Adams: Croyle's challenge is staying healthy

You could imagine a huge "amen" from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa.

Alabama football seemingly hangs in the balance with every step Croyle takes. With him, the Tide might contend for the SEC West championship; without him ... well, you saw what happened last year.

The SEC coaches selected Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler as their first-team, all-conference quarterback. The SEC media chose Florida's Chris Leak.

But if every quarterback stays healthy, how could you take anybody over Croyle, who has a strong arm, a quick release and a soft touch?

Throwing the football comes easily for Croyle. Staying healthy is the challenge.

His football career has been marred by one injury after another, dating back to his senior year of high school in Rainbow City, Ala.

In 2003, his first year as Alabama's starting quarterback, he suffered a shoulder injury in his first game. The injury hampered him throughout the season.

Last year, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third game.

The Tide lost running backs Ken Darby and Tim Castille to injuries. But neither injury was as devastating as the one to Croyle.

The Tide had one of the best defenses in the country. It has a stalwart offensive line that kept the running game alive no matter who was handed the football.

But it could never make up for the loss of Croyle. Neither Spencer Pennington nor Mark Guillon was able to take the pressure off the running game or take advantage of a young, improving group of wide receivers. So the Tide finished 6-6 and wondered what might have been.

"When you lose your starting quarterback and have second- and third-string quarterbacks throwing to freshman wide receivers, you obviously have to do things differently," Alabama coach Mike Shula said.

"We really haven't been able to run the offense we want to run (without Croyle). With Brodie staying healthy, we feel like we can do that."

Croyle appreciates the concerns about his health, but can't always give a serious answer to a question that he heard "from 50 to 75 times a day" during the spring semester.

"How's your knee?" students and fans would ask.

"I don't think I'll be able to play again," Croyle would answer sometimes with a straight face.

"It depended on who was asking," he said. "Yeah, sometimes I told them I was kidding."

For the record, Croyle feels better than at anytime since his junior year of high school. Despite two knee operations and a shoulder injury, his throwing ability hasn't suffered. Last week, he threw the football 78 yards, he said.

Throwing isn't his only attribute.

"His personality for the position is so good," said Shula, who played quarterback for Alabama 20 years ago. "The bigger the situation gets, the slower his pulse gets. That's the kind of guy you want as your signal caller."

Croyle's demeanor has served him well during his comebacks from injuries.

"I never think about getting hurt," he said. "And I've never worried about previous injuries."

He still isn't a worrier, but he's approaching his senior season with more caution.

"My dad (former Alabama defensive end John Croyle) always taught me that you get every yard you can," said Croyle, who suffered last year's knee injury while running. "That's the way I've always played. Now, Big John has given me the OK to slide."

Alabama fans would say "amen" to that, too.

Next to "Roll, Tide, roll;" "Slide, Brodie, slide" should be the most popular yell in Alabama.

And Shula, who has lost 15 games in his first two seasons, should yell it the loudest.