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1
Pro Sports / [NEWS] NFL Jets Release Tim Tebow After Drafting Quarterback Geno Smith
« on: April 29, 2013, 08:29:58 AM »

The New York Jets have released quarterback Tim Tebow two days after selecting Geno Smith in the National Football League Draft. Photographer: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
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The New York Jets released Tim Tebow, ending a failed one-season experiment with the fan- favorite quarterback who was never given a shot to lead the team.

The Jets announced the release of Tebow two days after selecting quarterback Geno Smith in the National Football League draft.

“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said in a statement. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped.”

Tebow played in 12 games last season after being acquired by the Jets in a trade with the Denver Broncos in March 2012. The previous season, he led Broncos to the playoffs, then was voted America’s favorite active pro athlete in an ESPN fan-based poll. He spawned a fad known as “Tebowing” through his kneel- and-pray pose after victories and has been outspoken in professing his Christian faith.

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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Alabama draft recap: The Tide only did better in 1945, when there were 32 rounds
« on: April 28, 2013, 07:47:01 AM »

Dee Milliner, from Alabama, walks off the stage after being selected ninth overall by the New York Jets in the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013, at Radio City Music Hall in New York.(AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Former Alabama football players heard their names called early and often in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Not only were three former Crimson Tide standouts selected consecutively Thursday in the first round, but six more were drafted in the next two days.

That's a modern school record of nine players picked in seven rounds. The previous record of eight was set in 1987, when there were 12 rounds. That record was tied last year.

Alabama fell one player short of its 1945 total of 10 players drafted. That was when there were 32 rounds and 10 teams.

Five Alabama players were picked Saturday in the last four rounds of the draft:

    Linebacker Nico Johnson (fourth round, Kansas City Chiefs).
    Center Barrett Jones (fourth round, St. Louis Rams).
     Defensive lineman Jesse Williams (fifth round, Seattle Seahawks).
     Defensive lineman Quinton Dial (fifth round, San Francisco 49ers).
     Tight end Michael Williams (seventh round, Detroit Lions).

This was after running back Eddie Lacy was taken late in the second round Friday by the Green Bay Packers.

That was after history was made Thursday when three players from the same team were drafted consecutive in the first round for the first time. That run started with the No. 9 pick:

    Cornerback Dee Milliner (New York Jets).
    Guard Chance Warmack (Tennessee Titans).
    Tackle D.J. Fluker (San Diego Charger).

In the past five years, 34 Alabama players have been drafted. That's more than the number of Crimson Tide players who were drafted in the previous 10 seasons.


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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Alabama's superb 2008, 2009 signing classes keep battling for supremacy
« on: April 28, 2013, 07:29:13 AM »

Former Alabama guard Chance Warmack after he's chosen in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. (AP photo)
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Quick quiz: The greatest college football recruiting class of the BCS era is ...

(A) Alabama 2008.

(B) And no one else ...

(C) ... is even ...

(D) ... close.

Professional and amateur recruitniks have put their arms around this theory with as much gusto as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hugging it out with a first-round draft pick.

Some of us kinda saw it coming.

But before we retire the trophy, with just one year left in the BCS era before the dawn of the College Football Playoff, before we hand over any hardware to Julio Jones and company, there’s a challenger to this mythical title we’d like to present for your consideration.

It’s the 2009 Alabama signing class.

Don’t look now, Mark Ingram, but Trent Richardson is closing fast. Again.

The 2008 Alabama class, the first one Nick Saban and his staff put together with a full year to evaluate, has been the gold standard.

It produced five future first-round draft picks in Jones, Ingram, Marcell Dareus, Mark Barron and Donta’ Hightower. It also included two future second-round picks in Terrence Cody and Courtney Upshaw.

Throw in Brad Smelley, and the fifth-year seniors from that class who were picked this weekend (Barrett Jones and Michael Williams), and that class produced 10 future draft picks.

