It appears as though senior reserve offensive linemen Evan Cardwell will be leaving the Alabama football team. That is according to an article over at AL.com by Gentry Estes.

This is not really a surprise. Even without knowing the extent of his back injuries, I guessed at the end of the spring that Evan would likely not be back. My hope is that he’ll take the medical hardship to let the football program pay for another year of his graduate school.

Look for a scholarship numbers update sometime in the next few days. Also look for more reports similar to this one.

I opened yesterday’s profile talking about players having roles. Maybe I should have saved that for today, because the next guy up has one role on this football team – rush the quarterback.

Eryk Anders – LB – #32 – 6-2 – 227 – 2VL – San Antonio, TX – Smithson Valley High School

Continue reading this post…

Every player on a football team has a role – run stopper, lock-down corner, big-play receiver. Even those guys that don’t see the field very much have a role, though scout team work is the least heralded of all roles. Every once in a while, though, you get a player who is able to fill several roles. And these are the players that tend to capture the imagination of the fans and become Tide legends.

Javier Arenas – CB/KR – #28 – 3VL – Tampa, FL – Robinson High School

Continue reading this post…

ESPN has interest in a 2012 Alabama versus Big 12 match-up in Cowboy Stadium. Kirby Smart dropped that hint Sunday night at an event in Rome, Georgia:

We have received a lot of great exposure with ESPN. They have actually a schedule for us to play in three years to play a Big 12 team in the new Cowboys stadium.

Very interesting. But who would the Tide play? Nebraska? Oklahoma!? Texas?!

Continue reading this post…

One of the many reasons why I hate overly criticizing a player in these profiles is that players develop at different rates. Some guys are able to set foot on campus ready to start, while others take a year or two to develop. Then there are guys who don’t make the serious step forward until their redshirt junior year.

That’s the case with today’s senior:

Justin Woodall – S – #27 – 3 VL – Oxford, MS – Lafayette High School

Continue reading this post…

On any football team there is typically a player (or two) that simply float under the radar of most fans. It is typically a guy who hasn’t played a ton, except for special teams, and isn’t very flashy when he does play. What he does do, however, is play fundamentally sound football and remain squarely in the center of the coaching staff’s radar.

That’s the case with today’s senior:

Ali Sharrief – DB – #26 – 5-9 – 205 – 3VL – Stevenson, AL – North Jackson HS

Continue reading this post…

This is no real shock, given the comments made by Mal Moore and Dr. Robert Witt on the day that the penalties were announced, but the Alabama athletic department officially announced that it would appeal the sanctions announced on June 11.

Interestingly enough, the appeal will not include the length of the probation or the fine of nearly $45,000. It is the vacated wins that the University is appealing, which should make our own Glen55 happy.

We’ll keep you updated when more happens.

Every year there is one player on the Crimson Tide football team that can do nothing right in the eyes of the fans. It doesn’t matter how hard they work, or how many times they do the right thing on the field. The fans have a slack of respect for that one player that simply defies logic. For several years Chris Capps had that unfortunate distinction.

Unfortunately our next senior now has to suffer the same:

Marquis Johnson – DB – #24 – 5-11 – 192 – 3VL -Moulton, AL – Lawrence County HS

Continue reading this post…

The move away from Jefferson Pilot/Lincoln Financial/Dave³ left many of us wondering… when will Alabama play? ESPN could probably have us play on Wednesday at midnight for the amount of money they’re paying, and there’s been no word if they’ll still schedule a late afternoon game and a prime time game (or two).

We know a handful of games already. We know that the Virginia Tech game will be a prime time affair. We know the Auburn game on the day after Thanksgiving will be at 1:30.

But what about the rest of the games? Continue reading this post…

Bert Bank is dead at age 94. Bank was a World War II hero, former state legislator, Tuscaloosa radio station founder and owner. He was a prisoner of war in the Philippines during World War II and survived the Bataan Death March.

Alabama fans of this generation will likely recall Bank as producer emeritus of the radio broadcasts. Bank founded the Alabama Football Network, and is one of the reasons we can all listen to the Tide on the radio today.

It’s a sad day for all of us who consider ourselves part of the Alabama family. It’s also a sad day for the country – we’ve lost a great patriot and businessman. He will be missed.