Pinson Valley coach Sam Shade has some experience as a defender.
Shade helped Alabama win a national championship, was chosen in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft and played 10 seasons of professional football.
Would he love the challenge of trying to cover the Heisman Trophy winner, DeVonta Smith?
“At no point in my playing career – college or professional – would I have said, ‘Coach, put me in 6’,” said Shade on Sports Talk 99.5 FM on Mobile this week. “I could have said, ‘Hey, we’re going to double 6 coaches. I will play over him. ‘”
Shade, the coach of the year for the Alabama Sports Writers Association, Class 6A, after leading the Indians to a state title in December, watched Crimson Tide beat Ohio State on Monday night from the comfort of his own home. This has not diminished his respect for what his alma mater has achieved this year.
“I thought they did a great job all year, especially playing the SEC’s 10 regular season games, so being able to beat a really good team from Florida that had some really talented guys in different positions that gave them some problems with confrontation, ”he said. “So go to the playoffs and win. I take my hat off to them because I know what they’ve dealt with regarding the COVID protocols and not having their coach for a game – probably the biggest game of the regular season against Auburn. I know they went through a lot to win that championship. “
He was particularly impressed by Alabama’s attack and Smith’s game.
“He’s a special player,” said Shade. “I thought (former Alabama offensive coordinator / now Texas head coach Steve) Sarkisian all year round and especially the last few games did a great job of calling. I know that I and some of my employees wanted to go to Tuscaloosa and have a little chat with him. This is what you do out of season. But I told them that I don’t think we’re going to Austin. This is a little too far. “
While watching Smith, Shade said that he just does everything well.
“If you try to pressure him, he will do a great job coming out of the media,” he said. “If you play against him, he is such a good runner that he gets in and out of his stops so well. When you watch him, he understands very well what the defense is giving him – if they are in the zone, if they are in some kind of man underneath.
“He does all these things well and, obviously, he is very good after the capture. When you return the punt, you are definitely a guy who is good with the ball in his hands. He’s really hard to stop, especially with the way Coach Sarkisian moved him. “
Shade may be even more interested in Alabama next season. Her Pinson star this year, football candidate Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry, signed with Tide in December and is already in Tuscaloosa. McKinstry played both sides of the ball for the Indians, but he is likely to find a home in Alabama’s secondary school in the near future.
Hypothetically, how would he do if he had to try to cover Smith?
“He would probably need a few more seasons of nuts before covering 6,” Shade said jokingly. “There are people playing on Sundays next year that will have difficulty covering Devonta. He’s one of those guys that you really have to be in your game and really sound like your technique as a player to give yourself a chance to succeed against him. “