who will be our Lb's that pay next year and do not see anyone mention Mr. Patrick. Wondering how he did this year and does it seem like he might get lot's of playing time this year.
Tana Patrick next year
- Thread starter TidefaninMO
- Start date
There have been threads discussing next years playing rotation and Patrick's name has been prominently mentioned. Now I don't know so much about him starting next because he'll be a red-shirt freshman, but I would expect to see him in the rotation next year at LB. I would think he will be a regular on special teams.
I agree with Bryan, we will see plenty of Tana next year, but penciling him in as a starter could be premature. If I had to throw out four names to start I would say Hightower, Nico, Upshaw, and Harris. It's going to be hard to unseat at least two of those guys, Hightower and Nico.
Just my uninformed opinion, but this would seem to be the make-or-break year for JH. Competition intensifying. The door won't stay open for long.
I agree. I figure he'll factor into the rotation for sure over the next 2 years though, but it would be nice to see if he can fulfill that great potential that he has and be something great.
i also believe hightower, johnson, upshaw and harris to be the starters this new season. i also, think upshaw and harris will be a physical force with quickness on the corners. think the keys to our defense will be the corners. with jackson, arenas, and johnson gone it will be up to a lot of youth to be the difference makers.
There was talk that Tana was going to take over the WLB spot around mid-season. So I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that he plays in some packages on defense or even push Nico for the WLB job this Spring and Fall. We're really loaded along the front seven. It's really an abundance of riches and all the personnel possibilities are darn near limitless.
Also, I think Harris gets the rub a little too much from people around here. He was more of a "free-roamer" in high school and had to learn how to play within a defense instead of trying to just make plays regardless of fitting in the scheme. He lost half of his season this past season and it just made it hard for him to get back into the depth chart. So it's a little unfair to say he's busted. I would say that this off-season is a big one for him to solidify his playing time because SLB is wide-open for competition. Not everyone is playing in year one or year two. Sometimes you see guys take until the third year to become the player we expected.
Also, I think Harris gets the rub a little too much from people around here. He was more of a "free-roamer" in high school and had to learn how to play within a defense instead of trying to just make plays regardless of fitting in the scheme. He lost half of his season this past season and it just made it hard for him to get back into the depth chart. So it's a little unfair to say he's busted. I would say that this off-season is a big one for him to solidify his playing time because SLB is wide-open for competition. Not everyone is playing in year one or year two. Sometimes you see guys take until the third year to become the player we expected.
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We have to consider the competition there is at almost every position too. The way Coach Saban is recruiting, it's no small feat to win a starting job anywhere. A great example is last season when Hightower and Square were lost for the season, it would have been devastating for most teams to lose two studs like them, but we had enough quality depth to overcome their loss.
It's really amazing when you consider that Coach Saban's first full recruiting class will only be juniors next season. It's a great time to be a Tide fan. :smile:
It's really amazing when you consider that Coach Saban's first full recruiting class will only be juniors next season. It's a great time to be a Tide fan. :smile:
Since you brought up D. Square, I've got a question. Wasn't he injured during a game this past season, or was it during pre-season? My brother and I were discussing it and I'm almost certain it was during a game. And if so, which game? Thanks
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RGW mentioned how Tana came close to beating out Nico. Here is a thread from the recruiting page that some might want to check out. In the thread, RTO makes a statement about Tana.
That thread will get you excited about "reloading" for next season.
How Can You Keep Any One of These Guys Off the Field?
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that there is so much talent at linebacker, Saban may well just platoon linebackers like he has been platooning defensive linemen. I didn't imagine that, did I?
Rolando McClain -- and this goes for Hightower too -- came in at a time when we were thin at linebacker. Ro played the great, great majority of downs, and it was pretty much the same with Reamer and Hightower (before he got hurt).
But is there a "brain" like Ro coming back, and if not, could that mean more of a rotation than the first three Saban seasons?
