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Tide lineman Ross heating up(The Anniston Star Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 17--TUSCALOOSA -- David Ross can't stand the stuff. Pulled pork, ribs, brisket, name any barbecue item and Ross, Alabama's 6-foot-3, 295-pound offensive guard, cringes. Ross's father is a business partner with Jim N' Nicks, the popular barbecue joint, and since high school Ross has, at times, been force-fed the stuff. "I try to stay away from it now," Ross said, shuddering. "I am sick of it." Imagine that, an offensive lineman with an aversion to tasty food. Go figure. That is the one puzzling attribute to Ross, who has fit in nicely at both right and left guard positions for Alabama the past three weeks as the Crimson Tide has fought injuries on its offensive line. First, after left tackle Andre Smith went down with a strained knee ligament against Clemson, Ross came in at left guard when Mike Johnson moved to left tackle to replace Smith. Then against Tulane in the first quarter, Ross moved from left guard to right guard after Marlon Davis injured his hamstring. Ross then played right guard in Alabama's win against Western Kentucky. With all the uneasiness on the line, Ross has never looked out of place. Against Clemson, Alabama put together a scoring drive that took up 8:54 in the fourth quarter, which coach Nick Saban said, "took the air out of the ball." Then, Ross played well enough against Tulane to garner another start against Western Kentucky. Davis was healthy enough to play, but Saban had enough confidence in Ross to let Davis rest another week. "He played very well in the last game, much better in this game than last game and didn't play bad in the first game, so we feel good about him being our third guard right now," Saban said. "He certainly solidified that position by the way he performed the last two weeks." While Ross, a sophomore, had practiced well enough to bolster Saban's initial faith in him to play him against Clemson, it is his performances during the actual contests that have enabled him to gain more of Saban's trust. Saban said that in Alabama's victories against Tulane and the Hilltoppers, Ross' ability to read and react increased. This has ultimately led to his practices getting better. "It took a little bit of that game experience where he said 'OK, this is what I need to do,'" Johnson said. "He was doing well in practice, but after he got in the game, he saw what the game speed was going to be and said 'This is how (hard) I have to practice every day if I want to be out here.'" Ross came to Alabama in 2006, after a senior year at Homewood High yielded an undefeated state championship. He anchored the offensive line as the left tackle for a team that was considered one of the best in the state. That season, there were debates as to whether Ross' Class 5A Homewood team could have beaten Class 6A champion Hoover. "We had a good team," Ross said. "It definitely would have been a good game, a fun game." When he came to Alabama, Ross's high school glory days ended quickly, as he was redshirted. He then played mostly on special teams in 2007, waiting for his opportunity to see some action on the offensive line at game speed. After Smith's injury, that moment arrived, and at his current rate of improvement, it might stick around for a while longer. "Coming in as a freshman, the size and the speed and the strength, it is a huge adjustment," Ross said. "It definitely takes some time. But that is why you have to step up every day and get better." ------ TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama used a strange punt formation Saturday against Western Kentucky. The Crimson Tide normally leaves Javier Arenas back to return punts himself, but against the Hilltoppers he was joined by freshman wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones returned one punt for 10 yards and Arenas returned two punts for 38 yards. Western Kentucky kicked the ball low and from sideline to sideline, which prompted Alabama to use the extra punt returner as a safety blanket in case any kicks went awry. "We just wanted to get the ball fielded," Arenas said. "Julio's a great return guy, he's a great athlete, so why not have him out there?" So far this season, teams have refused to kick away from Arenas, who has a 23.1 yards per return average on nine punts. --TIDE STAYING HEALTHY: The Crimson Tide's health luck continued another day, with no significant injury issues as no players wore non-contact jerseys. The offensive line appeared to return to its former strength with Marlon Davis back at right guard. -- Josh Cooper About Josh Cooper Josh Cooper covers Alabama sports for the Star. To see more of The Anniston Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.annistonstar.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, The Anniston Star, Ala. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |