1^st quarter

14:42: Kirkpatrick burned on the first play of the game by Andre Dubose for a 65 yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game. Kirkpatrick played up close to the line in bump and run and Dubose just ran past him and a perfectly thrown ball by John Brantley found him for 6. Robert Lester, another potential first round pick on Alabama’s defense, didn’t give Kirkpatrick any help on that play. He needs to show better instincts on a play like that.

13:52: Trent Richardson breaks the first tackle and carries a pile with him for the first on 2^nd and 4.

12:43: Richardson finds some space and then drags some more guys with him for a 1^st on 2^nd and 7.

12:21: Richardson on the outside here and almost picks up another first down. 2^nd and 1.

11:30: Richardson finds the hole and has another first down run. He’s keeping them efficient and moving the chains for them.

10:36: Richardson runs for another first down. He’s facing stacked boxes and he’s still running well. He doesn’t go down on first contact ever, he drags guys with him, it’s as if he tackles the defense, and he has a nose for the first down. 35 yards on 5 carries on this first drive.

8:01: Robert Lester can’t cover a guy on a deep crossing route. I’m not spotlighting him, but I will be commenting on a lot of guy I’m not spotlighting because of how many NFL prospects are on the field right now.

5:28: DuBose blows past Dre Kirkpatrick again in the end zone. DuBose can’t control the ball and the play is overturned on a replay. Nonetheless, it wasn’t a very good play with Dre Kirkpatrick. He got lucky.

5:22: Kirkpatrick rebounds. He just muscles the receiver out of bounds and out of the play. Great job of establishing position and rendering his man useless.

5:04: Marquis Maze had a punt return last week. This week he has an extremely impressive looking kickoff return. He breaks several tackles and blows past several other guys. 70 yards. He’s also their leading receiver with 20 catches this year, taking over the #1 receiver role from Julio Jones, though he does have a drop in the end zone today. His stock is on the rise as a return man/receiver.

4:54: Richardson cuts to the outside, armbars one guy drags another for a 9 yard run on first down.

4:20: Richardson finishes what he started, running for the first on 2^nd and 1 for a few. He has all 5 Alabama first downs today. He has 7 carries for 49 yards.

3:41: Richardson stuffed at the line. That doesn’t happen often. It’s worth noting he fought and it took multiple guys to do it.

2:38: Richardson gets low, bowling through the line and breaks another tackle for a 6 yards on 1^st down.

2:14: Richardson breaks a couple tackles in the backfield, goes to the outside and is almost able to power his way for the 1^st, but the play is called back on a holding penalty. 3^rd and 14. The hold is on William Vlachos, a potential day 2 pick at center.

1:48: Maze makes up for that dropped touchdown earlier, Maze makes things happen on a wide receiver screen and is stopped just short on the end zone on the stretch. First and goal on the 1.

0:56: Richardson is targeted on 1^st and goal, but he’s blanketed by double coverage and the pass is incomplete on a deflection out of bounds.

0:52: Richardson runs for the touchdown from the 6 after a penalty. He emerges from the pile and then it was nothing but the punch in. All tied at 10-10. Excellent block by a potential day 2 prospect Barrett Jones on the play. Jones is Alabama’s left tackle, but is probably a guard at the next level. He has an awesome run block here to bulldoze a hole for Richardson.

2^nd quarter

14:18: Chris Rainey is one of the fastest guys in college football. Courtney Upshaw doesn’t seem to care. He tackles him in the backfield for a loss of 5 or 6 yards.

12:57: Courtney Upshaw with the pick 6. 17-10 Alabama. Brantley pretty much just threw it straight to him. Just when I thought maybe Brantley was deserving of a spotlight at a later date. As for Upshaw, the versatile linebacker should be a first round pick by a 3-4 team looking for an outside/rush linebacker.

12:07: Demps tries to run to the outside. Kirkpatrick chases him, throws off a block and tackles him. Demps is very fast. Kirkpatrick is just as fast and delivers a huge hit on him.

11:11: Florida throws complete short to Jeff Demps. Kirkpatrick’s closing speed is amazing. The Demps has space when he caught the ball. A split second later, Kirkpatrick has him on the ground with a huge hit. Keep in mind, Demps is very fast.

7:29: Richardson back into the game after taking a series off. He gets a small gain, tries to spin off for more, but is stopped for about 2 yards.

6:17: Richardson stuffed for a short gain again on 1^st down.

5:31: This looks more like Richardson. On 2^nd and 9 he powers his way to near the first down.

4:36: Richardson with another small gain on 2^nd and 10.

