McElroy's leadership shines during crucial drive

TUSCALOOSA | While the University of Alabama offense waited to hear the results of a replay review last Saturday at Kentucky, Greg McElroy saw his chance.

The eventual 38-20 victory was anything but secure when the Wildcats defense stuffed running back Trent Richardson at the Alabama goal line, prompting a replay review of whether UK should be awarded two points for a safety.

With a one-point lead in danger of becoming a one-point deficit, the UA quarterback came a bit unglued.

'I told the guys, we were in our own end zone and they were reviewing whether the play was a safety or not, and I used some choice words to get those guys going because we were just in a lull in the first quarter and the start of the second quarter,' McElroy said. 'Guys were just kind of in a daze. People weren't even sweating, it seemed like. There was no sense of urgency.

'So I got on them a little bit there right before that long drive and I think that helped a lot. We just needed to wake up. That's just something we really needed to work on.'

Work it did.

McElroy found tight end Colin Peek for 21 yards and a first down to move Alabama away from its goal line, and 11 plays later, the Crimson Tide had completed a 97-yard touchdown drive that paved the victory. It marked the second time in as many games that Alabama has driven at least 97 yards for a touchdown, both feats coming in conference play.

'I think when you have those kinds of drives, it does take something out of the defense, physically and emotionally. Those are great drives,' UA coach Nick Saban said. 'There is a lot of discipline and execution to make those kinds of drives. I was really proud of what our offensive team has done in all three of those to get that kind of execution, but this one was big on the road.'

McElroy credited the UK defensive plan as part of the reason for the Crimson Tide's sluggish offensive start.

'They came out and did a couple things that we weren't expecting. They played some zone on first down, which was kind of a changeup, especially from last year,' McElroy said. 'They really were man across the board. We weren't expecting that. Credit to their defensive staff for putting them in position to make plays on us that we weren't really ready for.'

Facing Snead

A year ago, Alabama found itself in the position of defending Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead operating a two-minute drill with a chance to beat the Crimson Tide in the final moments of a 24-20 Alabama win.

Cornerback Javier Arenas, who was defending on the incompletion that ended Ole Miss' comeback bid, acknowledged Snead as one of the SEC's best.

'His ability is proven. His poise is, I think, what bumps him up with the best of the quarterbacks playing college football,' Arenas said. 'That's what a good quarterback has, he has poise. You look at Peyton Manning and all those other guys, they're not panicking or anything like that. They're just back there making plays and they know what they're doing. That has a lot to do with him being a great quarterback.'

Snead completed 16 of 31 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown against UK in 2008.

Tide Bits

Senior Cory Reamer practiced with the outside linebackers during individual drills on Monday, returning to the strongside position he held as a starter all of last season and most of this season until Dont'a Hightower was lost for the season to a knee injury. Reamer started at the weakside spot at Kentucky last Saturday and played the weakside for most of the Arkansas game in which Hightower was hurt. Saban said the coaching staff will evaluate the linebacker situation throughout the practice week, noting that UA will need to have 'the most physical players' on the field against the Ole Miss offense. ... Elsewhere at practice, defensive end Damion Square was on an exercise bike, joining his teammates for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury. ... Ole Miss is the most experienced team in the Southeastern Conference based on official two-deep depth charts. The Rebels feature 20 seniors, more than any school in the league, on the two-deep listing. … CBS exercised its six-day option for its Oct. 17 broadcast and will either choose Alabama-South Carolina or Arkansas-Florida. The decision will be made no later than Oct. 12. If CBS chooses UA-USC, Alabama will play at 2:30 p.m. If not, UA will play on ESPN at 6:45 p.m. … Rolando McClain was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his 12-tackle performance against Kentucky. UA players of the week as named by the coaching staff included McClain and Reamer on defense, William Vlachos, Mark Ingram and Darius Hanks on offense, and Arenas and Reamer for special teams.

Reach Chase Goodbread at chase.goodbread@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196