It also was the heart of two national titles in 2009 and 2011, and it provided some key pieces on the 2012 title team.

As good as the 2008 class turned out to be, the 2009 class has displayed the same kind of efficiency when it comes to turning potential into production.

The 2009 class already has produced five first-round draft picks: James Carpenter in 2011, Trent Richardson and Dre Kirkpatrick in 2012 and Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker this weekend.


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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] SEC divisions produce as many NFL draft picks as any conference
« on: April 27, 2013, 07:33:52 PM »

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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The conference with the most 2013 NFL Draft picks? That would be the SEC East, which had 32 picks to edge the SEC East and ACC, which each had 31.

It's no longer enough to qualify the SEC's draft-day dominance as an entire conference. In its first year as a 14-team conference, the SEC had 63 draft picks, an all-time record by any league and more than double the next closest conference this year.

Divisions now appear to be the best way to put the SEC's NFL talent into perspective. The SEC's two seven-team divisions each surpassed the number of draft picks for nearly every other conference, which tend to range from 10 to 14 teams.

2013 NFL Draft Picks By Conference (or Division)
Conference   2013 Picks
SEC East   32
SEC West   31
ACC   31
Pac-12   28
Big 12   22
Big Ten   22
Big East   18
C-USA   8
Mountain West   7
MAC   7
Sun Belt   4

Or to put it another way: Alabama, LSU, Florida and Georgia combined for more picks than every conference. Within the SEC, those four schools are the upper echelon of the league in drafts, with South Carolina not far behind.

The Iron Bowl scoreboard in NFL draft picks over the past five years: Alabama 33, Auburn 11. Auburn's two selections in the past two years are its fewest in a two-year period since having no picks from 1951 to '54.

With six draft picks since the 2010 BCS championship, Auburn has the fewest by a school in the three years after a national title in at least 20 years.

SEC NFL Draft Picks
Team   2013 Picks   Picks Last 5 Years
Alabama   9   33
Georgia   8   31
LSU   9   32
Florida   8   26
South Carolina   7   24
Tennessee   4   14
Missouri   2   13
Texas A&M   5   13
Arkansas   4   13
Mississippi State   3   12
Auburn   1   11
Ole Miss   0   10
Kentucky   1   8
Vanderbilt   2   7


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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Arizona takes former LSU DB Tyrann 'Honeybadger' Mathieu in third round
« on: April 27, 2013, 06:46:43 AM »

Former LSU DB Tyrann Mathieu was taken in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals Friday April 26th, 2013. (The Associated Press)
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Tyrann Mathieu will be in a familiar, almost familial setting.

The former LSU defensive back, who was dismissed from the team prior to the start of what would've been his junior season after being a Heisman trophy candidate in 2011, was taken with the seventh pick of the third round pick of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals Friday night.

The talented but troubled 5-foot-9, 186-pound playmaking, punt-returning dynamo spent months training with friend and former college teammate Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson and will be surrounded by consummate pros such as all-league wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Mathieu, who failed multiple drug tests while at LSU, said he hasn't done so in seven or eight months nor has he gotten into in any legal trouble.

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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Touchdown, Eddy Lacy: Plane lands, phone rings, Packers welcome Alabama RB
« on: April 27, 2013, 06:23:36 AM »

Former Alabama running back Eddie Lacy works on ball-handling drills during Alabama's second Pro Day, Thursday, April 11, 2013, at the Alabama's Hank Crisp Indoor Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AL.com/Vasha Hunt)
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- After attending the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft on Thursday but not getting selected, Eddie Lacy had enough.

The former Alabama running back didn't return Friday to Radio City Music Hall in New York to see where he would go in the second round.

Good thing. He almost didn't go in the second round. With the second-to-last pick in the round, the Green Bay Packers selected Lacy. He was the 61st player taken overall, and he was the only Alabama player taken on the second day of the draft.

Lacy flew back to Alabama and had just landed when he heard the news in a phone call from the Packers.

"I was actually on an airplane and as soon as I landed, like literally as soon as the wheels touched the ground, I turned my phone back on and when the service came back in, they were calling me," Lacy told reporters who cover the Packers.

"It's just a big relief. I was very excited but there's still a lot I have to go out there and prove. I can't wait until I can start on that."


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12's Take / [12's TAKE] Did Eddie Lacy Make the Right Chioce
« on: April 26, 2013, 01:01:11 PM »
Hindsight is 20/20, but now that Eddie Lacy has remained undrafted going into the second round of the NFL draft, do you think he should have remained at Alabama for his senior season?   

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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Back-to-back-to-back: Former Alabama stars Dee Milliner, Chance Warmack and D.J.
« on: April 26, 2013, 06:17:58 AM »

Dee Milliner, from Alabama, stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected ninth overall by the New York Jets in the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
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NEW YORK, New York - Never in the history of the common NFL Draft, since 1967, had three players from the same college team been selected consecutively in the first round.

Until Thursday night.

Score another big one for Alabama.

Former Crimson Tide cornerback Dee Milliner was selected by the New York Jets with the No. 9 pick, and in the next two picks, former Alabama guard Chance Warmack went No. 10 to the Tennessee Titans and former Tide tackle D.J. Fluker went No. 11 to the San Diego Chargers.

"It felt great," Fluker said . "Dee Milliner's a great cornerback. Chance Warmack's a great guard. Going high, it showed me that all the hard work paid off. ... Being three-time national champions, that paid off, too. Now it's time to do it at a whole new level."

The three teammates were the only Alabama players who were picked Thursday night in the first round at Radio City Music Hall. Running back Eddie Lacy was invited to attend the draft, but he will have to wait until Friday night to hear his name called.

This represented a small slip for Alabama, which had a school-record four players drafted in the first round in each of the past two years.

It still was enough to give Nick Saban the most first-round draft picks of any Alabama coach. In only six seasons, he has had 14 players taken in the first round. In 25 years, legendary Alabama coach Paul Bryant had 13 first-round draft picks.

"I didn't know that," Saban said. "Coach Bryant was a great coach. That means he was a lot better coach than me, because he won a lot more games with I guess lesser players."

Milliner was the first to go. When the Jets called his name, it represented the fifth consecutive year that Alabama has had a player taken in the top 10.

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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] 2013 NFL draft: Live updates, chat as the state of Alabama invades the NFL
« on: April 26, 2013, 06:09:23 AM »


First round picks 9, 10, and 11 go to former Bama players
 
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The state of Alabama has been at the center of the college football universe for the past four years so it's no surprise that the 2013 NFL draft promises to include a number of prospects from the state of Alabama. Visit AL.com throughout the weekend for live coverage from New York and updates from around the state as players from around the state make their way to the next level.

Join us in the comments below for a running live chat throughout the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. Sports producer Matt Scalici along with other members of the AL.com staff will be here to answer your questions and share their thoughts on the night's events starting at 6 p.m.