3:54: Alabama quarterback McCarron under heavy pressure, checks down to Richardson who takes the catch 22 yards. Just for good measure, he once again did not go down on first contact. Actually he didn’t go down at all. He was just pushed out, but not taken down.

3:18: Richardson takes the goal line carry from about 5 yards out and almost punches it in.

0:40: Upshaw is doing everything. Now he has a sack. He’s having a very impressive game matched up with Xavier Nixon, a potential 2^nd or even 1^st round pick should he declare this year as a true junior.

 

3^rd quarter

14:49: Pass incomplete and inaccurate to Trent Richardson.

14:41: Richardson on the run to the outside. Solid gain and again, doesn’t go down on first contact. I want to see him break one soon. The defense is getting tired.

14:05: Doesn’t break one, but Richardson is able to convert for yet another 1^st down.

13:00: Richardson on another short gain.

12:03: Richardson taken down by multiple guys in the backfield. This is rare.

2:47: Richardson back in the game and stuffed by multiple guys in the backfield. That’s on the offensive line.

1:40: Richardson bounces back with a nice 5 yard run. Still want to see him break one. He hasn’t done that much this year at all. In 4 of his 5 games, his longest run has been 31 or fewer yards. The only exception was against lowly North Texas.

0:53: Richardson with his longest run of the night, a powerful 17 yard run. Florida’s defense has to be getting worn out trying to tackle this guy. I want to see how he abuses them in the 4^th quarter.

4^th quarter

14:08: Richardson pounded in another short first down.

13:55: Richardson on a pass catch. He hasn’t had as many of those tonight as he normally has.

12:25: There we go. Richardson abuses a tired and confused Florida defense for the 36 yard touchdown. 26 carries for 155 yards and a score, with 2 catches for 27 more yards.

10:03: Richardson takes a direct snap for 5 yards on 1^st and 10.

9:20: Richardson fighting his way for the first on 2^nd and 5, again out of the wildcat. It looks like he’s now been taken out of the game leading 31-10. 181 yards and a score on 29 carries.

8:45: Richardson’s backup Eddie Lacey hasn’t done much today. Now he scores on about a 20 yard touchdown.

0:00: Trent Richardson is the real deal. He’s a true 3 down back. He’s got the whole package. He’s one of the most physical runners I’ve seen in the college game, but he’s got the ability to get to the outside when he needs to and he picks his spots well. He’s got great vision and patience and he can pass catch. He’s more of a grind it out back, but he’ll keep the chains moving for you and though he doesn’t have excellent breakaway speed, he’s definitely got the ability to take advantage of a tired defense in the 4^th quarter after he’s worn them out for the first 3. He’s in great shape and doesn’t get winded and can carry a 300 carry load.

With 622 yards and 10 touchdowns on 96 carries, he’s definitely a Heisman candidate and could be the favorite should Alabama run the table and make it to the National Title game. He’s also caught 11 passes for 148 yards and another score and this is all in 5 games.

As for Kirkpatrick, I didn’t come away convinced he was the best cornerback in this class. Stephon Gilmore had a better spotlight game against Vanderbilt and Morris Claiborne is a rising prospect. This game didn’t give us a lot of tape on Kirkpatrick because Florida struggled at quarterback after John Brantley went down, but Kirkpatrick was burned on the first play of the game and could have given up a 2^nd score had the receiver held onto the ball. He doesn’t seem comfortable in bump and run. He’s a great track athlete, but he’s more straight line fast than anything. He’s stiff in backpedal and doesn’t change direction well.

He might be more of a safety than anything. He’s a huge hitter at 6-3 195 and he’s so fast that he’s like a bullet coming at you. He closes well on receivers and plays best when he can play deep off the receiver. He’ll allow short completions and then close on you in a hurry and not let you get anywhere. Anyway, this game didn’t provide a ton of tape on him. Alabama has so many pro prospects that I’ll definitely be seeing more of Kirkpatrick this season, but for now, I’m not sold on him as the top cornerback in this class.

As for Alabama’s other pro prospects, the two linebacker Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw both had huge games. Upshaw had a sack, a tackle for loss of a speedy back, and a pick six, as well as 4 total tackles. He’s cementing himself as a first round pick and looks similar to another former Alabama linebacker Jarrett Johnson. Hightower, meanwhile, is finally healthy and showing the first round potential he’s always had. He had 4 tackles in the game to give him 29 on the season.

Robert Lester was once a first round caliber safety, but he’s not having a good season. After 8 picks as a sophomore, he has none this season and he showed poor instincts after Kirkpatrick was burnt on the touchdown. He didn’t help nearly fast enough. He might benefit from another year in school.