Saban wants Tiffin to have assassin's mindset

What do Alabama kicker Leigh Tiffin and an assassin have in common?

A lot, if you ask head coach Nick Saban.

"[The kickers] are going to go in for three or four plays in the game, almost like an assassin mentality. They have to focus on that one thing, they have to make it work. It's a little different approach," Saban said.

Obviously, it has been working for the sophomore kicker from Muscle Shoals. Tiffin has made his last nine field goals, including all four attempts in Alabama's loss at Mississippi State.

Tiffin said he had never heard the assassin analogy, but he now embraces it.

"He told me that I had to go out there and be able to hit a pylon from 50 yards away if that's what's asked of me," Tiffin said. "He said you've got to be like an assassin, ready at any time. One shot, one kill."

Though Tiffin has been on fire lately, the start of the season was a little bumpy. Tiffin started just 5-of-10, but when he trotted on the field in crunch time against Arkansas, things changed.

"The 42-yarder against Arkansas got me going," Tiffin said. "That really boosted my confidence ... That was a crucial kick in an important game. I don't think it mattered who we were playing."

Since that kick, Tiffin has made 16-of-18 field goal attempts, including bombs from 50 and 51 yards against Mississippi State. With that feat, he joined his dad, All-American Van Tiffin, as the only Alabama kicker with two 50-yard field goals in one game.

On the hottest streak of his career, Tiffin is poised for an assassination of the Alabama record books. With 21 made field goals, he is just three short of tying Phillip Doyle's record of 24 in 1990. He is also just seven points shy of Doyle's points record of 100, which was set in 1989.

Tiffin leads the SEC with 2.10 field goals per game and is third nationally. At 9.3 points per game, he is fourth in the SEC and 22nd nationally.

Textbook suspensions still in the air

Saban said Wednesday there was still no ruling regarding the suspensions of the five Alabama football players. He said there could be a decision by the end of the week.

"I've been told that we may get some indication by the end of the week, but I don't know that for a fact either," he said. "I hope that if they're going to play in the next game, we'd know some time before the game."

Antoine Caldwell, Marlon Davis, Glen Coffee, Marquis Johnson and Chris Rogers were suspended before the Tennessee game for violation of institutional policy regarding textbooks.

The five players have been suspended since that game, pending the outcome of a University-wide investigation.

Injury update

Sophomore running back Roy Upchurch injured his shoulder during Alabama's game with Mississippi State, but he was back at practice on Wednesday.

Offensive lineman B.J. Stabler continues to battle knee injuries, but he did practice on a limited basis. Linebacker DeMarcus Waldrop has been sidelined with a groin injury.

Saban said the injured players were all day-to-day, but Waldrop has shown the least amount of progress.