Bama notebook: San Jose State a real mystery

TUSCALOOSA — Linebacker Dont’a Hightower called them a “mystery,” but Alabama is scrambling to learn what it can about the San Jose State Spartans.

New coach Mike MacIntyre would like to keep it that way. MacIntyre, who was Duke’s offensive coordinator under David Cutcliffe last season, knows he doesn’t have many advantages going into the opener, but he’s keeping his offensive and defensive styles under wraps.

“I don’t think it gives me too much of an advantage,” MacIntyre said. “They have some great players on defense, and those young guys are going to be flying around. The only advantage it gives us is they would not probably be able to do the checking system as well as Coach Saban would like. ... They’ll probably be a little bit more vanilla ... but still, the talent and athleticism is what makes the plays.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban said there has been talk about San Jose moving to an option-oriented pistol attack like Nevada.

“Nevada-Reno was the No. 1 rushing team in the country and supposedly that is the offense that this team is running,” Saban said Monday. “But we have no evidence of that. So, we are preparing for all kinds of stuff and its option-type football that we have never really experienced before. That makes it a difficult preparation for us.”

Crimson Tide senior quarterback Greg McElroy said coaches have gone back into the vault for film.

“We’ve watched some Duke, we’ve watched some Washington, which is where their defensive coordinator (Kent Baer) was from,” McElroy said.

Hightower said the defense is expecting anything.

“They might come out and run a Wildcat like Ole Miss or throw us a couple of funky situations or formations,” the linebacker said. “We’ve kind of been practicing a little bit on everything.”

Dial out: Preston Dial wasn’t at practice on Tuesday. Saban said Monday he is ill. No players were in black (no-contact) jerseys, other than quarterbacks, who are always in black.

Punt auditions: Julio Jones is listed as the punt returner on Alabama’s depth chart, but the receiver doesn’t sound convinced.

“That don’t mean nothing. We all rotate,” Jones said after practice on Tuesday.

Don’t misunderstand, he wants the job. And the idea of Jones with the ball in open space isn’t a good one for opposing coaches.

“Being a playmaker, you’re supposed to step up and make plays,” he shrugged.
Of course, his predecessor, Javier Arenas, was one of the best punt returners in college football history.

Arenas said Saban used to stand right behind him during punt return drills. Jones is getting the same treatment.

“Oh, yeah. Try not to mess up,” Jones smiled. “You got coach Saban standing behind you. If you want the job, you’ve got to catch the ball. Catch the ball high, you can’t catch it low. Square up to the ball. Perfect.”

Unlike Arenas’ version, Jones said Saban isn’t yelling as the ball is coming his way. That doesn’t make it easy.

“You know he’s back there watching,” Jones said.

Fund for Torrance: The Tuscaloosa Tip-Off Club has established the Mikhail Torrance Fund to help for the former Alabama basketball standout continue to recover from a near-fatal medical episode.

Torrance collapsed on the court while working out at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., on Aug. 20. He has been in a Sarasota, Fla., hospital since and has recently made significant progress towards recovery in the last 72 hours.

Despite the progress he has made, Torrance and his family still face significant challenges in overcoming this serious and life-altering event. As such, 100 percent of the contributions to the Mikhail Torrance Fund will go toward assisting Torrance and his family with his continued medical expenses and rehabilitation.

Contributions of any amount may be sent to:
The Mikhail Torrance Fund
c/o The Tuscaloosa Tip-Off Club
Bryant Bank
1550 McFarland Blvd. N.
Tuscaloosa, AL 35406

“The past week and a half has been tremendously emotional and prayer-filled by so many people across the country on behalf of Mikhail Torrance,” Alabama head basketball coach Anthony Grant said in a statement released by the university. “We are very encouraged by the progress he has made over the past several days in regards to his physical and cognitive well-being.”