http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/sports/109333902223630.xml
The thin red line Tuesday, August 24, 2004 By THOMAS MURPHY Sports Reporter Here's a prime example of how suddenly Alabama's thin scholarship talent at any given position can be exposed in the course of a couple of days, or a few plays. Due to attrition at defensive tackle, sophomore walk-on Allen Long was forced to run some drills with the first-team defense late in Monday morning's practice. Grappling with the veteran interior offensive linemen alongside Long was Rudy Griffin, a junior from The Citadel who was just awarded a scholarship this fall. With 11 days remaining until the Sept. 4 season opener, it can't be encouraging to see most of the Crimson Tide's top defensive tackles nicked or hobbling. The Tide's defensive tackle dilemma actually began last week, when Justin Britt, who projects as an impact freshman, had a shoulder pop out of socket. Britt is not overextending himself in contact work in an effort to heal before the opener. In Saturday's scrimmage, Dominic Lee got tangled in a pile on a running play and came up with a gimpy left ankle, the same one he had surgery on in the spring. "My ankle was planted and Evan (Mathis) fell on it," Lee said. "It was just a freak accident, nothing I could control. I had a pre-existing injury in my ankle anyway." Lee was dressed Monday in an orange jersey, signifying an injured player, and was held out of practice as a precautionary measure. Then starter Jeremy Clark of Daphne began limping around again, forcing his removal from the work. Clark rolled an ankle last week and has battled cramps in camp. Anthony Bryant, a projected starter who has yet to work his way back into the top unit due to an abdominal strain, went down at the end of practice and did not return. Enter Long. None of Alabama's growing number of injured players appear lost for any great length of time but the onset of nagging injuries has emerged as one of the themes for Alabama's camp. Linebacker DeMeco Ryans is still wearing a protective boot on his sprained right ankle and he won't be back this week. "We'll see how he goes next week," Alabama coach Mike Shula said. "We're trying to get it to heal as quickly as we can." Ryans was a force at what was one of the Tide's deepest positions before his injury. "We'll see how it goes," said Ryans, who would not speculate on his availability against Utah State in the season opener. "I'm just taking it day to day." Now it appears the extra reps Freddie Roach was being given at outside linebacker make defensive coordinator Joe Kines look smart for his foresight. Roach and Theodore's Juke King split reps on the outside Monday. On the positive side, middle linebacker Cornelius Wortham (foot) and defensive end Todd Bates (stinger) were back at practice. Also, reserve linebacker Demarcus Waldrop returned from a concussion he suffered early last week. Fellow linebacker Terrence Jones (concussion) and safety Charlie Peprah (hamstring) might get the go-ahead to practice midway through the week. Receiver Tyrone Prothro also donned the orange after grabbing four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's scrimmage. "I've got a little ankle injury," Prothro said. "I've got to keep icing it and keep getting treatment. I just turned it over, so it's nothing too serious." ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP.
