S, A.J., Barrett, Trent, Dont’a and Courtney Restore Order

It was just meant to be. This is a phenomenal team. Why I doubted S I have no idea. Give S, Kirby, McElwain and the Tide coaches six weeks to prepare for any team in college football and they’re going to beat them. Barrett said last week the Tide was going “to restore order” and they did. And they did it with style and domination.

I’ve never seen S so happy. What he and his players and his community have gone through in the last 10 months would humble Barack Obama. S has been calmer, more serene and maybe more focused than ever to give the Tuscaloosa community happiness. Don’t get me wrong he’s still the same intense, focused coach he’s always been, but even the players were saying he was joking around more in practice, he was more approachable, nicer. And it sure paid off. When S got the Gatorade bath two years ago at the end of the Tide’s 13th national championship, he was angry. Basically the guys hit him on the head with the cooler, so I didn’t blame him. This time he loved it. I’ve never seen him so happy. S is funny, engaging and just himself. That’s what I love about him. What you see is what you get. But he’s just more at peace  now. He’s still the focused, disciplined, intense coach he’s always been and his attention to detail is beyond superb. Kirby Smart and Jim McElwain are terrific. McElwain has been rewarded with a head coaching job at Colorado State. Kirby will get that call some time in the next year or two. Kirby loves it in Tuscaloosa and they’ve got a dynasty there that will continue with S in charge. S will hire a new offensive coordinator, so that will be important. There was a rumor that Boise State oc Brent Pease might be coming, but it looks like he’s going to Florida. It won’t matter. S will get somebody who gives his personnel the best chance to succeed. Give A.J. somebody with the type of offensive imagination that plays to his strengths which is throwing the ball downfield and he’ll flourish. McElwain played to A.J.’s strengths, built confidence in him and A.J. just took off last night. McElwain deserves a lot of credit. It was interesting when reporters asked S about the defense. He loved the way his defense played, but he was just as excited about how the offense performed.

How about A.J.? 23-of-34 for 234 yards. Stellar. Kevin Norwood emerged as a go to receiver. Bodes well for the future as the Tide may be finding it’s big play guy with Norwood. DeAndrew White and Doron Carter will also help that cause. If Marquis Maze comes back, and I think he could, the Tide will be explosive in the passing game. They have a four star from Florida coming in, Amari Cooper, who could be an immediate impact receiver and also play a Julio role. It should be Julio by committee next year, and it’s going to be a very good committee. Trent didn’t go off, but he had some good runs and he had the exclamation point with his 34 yard TD scamper for the final 21-0 margin. Trent ran for 96. I was kind of surprised he got that many yards. It didn’t seem like he had that many. His TD run was vintage Trent. The hole was clogged up, he busted it to the outside and outran everybody. LSU was stacking the line to stop him, but they couldn’t contain him for the whole game. That wasn’t going to happen. Eddie played a terrific game.

The offensive line was dominant. They kept A.J. upright for the majority of the game. Barrett, William V, Chance Warmack, Anthony Steen and D.J. Fluker were sensational. Alabama won the line of scrimmage in dominating fashion. I saw Steen just bury an LSU guy on one play. That happened throughout the game. Talk about talent on that line. Wow. Four of them will return. It’s pretty impressive that D.J. is coming back for his senior year. He wants a degree and he wants to improve his draft stock. I applaud him for that. Barrett, of course, will too. And Steen and Warmack should be back as well. Tide loses Vlachos, and he’s been stellar for this team. They’ll miss him. He was a great one. But there is a lot of talent coming back. With Cyrus and Arie back next year from injuries, this should be another dominant line.

What else can you say about the defense? LSU got 92 yards of total offense. I’ll say it. This was one of the greatest defenses in Alabama history and college football history. They’re in my top 10 of all time in college football. In Alabama lore,  right up there with 2009, 1992 and teams in the ’70’s. Maybe the best. It’s hard to say. Two years ago, the team had the dominating Rolando McClain and NFL players Javy Arenas, Kareem Jackson, Mount Cody and Marcell Dareus. But this team has more NFL players. I don’t see a single player who can’t play in the NFL. Nick Gentry is a little bit smaller than your typical dtackle, but he’ll find a place. The guy has the heart of a lion, the toughness of a grizzly. He will be on an NFL roster next year. Courtney and Dont’a will be top 10 or 12 picks. I would be surprised if  they don’t go in the top 10. One of them in the top five. They’re special. Damion Square is going to play in the league. Dequan Menzie, and, of course, Mark Barron, will go though Barron was a little quiet last night. Mark’s been hurt and I think that’s cut down on his production. But he’ll be playing on Sundays next year. That’s a rhetorical statement. Of course he’ll be playing on Sunday. That’s a guarantee. Not sure what Dre and Lester will do. Dre looked really good last night. He could go. Would like to see both come back. Dre got a little payback on the Honey Badger when he put a good lick on him on a HB punt return. That was a little poetic justice after Mathieu put a dirty shot on Dre in the first game. Think Lester could definitely use another year.

