The Alabama Crimson Tide begins the season without its Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. Can Alabama’s Trent Richardson carry the load? The AP explores that in this story.
From the AP’s story a few key quotes: “Everyone’s got to (step up), but we’re going to have the same roles,” said Richardson, who was already set to take over kick return duties. “He’s a great player, but I’ve been working all summer, all spring, and I know (Demetrius) Goode is ready too. We all need to be ready. We have to step up and play our roles.”
“I think he should be preseason All-SEC, All-American, All-Everything on every award, because he’s a great player,” Ingram said during preseason camp. “He’s explosive. He’s dynamic. He’s getting smarter as a student of the game every day.”
“It shows a great deal what our coaching staff has done in recruiting, and what we’ve been doing to sell this program to recruits,” center William Vlachos said. “We’re extremely fortunate that for Mark to go down — the heart and soul of our offense (who) won the Heisman Trophy last year because he’s the best player in college football — we’re fortunate to have guys like that behind him.” (read the entire AP report below)