Saban Sighting
Nick Saban visits North Forest’s football program
Edward McFarland
Jan 26, 2018, 11:55 am
Originally appeared on Vype.com
As a high school football player if there’s any college coach you want looking at you it’s Nick Saban.
After winning his sixth national championship a few weeks ago, he’s now considered arguably the greatest college football coach of all-time.
Saban came down to North Forest High School recently with his eyes set on junior offensive tackle Javonne Shepherd and sophomore receiver Demond Demas.
“Saban didn’t get to meet with them,” Clifton Terrell, North Forest’s head coach said. “But he told me that Alabama wanted to offer both of them scholarships.”
Saban’s time on North Forest campus was spent by watching film on Shepherd and Demas plus talking with coaches and the school principal.
The back story of Shepherd and Demas getting recruited by Alabama is that the two were brought to Saban’s attention from a new assistant coach that was once recruiting Shepherd and Demas from a different school.
The assistant coach saw Shepherd and Demas' talent at a football camp and has been trying to recruit them ever since.
Once the assistant coach made the switch over to Alabama, he kept urging Saban to take a look at the two players.
Other programs that have passed through North Forest recently have been Texas A&M and the University of Houston. Ole Miss and Tennessee are scheduled to come to the school in weeks ahead.
Though Saban was only offering Shepherd and Demas a scholarship it was definitely inspiring for the other players to see him on campus.
“I hope this encourages all the players to keep working hard,” Terrell said. “As coaches we’re just trying to keep them focus and make sure we don’t let them fail and do anything to lose the opportunities they’re being blessed with.”
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!