Can they do it again next year? They can. I thought two years ago after the ’09 national title that they would do it again in ’10. But Tide lost some key players on defense from the ’09 team and that hurt them. Still had a good team in ’10. It was just a building year for this one. The team will lose key players off this defense. It also depends on if guys like Maze, Dre, and Lester come back. Even Nico Johnson. He’s a heckuva player. But they have some stellar talent coming back. Almost forgot Jerell Harris. Complete stud. He’ll be on TV on  Sundays next year. What will Nico do? I’d like to see him come back. Trey Depriest will be back which will be big. C.J. Mosley will be back. Hated to see him get hurt last night. Close to a real cheap shot by Jefferson on him. Jefferson is a thug. But C.J. should be OK next year. Looked like an ankle injury. He’s struggled with injuries this year but he’s another fantastic football player. Tana Patrick will be back at linebacker and I think S and Kirby like him a lot. There’s so much talent in the arsenal that it’s scary. There will be plenty of competition next year. LSU will be good again, but I don’t think Miles can beat S any more. S has had enough of that. So there’s a I’d say 55 % chance at back to back; three out of four and 15 national championships for the most storied program in college football. You can say all you want about Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas and Oklahoma, but this program is the standard bearer  for college football and will be in the future for as long as S stays. I hope it’s 10 more years.

One word about Maze. I love the kid. He made a beautiful punt return that got the momentum started. I can’t remember if ‘Bama kicked a field goal or not on that possession because there were so many great plays, but that got the team going without a doubt. Unfortunately, Marquis pulled a hamstring. He was in tears on the sidelines. I felt terrible for him. He’s such a dedicated kid with so much passion for the game AND his team. You want to see him succeed. This game meant so much to him you could tell. Hopefully he’ll be back for one more run.

I’ll be the first to admit, I was flat wrong on A.J. He was terrific.  His throws were right on target and beautiful. And he showed tremendous leadership in the huddle and on the sideline. This kid is going to take off and be a history maker at Alabama if he stays focused, dedicated and humble. The tools are there for an amazing career. He’s had a good year this year; great including last night. If A.J. plays like this next year, with the talent around him, the national championship is in the cards.

Eddie will take over for Trent who will go pro. Trent has two little girls and he needs to support’em. He deserves a big contract. He’s been a stellar person and tremendous leader for this football team. He’s one heckuva football player, too. He’s a top five pick. And he should excel in the pros. Eddie, the heralded five star Dee Hart, who was out with a knee injury this year, Jalston Fowler, Brent Calloway, Blake Sims, and two heralded commitments will man rb position. Eddie may not start. But he’ll play a lot. Seems like a great team player. Running back is in good hands. Dee Hart is supposed to be special.

So Tide fans enjoy this. It’s hard to win a national championship. S makes it look easier than most coaches, but it’s a hard thing to do. It’s amazing what Bear Bryant did, but the competition may be even stiffer today. If S wants to stay at Alabama eight to 10 more years, who knows how many he can get. Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have their work cut out for them. S is is next to impossible to beat some years. And it looks like it just keeps getting better. The recruiting class is ranked number one in the country after another five star safety, Landon Collins, committed to the Tide and another four star player did as well last week. I’m thinking Jameis Winston might come the Tide’s way now. Wow, that would be something else.

Southern Cal is supposed to be very good next year. Texas has had some stellar recruiting classes the last couple of years so they should be good. Mack Brown needs to be good or he could be in trouble. Florida State will be a competitor for sure. Jimbo Fisher has loaded up on talent. But I think the Tide can get back there. They’ll have to shore up the defense with some younger players, but the young talent is coming out of the roof. Hassan Clinton Dix is a five star safety and he played some this year. He’ll be the next Barron. Maybe better. Vinnie Sunseri is a heckuva football player at safety and on the kickoff team. This Christian Jones, the freshman who returned punts when Maze got hurt, looks like the next Maze. Some of it will depend on what guys like Dre and Lester do. But the talent keeps coming. LSU, Arkansas and Auburn better get to work and bring about 1000 lunch pales over the next seven months.

Just a word on Les Miles and Jordan Jefferson. Why Miles didn’t put Jarrett Lee in after halftime was incredibly stupid. Why he stuck with Jefferson, who had no chance to throw the ball downfield, is beyond reason. He really did Lee wrong this year. Miles was clearly outcoached and outcoached by a big margin. S is the best in the country on any level. Miles is an average coach; nothing special. He can recruit and he’s got superb talent base to recruit in in Louisiana and Texas. Louisiana has about eight to 10 Hoovers and he can get players out of Texas. I’ve always thought he was lucky and not that good. Jefferson kicked a guy in the head several times this summer in a bar fight and helped put three guys in the hospital. What goes around comes around. Miles let too much go. He let Honey Badger and another key player back on the team after they smoked pot REALLY putting the hammer down and suspending  them for a week. That’s a joke. It came back to haunt him. Character matters. Jefferson’s and Miles’ lack of it factored in their poor performances last night. Winning ultimately is about character, too. S and Alabama have it. Miles and LSU don’t.

Enjoy the victory Tide fans. With S in charge, there should be more coming. Top recruiting class in the country coming in. Let the good times Roll.

(S and A.J.: How Sweet it it.)