Happy Friday, everyone. It was Ryan Grubb’s turn to speak to reporters after yesterday’s practice, and he was emphatic about his commitment to fixing the run game.
“Simplify and do your best stuff,” Grubb said. “Don’t get an inch deep and a mile wide. Do what you’re good at and be great at it. And coach Klemm has done an excellent job with helping build that. And between him and (new tight ends coach) Rich Owens, I’m super excited to work with those two guys and resurrecting the run game, and we will.”
Klemm joined up after working at Southern Cal last season. He has been an offensive line coach at multiple stops across both college and the NFL, most recently with the New England Patriots in 2023.
“The biggest thing about Klemm is that when you’re looking at a position coach here, does this guy have command, and is he a master teacher? And when I hear Klemm at practice, it’s always coaching,” Grubb said. “Even if he’s upset, not upset, it doesn’t really matter. There’s a coaching point, there’s a process going on. That’s what has always impressed me: there’s an immediate answer; there’s a solution. And the guys know what that is, and they can move on quickly.”
Finding out what the players best execute and maximizing it will go a long way. Jackson Lloyd seems to like what he’s getting from Klemm.
Klemm’s assignment is not a typical one. Alabama’s new offensive line coach inherits a room with one player who had at least 200 snaps for the Crimson Tide last season. The four freshmen and seven transfers who are new to the Alabama roster were each signed before Klemm’s arrival.
But as Klemm works with Alabama’s offensive line, it’s business as usual.
On Thursday, Aug. 6, in Alabama’s second day of fall camp, Klemm had his linemen split up in pairs, guards with centers, other guards with tackles. After each rep, Klemm approached specific linemen, honing in on technique.
“He comes in, he gives a lot of energy,” Alabama left tackle Jackson Lloyd said. “He expects, demands a lot from us, and he just wants us to be our best selves and he’s going to push us to do that. He’s going to teach us on the little stuff and just make us the best version of ourselves.”
As far as the running backs, there is plenty of excitement around EJ Crowell, but at this stage Grubb made it clear that Daniel Hill is the leader of the group.
Hill, last year’s second-leading rusher, enters the fall as Alabama’s likely No. 1 back. Grubb emphasized, “It starts with him.”
“Daniel Hill, you know, is a guy that I think people are going to be really impressed with the transformation that, you know, Daniel’s had with his body. He’s been really lean in the 230s, you know, low 230s, even in the high 220s.” Grubb said, “He runs different, he’s got good agility, he’s got great command of the offense. He’s super intelligent, excellent pass blocker, I think it starts with him.”
Hill’s sophomore season was below expectations, with just 284 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 3.8 yards per carry. With more experience and a bigger workload on the horizon, he’s poised for a breakout as a junior after only 75 carries last year.
Grubb was inevitably asked about the QB derby, and it certainly sounds like he’d prefer to name a starter sooner than later.
Grubb said Alabama “probably will” need both scrimmages scheduled for this fall to determine if Keelon Russell or Austin Mack starts. The first is a week from Thursday (23 days out from the season-opener) and the second is two weeks from Thursday (16 days out).
“Just younger guys, making sure we have every ounce of data we need,” Grubb said. “But if it’s the first scrimmage, it’s the first scrimmage. If we feel good about that after that point, we’ll name that. Obviously the longer your team can have their starter named, the better off you are. We don’t worry about the other team and who they know it is or isn’t. We just want to make sure we make the right decision.”
He was able to name one particular area of growth for each candidate.
“Keelon did a better job taking care of the football in the summer than he did the spring,” Grubb said.
Reporters were allowed to see three periods of Alabama’s Thursday practice, with no obvious signs as to which player might be leading the battle. In most throwing drills, Mack and Russell went at the same time.
Russell had a stronger showing than Mack during Alabama’s A-Day scrimmage to end spring practice, but Kalen DeBoer has said that Mack was dealing with an injury. Mack certainly has an experience advantage, entering his fourth year playing in DeBoer’s system, after following his coach to Tuscaloosa from Washington.
Mack served as Alabama’s primary backup quarterback last season. He played significant time in UA’s Rose Bowl loss after Simpson’s injury.
“Austin, I thought he was better on the run out of the pocket,” Grubb said of the senior’s biggest area of improvement. “I thought he really grew in that regard.”
Age and experience are the main advantages for Austin Mack. If Keelon shows the ability to make smart decisions, keeping him off the field is going to be very difficult.
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Grubb also spoke glowingly about forgotten man Danny Lewis.
“Our medical staff, from (trainer) Jeff (Allen) to our doctors, have been absolutely amazing,” Grubb said Thursday after the second practice of preseason camp. “And then you know Danny Lewis might be one of the best stories of camp. Just watching him and the resilience that kid’s had to be able to come back out and compete at this level has been, it’s really inspiring. I mean, for coaches too.”
The New Iberia, Louisiana, native has been with Alabama since 2022, making him one of the few remaining players who spent time under Nick Saban.
It would be great to see Danny overcome adversity to enjoy a big season.
Nick Kelly reported on what he saw from the QBs at practice, but it’s too early in camp to tell anything.
Are there colossal takeaways to be gleaned from this viewing period for the quarterback competition? Not really. We can’t see the reps in team drills or against defenses and the opportunities each quarterback gets. But it’s still interesting nonetheless to see the order the quarterbacks go through drills. It will be monitoring as camp goes on.
DeBoer/Grubb have never named a starting quarterback after a quarterback battle earlier than 19 days away from the opener. That was Ty Simpson a year ago. Michael Penix Jr. was named the starter at Washington 11 days before the Huskies started the season. Jake Haener was named the starter four days before the opener, but that season was a bit different considering it was 2020, the COVID-19 season. As of Thursday, the opener against East Carolina is 30 days away. The first scrimmage is one week away, and the second is two weeks away. Those would be 23 and 16 days before the opener, respectively.
Last, Nate Oats made it clear that his funds are tapped out regardless of the final court decisions around players who exhausted eligibility last season.
Oats was asked about his stance on Class of 2022 student-athletes gaining an extra-year of eligibility after a federal court ruling in Colorado on Friday, July 31, in another 247Sports article and said “… our money’s gone, so I’m not really going to do anything.”
In January, The Tuscaloosa News reported that the University of Alabama‘s revenue share contribution to men’s basketball totals out to approximately $2.9 million, or 14% of the $20.5 million required to be paid to student-athletes as part of the House v. NCAA lawsuit settlement.
“It’ll sort itself out eventually, but there’s definitely a big gap, even within conferences,” Oats said. “That’s probably the biggest thing. and then figuring out who’s eligible and who’s not and actually getting a real answer on who’s going to be able to play. Especially with the fifth-year thing, the foreign kids, the Euro League. We don’t have a great answer on who’s actually eligible to play college basketball.”
Who needs clarity?
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
