CRIMSON TIDE NOTEBOOK: No move planned for Jimmy Johns

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked Wednesday evening about junior running back Jimmy Johns’ role on the team, and if a possible move to the defense might be in order.

Saban praised Johns’ effort on special teams, but indicated that a position change was not imminent.

“It’s not the right time to move someone to defense, it would be very, very difficult to teach him based on the fact that he’s not been a defense player before and it’s hard to teach players we have from week to week, different offenses that we see, different adjustments that you have to make,” Saban said.

Johns, who accumulated 293 rushing yards on 66 carries and scored one touchdown last season, has vanished from the offense the past two weeks. For the season, he has 13 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown, but hasn’t had a carry since Arkansas, when he took two handoffs for 1 yard.

“Jimmy works hard,” Saban said. “He has a good attitude about it. We do have a role for him, but because we don’t play regular people very much and use two tight ends a lot in the game, the fullback doesn’t have a significant role in our offense right now.

“The fact that we have three guys who have done a good job when they got their opportunity at tailback has limited Jimmy’s playing time. He’s a good pass-blocker and he’s done a good job when he’s played.”

Injuries and starters

Junior defensive end Bobby Greenwood (ankle) practiced with teammates Wednesday but was limited. Saban described his status as still questionable.

Junior tight end Travis McCall and senior Keith Brown, who both took shots to the head against Florida State, practiced and are expected to play against Houston.

Junior right guard Marlon Davis returned to practice after being excused due to a death in his family. A decision on whether he will start will be made later in the week.

Saban will also make a decision later this week on who will play at cornerback between junior Lionel Mitchell and sophomore Marquis Johnson when senior Simeon Castille slides over to be the fifth defensive back in obvious passing situations.

Nevertheless, both figure to see significant playing time as the coach estimated the Tide will be in either nickel or dime defense 70-80 percent of the game.

Tide-bits

Saban on Alabama ranking last in SEC sacks with five: “We’ve had pressure at times, we haven’t been able to finish. I think we’ve been fairly aggressive in terms of our approach to pressure. We haven’t blitzed a lot — blitz, blitzed, playing straight man coverage with no safety in the middle — but we do quite a bit of pressuring.”

Senior wide receiver DJ Hall said that Alabama was surprised by Florida State’s zone coverage, especially after most of the game film they studied was of the Seminoles in man coverage.

Hall on criticism from CBS television commentators, who suggested he didn’t go all out on a couple of plays against FSU: “I heard a few things, but outside of the team I don’t care what people say. Some of my teammates heard it and commented on it. They were, ‘Don’t worry about that, we know what you can do.’ I pretty much try and feed off it. You can definitely use it.”

Although former NFL running back Ricky Williams has applied for reinstatement after violating the league’s substance abuse policy for a fourth time, Saban said he has not heard from any teams asking for an endorsement or evaluation. “You know how I feel about the guy as a football player,” he said.

“That’s not his issue. His issue is not how he plays, not how he practices, what kind of a teammate he is, what kind of a competitor, none of that. The guy is A-plus, a very, very good player. His issues have all come externally in other areas that have affected his ability to be on the field. It’s really unfortunate.” Williams remains under contract with the Miami Dolphins, but his application could take two months to resolve.

Reach Christopher Walsh at christopher.walsh@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196.