Jump to content

Wilson's a keeper at QB


DKW 86

Recommended Posts

http://www.al.com/sports/huntsvilletimes/j....xml&coll=1

Wilson's a keeper at QB

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Huntsville Times

Hoover product shines in a variety of ways

TUSCALOOSA - To the extent that any lucid conclusions can be drawn from watching a preseason football scrimmage on a sweltering August afternoon, kindly indulge an unschooled eye to present a few observations.

After watching the University of Alabama's 2006 team sweat and toil through two hours of fierce head-knocking Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, we believe it's fair to infer the following:

John Parker Wilson, the largely untested successor to Brodie Croyle, will be just fine as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback. The young sophomore from Hoover, an Opie lookalike for those who remember the latter days of the Andy Griffith Show, performed quite admirably in Alabama's next-to-last scrimmage before the Sept. 2 opener against Hawaii.

This kid can make all the throws. He can also scramble out of trouble. And he's clearly a team leader in the making.

Wilson's statistics - 14 of 21, 173 yards, two touchdowns, one interception - would've been even more impressive if his receivers hadn't dropped at least three highly catchable passes.

He completed an array of slants, middle screens, tight end delays and out patterns, and once threw a picturesque 60-yard deep pass that was tipped away on the goal line, at the last second, by a promising backup cornerback, redshirt freshman Chris Rogers of Lakeland, Fla.

"It was a pretty good day,'' Wilson said. "We moved the ball better today and scored a couple of times. The offensive line looked great, which is very encouraging. We've got two weeks to go. I think we'll be ready.''

So does offensive coordinator Dave Rader. "John Parker played well after a slow start,'' said Rader. "I had a '67 straight-six Mustang as a teenager. It was a real good car once it warmed up. John Parker is a little like that right now. Once he gets going, he's on it.''

Andre Smith, the heralded 6-foot-4, 335-pound true freshman from Huffman, is quickly living up to his reputation. He has already worked his way into the starting offensive lineup at left tackle, and, as Rader said, "He improves every snap.''

"I'd like to get down to 325 before the season,'' Smith said, "and I'm working on it. It was fun to be on the first team today. Actually, I've been working with them for a while. I think I've pretty much adjusted to the speed of the game.''

That didn't take long.

Javier Arenas, a diminutive true freshman from Tampa, Fla., will be an exceedingly dangerous kick returner, perhaps as early as 13 days from now. He hauled back a punt 84 yards for a touchdown in the scrimmage, and nary a defender laid a hand on the 5-8, 175-pounder as he fled down the left sideline.

"I just followed my blockers,'' Arenas said, "and my God-given ability took over.''

Keith Brown, a junior from Fort Walton Beach, will be a go-to receiver this season. He snagged five passes from Wilson for 92 yards and two touchdowns, one covering 25 yards and the other 34 yards.

Juwan Simpson, the big senior linebacker from Decatur, will be the Tide's clear-cut defensive leader this season. The only question is, when will he be allowed to play? Coach Mike Shula isn't saying, indicating only that Simpson's legal problems are "a family matter.''

For what it's worth, Simpson was the first-team middle linebacker in Saturday's scrimmage, and he played with ferocious intensity. "It was his best day of camp,'' Shula noted.

Several younger players are bidding for unexpected playing time, and may well get it after Saturday's scrimmage. Chris Rogers, for one. "I'm just doing my job,'' he said. "I was pressing, trying to make something happen, when I first got here. Now it seems like the plays are coming to me. Whoever's in there is going to be good. The University of Alabama has great defensive backs.''

With senior tailback Ken Darby still missing from practice because of a family illness back home in Huntsville, backups Roy Upchurch of Tallahassee, Fla., and Ali Sharrief of Bridgeport played well, each breaking several good runs.

But perhaps the most impressive of the down-the-liners was sophomore Darwin Salaam, a 6-3, 187-pound walk-on from Sparkman. He caught three passes for 37 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown from freshman Greg McElroy of Southlake, Texas, late in the scrimmage.

Other parting impressions:

Junior Wallace Gilberry of Bay Minette looks like an All-SEC player at defensive end.

Freshman P.J. Fitzgerald of Coral Springs, Fla., will be an able punter.

And walk-on freshman Leigh Tiffin of Red Bay will develop into a fine field goal kicker one day, although he made only one of three in Saturday's scrimmage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites





Guys i will say this...i was skeptical about JPW...now Im not. He looks VERY good. Further along than I suspected he'd be. He's made some excellent throws in the scrimmages, and his mobility will help take some of the pressure off of the Oline.

People are dogging this team left and right...but we will be better than last year's squad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys i will say this...i was skeptical about JPW...now Im not. He looks VERY good. Further along than I suspected he'd be. He's made some excellent throws in the scrimmages, and his mobility will help take some of the pressure off of the Oline.

People are dogging this team left and right...but we will be better than last year's squad.

Define better.

I've told you a hundred times that the 2004 Bama team was better than 05 but it just didn't have the luck last year's team did. Last season was a six-win team that fell into something more through nothing more than luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alabama won 10 games last year.. thats pretty good. You can't down a team for winning 10 games. Sure we beat them, along with LSU, but those were their only 2 losses. We lost to LSU, Georgia Tech, and Wisconsin. Lets be not biased for a little bit... They were decent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alabama won 10 games last year.. thats pretty good. You can't down a team for winning 10 games. Sure we beat them, along with LSU, but those were their only 2 losses. We lost to LSU, Georgia Tech, and Wisconsin. Lets be not biased for a little bit... They were decent.

Nobody's saying they stunk. Ten wins was a mirage, however. To me, the 2004 team was more talented and better prepared than last season's team. Those who can see only the record and not anything else are the biased ones.

Most of the people who follow college football for a living think the way I do. Seen the rankings?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sarah Jessica may turn out to be a good QB but what they are saying about him at this point pales in comparison to what they were saying about Brodie at this time in his career.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the '06 version of the Tide may indeed be better than the '05 (for the record, I don't think they will be but it is possible), but the record won't indicate it. The away schedule is just brutal, and I think the conference as a whole will be slightly better and deeper this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys i will say this...i was skeptical about JPW...now Im not. He looks VERY good. Further along than I suspected he'd be. He's made some excellent throws in the scrimmages, and his mobility will help take some of the pressure off of the Oline.

People are dogging this team left and right...but we will be better than last year's squad.

only a bammerfart would believe this

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My only problems are:

1. It's preseason...waaaay too early to tell

2. His performances have been against the 2nd string (at best). Numbers tend to be skewed when that happens.

I'm not saying that he won't be good, but he has a lot yet to prove.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...