10 takeaways following Alabama's 2018 A-Day
10 takeaways following Alabama's 2018 A-Day | BamaInsider.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — This was the type of A-Day Alabama fans are used to. A year after an unusual offensive outburst, Saturday’s scrimmage stuck to the typical script — a tough-nosed defensive display accompanied by a few timely big plays.
A pair of redshirt freshmen shared co-MVP honors as quarterback Mac Jones and kicker Joseph Bulovas both had big games. Although, the story of the day came from Alabama’s defense, which tallied a combined 13 sacks and held the offense to a combined 618 yards, down from 730 yards last year.
Ultimately, that allowed the first-team defense to propel the Crimson team to a 24-12 victory over the White team, which was led by the first-team offense.
“All in all I feel pretty good about what I saw out there today,” head coach Nick Saban said. “We obviously have some areas of our team that lack depth, so we’re going to either fix those with players coming in or to improve the players we have. That’s the only options that we have and that’s certainly what we’re going to try and do.”
With that in mind, here are a few things that stood out on A-Day:
Jones is ready for the next level
Might there be another name to add to Alabama’s quarterback battle? Probably not, but that doesn’t take away from Jones’ performance on the day. Jones completed 23 of 35 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, including a nice 46-yard strike to Xavian Marks on his final pass of the scrimmage.
The quarterback competition this fall will still be between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, but it’s probably time to start strongly considering Jones as an important factor in Alabama’s offense moving forward.
“We’ve always known that we had a lot of guys that can play that position at a high level,” running back Damien Harris said. “No disrespect to anybody, but a lot of the talk has been about Jalen and Tua. One thing me and [Jones] have talked about is ‘Just every day, go to work.’ You’ll have the results you want if you keep working hard and keep pushing. … I think he went out there and proved today that he can play. He’s a guy that should be talked about with our first two quarterbacks. Hopefully, he’ll start getting the recognition he deserves.”
Hurts appears to be regressing
Saturday was supposed to be the reemergence of Hurts as a passer. With Tagovailoa sidelined due to a broken bone in his hand, the door was open for the returning starter to steal the show.
Earlier this spring, Saban praised Hurts, stating he was more confident and more polished going through his progressions in the pocket. It was hard to see much of that at all on Saturday as he completed just 19 of 37 passes for 195 yards with an interception while failing to lead the first-team offense to the end zone.
Following the scrimmage, Saban said he wasn’t disappointed with Hurts and pointed out that the quarterback was going up against Alabama’s first-team defense and had a tougher task than his co-MVP counterpart.
That’s true. It’s also true that Alabama has one of the best defenses its offense will see this season. However, it still doesn’t take away from how bad Hurts was on the afternoon.
The two-year starter looked lost at times, appearing far less composed than Jones, who sat out last year during his redshirt season. Hurts' best play came when he connected with DeVonta Smith for a 59-yard pass in the fourth quarter. However, that was more of a testament to the receiver's ability as Smith fought off double coverage to pull in the catch.
Hurts has the rest of the summer to improve on his passing and will have another chance to impress coaches this fall as he battles with Tagovailoa for the starting role. Although, no matter how you spin it, Saturday was a wasted opportunity.
Things are looking up in the kicking game
It’s going to take a while for Alabama fans to truly trust the kicking game again. Andy Pappanastos’ missed 36-yard field goal at the end of regulation during last season’s national championship game still plays on a loop in many fans' minds every time the Crimson Tide lines up for a kick. However, Bulovas is doing his best to change that.
The former No. 1 kicker in the 2017 class connected on 5 of 7 field goals, including a long of 48 yards. Both of Bulovas’ misses came from more than 40 yards out (43 and 47). While there’s still room for improvement, Saturday’s showing was a sight for sore eyes.
“He’s done a nice job all spring long,” Saban said. “I was encouraged by how he did all spring long. He showed good consistency in scrimmages and in practices.”
Of course, Bulovas and Jones shared more than just co-MVP honors. The backup quarterback also served as the holder during field goal attempts and made the kicker’s job a bit easier.
“Mac did a nice job and improved,” Saban said. “You have to have a quality hold to have a quality kick. That guy is counting on the ball being in a certain place and at a certain tilt. I thought that the holds were good today.”