I seem to remember Stallings having so much depth at linebacker -- or was it defensive line? -- I think it was at linebacker -- that he felt comfortable about pulling out all the starters and sending the backups in.
We are supposed to be playing a tougher schedule. I have looked at it, and I seem to have gotten the impression that it could be tough -- especially if six or seven of our opponents have scheduled a bye-week before they play us.
But what if we find ourselves out in front of a bunch of these teams, to the point that we COULD run in a second bunch of linebackers? If Tana Patrick is as good as advertised, how can you keep him OR Harris -- or any one of quite a few other LB's -- off the field? I don't know of any linebacker who will have been here already -- that looks to be a bench warmer.
How could you keep a Trent Richardson off the field this year? If a guy is that good, how can you keep his hip-pads on the bench? Saban put him in the game. Richardson already had the name -- he showed why.
This is supposed to be the era of parity. But if you are a Nick Saban, and you know how to recruit AND how to "coach 'em up," how can you keep a guy on the bench all year when he probably would be starring at 75 or 100 other 1A schools?
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that there is so much talent at linebacker, Saban may well just platoon linebackers like he has been platooning defensive linemen. I didn't imagine that, did I?
Rolando McClain -- and this goes for Hightower too -- came in at a time when we were thin at linebacker. Ro played the great, great majority of downs, and it was pretty much the same with Reamer and Hightower (before he got hurt).
But is there a "brain" like Ro coming back, and if not, could that mean more of a rotation than the first three Saban seasons?
I seem to remember Stallings having so much depth at linebacker -- or was it defensive line? -- I think it was at linebacker -- that he felt comfortable about pulling out all the starters and sending the backups in.
We are supposed to be playing a tougher schedule. I have looked at it, and I seem to have gotten the impression that it could be tough -- especially if six or seven of our opponents have scheduled a bye-week before they play us.
But what if we find ourselves out in front of a bunch of these teams, to the point that we COULD run in a second bunch of linebackers? If Tana Patrick is as good as advertised, how can you keep him OR Harris -- or any one of quite a few other LB's -- off the field? I don't know of any linebacker who will have been here already -- that looks to be a bench warmer.
How could you keep a Trent Richardson off the field this year? If a guy is that good, how can you keep his hip-pads on the bench? Saban put him in the game. Richardson already had the name -- he showed why.
This is supposed to be the era of parity. But if you are a Nick Saban, and you know how to recruit AND how to "coach 'em up," how can you keep a guy on the bench all year when he probably would be starring at 75 or 100 other 1A schools?
The Tide will be loaded for the next several years at linebacker......Nico, Tana, Jerrell, and Hightower will be back....
Saban's defensive style will allow many others to get to the see the field but I believe Hightower will be the beast that he was before the injury and take up where Rolo was at...
After watching games this year....Nico will be a great linebacker before its over...
Tana will get his playing time with all the others.
The one good thing about all this is that it will eventually make all the LB's better competing for the playing time..
Roll Tide Roll in 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:biggrin:
Saban's defensive style will allow many others to get to the see the field but I believe Hightower will be the beast that he was before the injury and take up where Rolo was at...
After watching games this year....Nico will be a great linebacker before its over...
Tana will get his playing time with all the others.
The one good thing about all this is that it will eventually make all the LB's better competing for the playing time..
Roll Tide Roll in 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:biggrin:
What about Chris Jordan? Is there any chance that he gets a shot on the outside? I know he backed up McClain, and Hightower is likely taking that spot. I think he has has some potential and could compete with Harris.
Any word on Watkins? As far as I know, this guy has some athletic ability but needed to add weight. He'll be a junior this upcoming season.
With DeMeco dominating at Houston and Ro soon to be a top 10 pick, are we becoming the new Linebacker U?
I always considered Bama to be Linebacker U anyway. We just had a short stint there when we weren't. Also is it possible to put 5 linebackers on the field.
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