I for one hope Croyle doesn't play this weekend and gets closer to 100% before the UT game....
Croyle 'doing a lot better' Tide quarterback glad he sat out victory against Southern Miss By C. Trent Rosecrans DAILY Sports Writer [EMAIL PROTECTED] · 340-2460 TUSCALOOSA - Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle was in uniform, practicing with the Crimson Tide football team Sunday. "I'm doing a lot better," said Croyle, the Tide's No. 1 quarterback. "We're going to take it day-to-day. I'm hoping to be out there (for practice) Tuesday and definitely hope to be out there Saturday." Croyle warmed up before Saturday's 17-3 win over Southern Mississippi but didn't play. Croyle and head coach Mike Shula said a decision on Croyle's status for this week's game at Ole Miss will be made later in the week. Croyle suffered a separated shoulder in the Sept. 27 loss to Arkansas. He was in for two plays the next week at Georgia. "It was probably (good to not play against Southern Mississippi)," Croyle said. "It was definitely good for my shoulder. It was probably good for my linemen, because they want to run the ball, and they sure got their wish." Even if Croyle doesn't play against the Rebels, Shula said the Crimson Tide would throw more against Ole Miss than it did in the 17-3 win over the Golden Eagles. "If the question is, 'Do we have to throw it more than seven times?' " Shula joked Sunday, " 'Yeah, we've got to throw it more than seven times." Three Southern Mississippi players - including the punter - threw for more yards than Alabama quarterback Brandon Avalos did. But Avalos didn't need to throw much as the Crimson Tide ran for 243 yards in the 17-3 win. "I'm going to keep practicing hard whether Brodie starts or not," Avalos said Sunday. "But I'm going to continue to prepare just like I did last week." Shula praised his first-time starter again Sunday. "I kidded about it - he played a lot better in his first playing time than I did in mine," Shula said. "He threw more than I did. He was a starter and I was up 40-0 (when I came in)." Shula's debut came as a true freshman in 1983 in the second half of the Crimson Tide's rout of Ole Miss. Although Avalos completed just three passes for 12 yards and an interception, the best statistic of the day was that the Crimson Tide had no offensive penalties. Shula was also impressed with some of the decisions his redshirt freshman quarterback made. "We had a pass, the third or fourth play of the second half, and we were going to take a shot (downfield)," Shula said. "We didn't protect it, and there was a guy coming not free, but close. Brandon avoided the sack and threw the ball away. There was nobody there, but he knew the (intentional grounding) rule. He did a nice job of keeping us out of a bad situation." Leave feedback on this or another story. ______________________________________________________ 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