Alabama’s pass rush is going to be deadly
Those 13 combined sacks are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Raekwon Davis. While the defensive end finished A-Day with eight tackles and two sacks, he came away wanting more.
“It was great, it could be better,” Davis said. “Just as a unit, as a whole unit we just need to come together.”
Davis was one five defenders with two sacks during the scrimmage, joining Quinnen Williams, Christian Miller, LaBryan Ray and Christopher Allen. So what could be better than that?
“About 10 [sacks],” Davis said with a smile. “That would be great.”
Wilson and Moses will Alabama’s next great tandem at inside linebacker
Alabama will be without two permanent team captains at inside linebacker next season. It hopes to replace them with a pair of former five-stars.
Dylan Moses and Mack Wilson might not have the same experience as departing linebackers Rashaan Evans and Shaun Dion Hamilton, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from their performances on Saturday. Moses led all Alabama defenders with nine tackles, while Wilson had seven tackles and two pass breakups, including a near interception of Hurts on the first drive.
Moses, a rising sophomore, and Wilson, a rising junior, have just two starts apiece to their names. However, the young defenders have already begun to take a leadership role inside of Alabama’s locker room.
“They definitely have been vocal,” Davis said. “They’ve just been going, been more consistent. Dylan, he’s a young guy, but he’s a great kid. He’s a baller, he’s a dominant player and he’s still learning.”
Alabama’s thin secondary passed the test
As Saban mentioned in his postgame news conference, Alabama didn’t even have enough scholarship players in its secondary to play two-deep in the scrimmage. Despite that, what was left of the Crimson Tide’s secondary held its own.
Cornerback Trevon Diggs finished tied for second on the team with nine tackles and intercepted Hurts to seal the win for the Crimson team, while safety Jared Mayden intercepted Jones in the second quarter and finished with four tackles. Safety Daniel Wright also had a good game, finishing with eight tackles and a sack. Shyheim Carter had six tackles out of the Star position, while safeties Deionte Thompson and Xavier McKinney also had six stops apiece.
Saban said the unit made a lot of progress this spring but noted Alabama will still need to develop depth. Fortunately for the Crimson Tide, it has four talented freshmen entering the program this summer.
Don’t sleep on Xavian Marks
While Alabama’s secondary was solid, it did give up a few big plays. One of those occurred late in the fourth quarter as Marks blew past his man, allowing Jones to hit him for a 46-yard touchdown. The catch was one of five the senior made on the afternoon as he finished with 85 yards.
Last season, Marks’ biggest contribution came as a returner as he returned 11 punts for 82 yards. The five-foot-eight receiver tallied only one reception for 24 yards. If A-Day is any indication, those numbers are set to increase this year.
Hometown hero
Jones will get most of the credit for the Crimson team’s victory, but the quarterback wouldn’t have been able to do it if not for running back Brian Robinson. Not only did Robinson lead his side with 26 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries, he was also Jones’ favorite receiver, pulling in six catches for 59 yards.
A Tuscaloosa native, Robinson has sailed under the radar in Alabama’s loaded backfield. However, that’s bound to change this season as the former four-star showed he can be a multi-dimensional threat.
Offensive line needs a little work
The flip side to Alabama’s defensive dominance up front was that its offensive line was unable to generate neither the power nor pass protection it would have liked to. On top of the 13 combined sacks, Alabama’s defense limited its running backs to a combined 125 yards on 35 carries, a pedestrian 3.57 yards per attempt.
While it wasn’t the best performance, Alabama’s offensive line still has time to gel as the Crimson Tide figures out the right combination of players up front. Starting right tackle Matt Womack, who missed the spring with a broken foot, will be back to 100 percent this fall and will join the mix in what will be a fierce competition for starting roles.
Don’t forget about the injured players
Speaking of injured players, Womack wasn’t the only notable player held out of Saturday’s scrimmage.
While Tagovailoa headlined the list on offense, Alabama was also without running back Josh Jacobs (ankle) and wide receivers Jerry Jeudy (knee) and Tyrell Shavers (foot). Tight end Miller Forristall (ACL) had one reception for 6 yards but was wearing a no-contact jersey. Alabama was healthier on defense but was without starting Jack linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee).
None of the injuries are thought to be longterm as Alabama is expected to enter fall camp 100 percent healthy barring any summer setbacks.