Round 1

1. Kansas City picks OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan)
2. Jacksonville picks OT Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M)
3. Miami picks OLB Dion Jordan (Oregon)
4. Philadelphia picks OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma)
5. Detroit picks DE Ezekial Ansah (BYU)
6. Cleveland picks DE Barkevious Mingo (LSU)
7. Arizona picks OG Jonathan Cooper (North Carolina)
8. St. Louis picks WR Tavon Austin (West Virginia)
9. New York Jets pick CB Dee Milliner (Alabama)
10. Tennessee picks OG Chance Warmack (Alabama)
11. San Diego picks D.J. Fluker (Alabama)
12. Oakland picks CB DJ Hayden (Houston)
13. New York Jets pick DT Sheldon Richardson (Missouri)
14. Carolina picks DT Star Lotulelei (Utah)
15. New Orleans picks S Kenny Vaccaro (Texas)
16. Buffalo picks QB EJ Manuel (Florida State)
17. Pittsburgh picks OLB Jarvis Jones (Georgia)
18. San Francisco picks S Eric Reid (LSU)
19. New York Giants pick OG Justin Pugh (Syracuse)
20. Chicago picks OG Kyle Long (Oregon)
21. Cincinnati picks TE Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame)
22. Atlanta picks CB Desmond Trufant (Washington)
23. Minnesota picks DT Sharrif Floyd (Florida)
24. Indianapolis picks DE Bjoern Werner (Florida State)
25. Minnesota picks CB Xavier Rhodes (Florida State)
26. Green Bay picks DE Datone Jones (UCLA)
27. Houston picks WR DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson)
28. Denver picks DT Sylvester Williams (North Carolina)
29. Minnesota picks WR Cordarrelle Patterson (Tennessee)
30. St. Louis picks LB Alec Ogletree (Georgia)
31. Dallas picks OL Travis Frederick (Wisconsin)
32. Baltimore picks S Matt Elam (Florida)



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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Live, from New York! It's Alabama beat reporter Don Kausler Jr.
« on: April 26, 2013, 06:03:12 AM »

The view from an Alabama beat reporter's seat in Radio City Music Hall for the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. (Tuscaloosa Bureau/Don Kausler Jr.)
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NEW YORK, New York -- The city that never sleeps was starting to yawn when Alabama beat reporter Don Kausler Jr. was, ahem, encouraged to leave Radio City Music Hall late Thursday night early Friday morning.

The first round of the NFL Draft was a circus. Loud music. Rowdy fans. Cameras and microphones everywhere.

It was another big night for former Alabama football players, as you probably know.

If you don't, well, then catch up with this video. ...



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Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] College football playoff has name and now has site for first title game (report)
« on: April 24, 2013, 06:48:45 AM »

A press box view of Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the first national championship game of the four-team playoff format will take place, sources tell ESPN. (File photo)
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It is simply called the College Football Playoff.

And it's the four-team playoff, which begins after the 2014 regular season.

ESPN is reporting Cowboys Stadium will be awarded the first national championship game in the new format, which will be held Jan. 12, 2015.

Sources also tell ESPN the semifinal rotation has been determined as follows: the Rose (Pasadena) and Sugar (New Orleans) bowls will host the semifinals in 2015, the Orange (Miami) and Cotton (Arlington) bowls will host in 2016, and the Fiesta (Glendale, Ariz.) and Chick-fil-A (Atlanta) bowls will host in 2017. They will keep that rotation through January 2026.

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12
Football + Recruiting / [NEWS] Nick Saban tops The Sporting News' rankings of 125 FBS coaches
« on: April 24, 2013, 06:45:47 AM »

Alabama coach Nick Saban speaks with the media on April 13 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
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The Sporting News released its annual rankings of college coaches 1-125 on Monday.
The report is quick to point out that the debate starts after No. 1.
Alabama's Nick Saban meets every criteria, according to the report. Those are wins, championships, recruiting, history at previous jobs, future potential and the intangible Q-factor.
Matt Hayes writes, "it's not a stretch to say Alabama had the best team in college football the last five years."
He even mentions Saban reaching Bear Bryant status.
In addition to the national titles, The Sporting News also points to a blown chance in the SEC title against Florida in 2008 and said "in 2010, Alabama had the most talented team in the nation--a blown season that, to this day, eats away at Saban and motivates future teams."

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13
Football + Recruiting / Already one of Alabama's top leaders, AJ McCarron has 'really taken command'
« on: April 20, 2013, 08:04:37 AM »

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) takes a breather during the Crimson Tide's 13th 2013 Season Spring football practice, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- AJ McCarron defers any and all judgments about his individual performance to the man he says is "like a dad to him."

