Urban Meyer is not ready to write off Alabama passing game
Alabama‘s close-call win over Texas Saturday raised many questions regarding their roster, especially at the wide receiver position. Former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer talked about the Crimson Tide’s current receiving core following their week 2 matchup on the most recent episode of Urban’s Take with Tim May.
“I think they’re young, really talented receivers, I did some homework afterwards they’re really talented, they’re just young,” Meyer said.
Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young led a heroic end-of-game drive to steal the victory for the Crimson Tide, but there wasn’t an overwhelming strong performance at the wide receiver position, with running back Jahmyr Gibbs ending the game as their leading receiver with nine catches for 74 yards and a touchdown catch.
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Meyer spoke on the receiving pedigree Alabama has had during the Nick Saban era, and how it stacks up in comparison to what they currently have at that position this season.
“But you go back to Julio Jones, Amari Cooper who we faced in the big game and the Sugar Bowl,” Meyer said. “Then recently Jameson Williams, [Jaylen] Waddle, DeVonta [Smith] the Heisman Trophy winner, those guys were not good, they’re great and I didn’t see that. I didn’t see any greatness, I think it’s gonna come because they’re really young and talented.”
The bar has been set very high at the wide receiver position at Alabama, but Meyer believes that there is still time for their young, talented receiver core to fill the big shoes left for them.
It’s still too early in the season to etch in stone what Alabama’s passing game will look like for the remainder of the year, but there will definitely be added pressure on that group going forward, especially after their most recent performance and the lofty expectations that come with lining up out wide for the Crimson Tide.
Demarcco Hellams addresses added motivation by falling in the AP Poll
The Alabama Crimson Tide dropped in the most recent AP Top 25 Poll from No. 1 in the country to No. 2 following their narrow victory over Texas this weekend. Senior safety Demarcco Hellams was asked if the drop in the ranking would be used as motivation moving forward, and his answer probably didn’t surprise Alabama fans.
“No, self-motivation. We don’t need any motivation here, poll doesn’t matter to us, all that matters to us is going 1-0 every week. It doesn’t matter where you’re ranked until the end of the season so that’s it,” Hellams said.
One of the key’s to Alabama’s historic success under Nick Saban has been avoiding outside noise, which the head coach commonly refers to as ‘rat poison. Heading into the season as the No. 1 team in the polls was also viewed as rat poison according to edge Will Anderson, and it sounds like being leapfrogged by UGA and being No. 2 falls into the same category for the Crimson Tide.
Hellams had a strong performance last week versus Texas, leading the team with 10 total tackles along with a pass breakup and a tackle for loss. Despite his strong showing, the team as a whole had some struggles, as they were penalized 15 times for 100 yards and the offense struggled to get into and maintain a rhythm.
Thankfully for Alabama, some late-game heroics on their final offensive drive of the game led by quarterback Bryce Young and a clutch 33-yard field goal by Will Reichard with 10 seconds left in regulation lifted the Tide in a one-point victory. But they’ll surely need to have some stronger showings this season if they want to return to the top spot of the AP Poll in the future.