Ezell’s impression of Saban first uncovered here

Rob Ezell hams it up in California in this Daily photo by Gary Cosby Jr.

ESPN will take all the credit for televising Athens native Rob Ezell doing a spot-on impression of Nick Saban, but The Bama Blog wants a finder’s fee. It was here that Ezell’s talent was first discovered. Just see the story I wrote about the party trick published back in January:

Is it Ezell or Saban?

By Michael Casagrande
Sports Writer
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Rob Ezell’s talent is both a blessing and a curse.

Most players who can do a spot on impersonation of Alabama coach Nick Saban would keep that hidden, but this Thanksgiving, the backup receiver from Athens took center stage.

In Saban’s home.

In front of the coach.

Saban’s reaction?

“He took it all right,” a laughing Ezell said. “He said I did a pretty good job. Mrs. Terry (Saban), she really liked it. I didn’t want to do it, but Terrence Cody put me on the spot.”

Still, he was hoping to avoid the moment until Terry Saban, Nick’s wife, learned of the skill.

“I did it first when coach Saban was out of the room, but it was almost like a movie, he walked in right at the right time when I was in the middle of it,” Ezell said.

Cody, who called it “a real good Saban impression,” was never worried about the coach’s reaction. “We tried to get him to do it last year,” Cody said. “But he was scared, so we finally got him to do it, and it turned out good.”

See a little more of Ezell’s personality from Fan Day in these videos I shot of the new star and his film crew.  You might remember that third one since it made it into the broadcast.

UPDATE: Here is the video from the broadcast of Ezell’s impression.

Effort lacking in practice?

This is just a teaser to read more tomorrow, but after talking to three of the veteran players from the team this afternoon, nobody sounds happy with the effort shown in practice recently.

Greg McElroy, Dont’a Hightower and Preston Dial spoke about a passionate plea made by the vets to the rest of the team about stepping it up. It’s a typical situation experienced every year, McElroy said. But Hightower said this wasn’t something the 2009 Crimson Tide struggled with in the preseason.

Remember Nick Saban talked about his displeasure with the attitude he’s seeing. He’s referred to the “poor-me” feeling and the “whoa is me” sentiment after Saturday’s scrimmage.

Again, more about this will appear in Tuesday’s paper. Tune in for practice video later today.

On a side note, Athens (Ala.) product Rob Ezell got a shout out on the USA Today college football blog. Read it here. And watch a few videos of his dynamic personality on display here, here and here.

Rob Ezell becomes ESPN interviewer

Crimson Tide receiver and Athens, Ala., native Rob Ezell works with ESPN’s “Alabama All-Access” doing interviews during the autograph signing at at Fan Day on Aug. 8, 2010 in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Here’s a taste of his work first with Luther Davis.