"I don’t need to try to grade myself," McCarron said. "It’s not really my job. I just try to go out every day and work, get better."

So, Nick Saban, how has McCarron become a better quarterback during his final spring at Alabama?

"AJ is a good player but I think AJ is a competitive guy and he had a really good spring," Saban said after Thursday's practice. "The thing he's done is impacted with leadership with the other guys. He's really taken command."

Alabama QB AJ McCarron talks about his spring, leadership Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron talks with reporters after practice Thursday, April 18, 2013.
McCarron wasn't in the room when Saban said what he said, but the message was quickly relayed to him. He smiled when he heard it.


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14
Football + Recruiting / Alabama's 2013 offense: a pre-A-Day position-by-position breakdown
« on: April 19, 2013, 06:56:32 AM »

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) throws long during the Crimson Tide's 13th 2013 Season Spring football practice, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AL.com/Vasha Hunt)
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- With A-Day just one day away, the following offensive capsules ran in Friday's editions of The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and the (Mobile) Press-Register.

Quarterback

The vet: Having evolved from a caretaker to a playmaker, AJ McCarron comes into the season as a third-year starter and a Heisman Trophy candidate. He led the nation in passing efficiency last season as he completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,933 yards and a school-record 30 touchdowns, and he had only three passes intercepted. But his most impressive stat: Two consecutive national championships. Since the 1950s, only three others have done that: Nebraska’s Jerry Tagge (1970-71), Oklahoma’s Steve Davis (1974-75) and Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier (1994-95). No quarterback has won three national titles.

Call for backup: Blake Sims and Phillip Ely backed up McCarron in 2012, and they’re back, but redshirt freshman Alec Morris is in the thick of competition. Sims might have the edge now, and he gives the offense a different dimension with his running ability, but Morris is the one to watch.

Who’s out, who’s in: Nobody departed. Three freshmen arrived as early enrollees: heralded Cooper Bateman, unheralded Parker McLeod and walk-on Luke Del Rio. The competition for 2014 starter has begun.

Notable: A true freshman quarterback has never played during coach Nick Saban's tenure at Alabama.

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Football + Recruiting / Alabama's 2013 defense and special teams: A pre-A-Day position-by-position break
« on: April 19, 2013, 06:54:34 AM »

Alabama defensive lineman Jeoffrey Pagan (8) and Alabama defensive lineman Anthony Orr (53) wait for the next drill during the Crimson Tide's 10th 2013 Season Spring football practice, Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- With A-Day just one day away, the following defensive and special teams capsules ran in Friday's editions of The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and The Mobile Press-Register.

Defensive line

The vets: One of the quietest members of Alabama's entire team, senior Ed Stinson is the "father" of this position group. He led all defensive linemen with 8.5 tackles for loss in 2012 and enters his final year entrenched as one of the Crimson Tide's top defensive ends. End Jeoffrey Pagan and nose guard Brandon Ivory are both juniors and saw significant snaps as reserves last season. They'll be called upon to do more this year.

Call for backup: This could be the year for LaMichael Fanning, the incredibly promising redshirt sophomore who spent his final year of high school in Auburn. He dropped a significant amount of weight and certainly looks the part of a speedy, fast-twitch defensive end. Redshirt freshman Dalvin Tomlinson gained what Fanning lost and also could be in line for major playing time on a defense that's hoping to have a better pass rush in 2013.

Who's out, who's in: Nose guard Jesse Williams and defensive ends Quinton Dial and Damion Square are all gone and likely NFL-bound. All of Alabama's freshman linemen -- Dee Liner, Darius Paige and A'Shawn Robinson -- will join the team in the fall. Anthony Orr has moved over from outside linebacker and Xzavier Dickson has been splitting time with the linebackers and defensive line.

Notable: Though Nick Saban and most others agreed that Alabama's pass rush was not consistent enough in 2012, no team under him accumulated more sacks (35) than last year's group.

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