Slim pickins

TUSCALOOSA | It was relief. It was exuberance. It was a bit of a long time coming.

But technically, it wasn’t what senior cornerback Simeon Castille was supposed to do. When a team throws up a jump ball in the end zone with the game on the line, usually the correct play for a defender is to knock it down — not try and grab the pass because it leaves the offensive players a chance to steal it away.

Oh well.

“No one said anything to me about catching it, so I guess I’m in the clear,” Castille said after making the clutch interception against Houston to close out a 30-24 victory Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“[Freshman tight end Wesley Scourten] was in front of me, I guess he went up for it and I was able to take it away from him,” he added. “I don’t know.”

Of course no one was complaining since Castille came down with the ball with no time remaining on the clock. But what surprised many fans wasn’t that he had made another outstanding defensive play for the Crimson Tide, rather it was his first interception of the season.

This time last year, Castille already had three of his six picks, en route to being named first-team All-SEC.

So what’s wrong?

Nothing.

“He hasn’t had the opportunities to do it,” said coach Nick Saban, who also quipped at the question, “I’ll meet with the quarterback from Ole Miss and ask him, ‘Will you throw the ball to Simeon?’”

Statistically speaking, Castille’s other numbers are similar to what he did last year. He’s averaging 5.2 tackles per game (5.6 in 2006), including three for a loss (he had 4.5 all of last season), and has broken up four passes (he had six last year).

That’s despite having a new coaching staff and scheme, not to mention seeing each of the last four games essentially come down to a final play.

“It’s kind of different because it’s a different defense, but I’m basically doing the same things: coming off the edge, covering the slot receiver most of the time,” Castille said. “That’s pretty much it and we have a few different coverages this year than what we ran last year.

“I wouldn’t say that they’re throwing away from me at all, but I would say I haven’t had as many opportunities as what I had last year. But I definitely don’t think teams are going, ‘Oh, that’s Simeon, we’re going to throw at him.’ I think it’s just the way things are going.”

But teams do remember, and are attacking Alabama’s other cornerbacks more (with some success). For example, last year Castille had two interceptions against Vanderbilt. During this season’s match, the Commodores threw in his direction six times, with three incompletions and the other three underneath the coverage for a total of 24 yards.

Castille’s chances for an interception in that game? Virtually none.

“Nobody should be impressed with interceptions anyway,” Saban said. “You make interceptions when you have an opportunity to make them, you know what I mean?

“It’s just like a batter [in baseball]. The guy doesn’t hit a home run for 25 at-bats, maybe he didn’t have any good pitches to hit. Simeon’s doing a great job for us. He’s playing great. He’s playing with as much consistency as anyone on our defensive team. He’s shown good leadership.”

Incidentally, against this week’s opponent, Ole Miss, last year Castille had 10 tackles, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.

The tricky part for a ball-hawking defensive back is when the game isn’t coming his way, not to press and try and force something to happen. That’s when mistakes usually happen, not to mention missed tackles, blown coverages, etc.

“I’m trying to not to,” Castille said. “I still just have to play my responsibilities. That’s what gave me the opportunities to make the plays last year, by doing the right things. Once you start trying to make the right plays, that’s when you’re going to get beat on slant-and-gos, and all that kind of stuff, when you start jumped at stuff that you normally wouldn’t. I just have to be patient, and it’ll come.”

Castille prophetically said that last Wednesday, which obviously turned out to be true on many levels against Houston.

“It was my last homecoming,” he said. “I wasn’t about to quit.”

Consequently, hardly anyone remembers the play in which Cougars senior Donnie Avery got a step on Castille, only to drop what could have been a big gain, or the two other balls thrown his direction for short gains (including an 8-yard slant). He finished with six tackles before making the play of the game, because he was in the right place at the right time when it mattered most.

“I’m glad it’s over with,” Castille said. “They had some speed that you couldn’t believe. [Anthony Alridge] and [Avery] are as fast as anyone we played.

“We just have to do better. I think we could have held them … well, I know we could have held them to a lesser amount of points. They’re a good offensive team, we just have to do better.”

But still, when Castille came down with the ball, and screamed in triumph before being mobbed by tired teammates, there was that moment of satisfaction, as if say, “See? Remember this?”

“I’m pretty sure it meant a lot to him,” junior safety Rashad Johnson said. “He’s a playmaker and he’s been making plays for us all year and he finally got his hands on the ball and a turnover. It’s just a big play for him.”

Rather, it was another on a long list of career big plays for Castille.

Tide-bits

As expected, senior end Keith Saunders and sophomore safety Ali Sharrief both wore black during practice Monday signaling no hitting. Saunders’ injury is considered the more serious, as he was on the exercise bike while Sharrief was working with teammates.

Judging by where players were lined up during the brief time period reporters were allowed into practice, sophomore linebacker Prince Hall might start again Saturday. He was paired with senior Darren Mustin, while true freshman Rolando McClain was working with senior Demarcus Waldrop.

Last Monday, junior Antoine Caldwell was at right guard in place of junior Marlon Davis, who was excused from practice to attend a funeral. This Monday, Caldwell was at left guard in place of senior Justin Britt, who was not on the field for the start of practice.

Although Castille’s interception sealed Saturday’s win, that honor should have gone to Johnson, who had the previous interception only to see the offense give it right back. “Oh man, I was excited to get it,” Johnson said. “I thought it was the game. I was joking with guys after the game and they were, ‘You should have scored and then it would have been the game.’ I tried.”

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

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