Five A-Day predictions revisited
Running back Lawrence Erekosima will lead the White team in carries
Friday's prediction: Never heard of Erekosima? As the next man up after White team running backs
Derrick Henry and
Kenyan Drake, you'll probably see plenty of the sophomore is a walk-on from Simpsonville, SC. In other words, I wouldn't expect to see Henry and Drake, who will likely be in a black, non-contact jersey tomorrow, piling up totes in the spring's final practice.
As for Erekosima, his measurables (5-foot-7, 175 pounds) and jersey number (43) will draw comparisons to Darren Sproles and Murry Hill. Beyond that, I've only seen him in individual drills, which he's navigates quite impressively. In last Saturday's scrimmage, he carried seven times for 29 yards. No reason to think he won't receive a similar number of opportunities on Saturday.
Prediction revisited: My guy Erekosima came up
just 14 carries short of Henry's totes total for the scrimmage. So, yeah, I missed that one by a good bit.
The good news for those in attendance was that Alabama went 1s vs. 1s for three full quarters, with Henry getting 17 touches in all. With a new starting quarterback to sort out and three new starters up front, the offense could definitely use the work and it got just that.
While the numbers didn't necessarily show it, I was encouraged by what I saw from the first-team offense in the running game. A Crimson team front seven working without
A'Shawn Robinson was still plenty formidable, but that didn't keep the White (first-team) offense from doing some good things on the ground.
There were a couple of nice runs by Henry between the tackles and another by Drake that may have gone the distance if not for his non-contact status, which allowed for defenders to touch him down. On the heels of some Sugar Bowl second-guessing, there were even runs called by offensive coordinator
Lane Kiffin on three third-and-2 plays -- all three of which Henry converted for a first down.
If anything, after watching the quarterbacks turn the ball over seven times (six interceptions and a fumble), I walked away thinking that the 2015 offense might have to operate a little differently than it did a season ago. Of course, that was the exact sentiment I expressed after last year's A-Day game and we all know how that turned out.
Regardless, there's a sense of security in knowing that Alabama can win with a more run-oriented approach if that's what the situation demands. Not that I expect Kiffin to give in to the thought of a ground-and-pound, but it's nice to know that Henry and Drake are more than capable of carrying the offense if needed.
Pass rush will have a big day
Friday's prediction: With a simple touch of the quarterback signaling the end of a play, the rules are in place to create a high number of sacks. That's all edge specialists like
Rashaan Evans,
Tim Williams and
Christian Miller need to pile up big numbers.
It's not like the inside guys need a lot of help, either. Even with
A'Shawn Robinson and
Jonathan Allen expected to sit out the scrimmage, defensive linemen
Jarran Reed,
DJ Pettway,
Dalvin Tomlinson,
Josh Frazier and
Da'Shawn Hand are all formidable pass rushers.
With those guys capable of causing problems for an offensive line in transition, outside of left tackle
Cameron Robinson, Alabama's pass protection might rank atop the concerns Crimson Tide fans have about their offense.
Prediction revisited: As expected, second-teamers Miller (two sacks) and Evans (sack) had their way at times with second-team (Crimson) offensive tackles. What was especially encouraging, though, was the manner in which Williams affected the game off the edge while working with the first-team defense.
You expected Williams to beat right tackle
Dominick Jackson -- and he did, blowing past Jackson to force a fumble by quarterback
Alec Morris in the second quarter. In beating Robinson for a second-quarter sack, though, Williams showed he's capable of having his way with an elite pass protector, too.
As for the protection UA quarterbacks received in the scrimmage, the offense came out of it the way it went in, feeling a tad unsettled about the prospects of its tackles not named Robinson. With that, expect to see more of the boot action Kiffin utilized early in the scrimmage. It's also another area where an effective running game can provide some needed assistance in slowing down the sack hounds UA will encounter in the fall.
We'll overreact to the play of the quarterbacks
Friday's prediction: Come Saturday night,
Jacob Coker will either be a front-runner for the 2015 Heisman Trophy or fourth-string on his own team. To be sure, there is no middle ground when it comes to fans and media evaluating quarterbacks in a spring game.
Did we learn anything from Blake Sims' transformation? Of course we didn't. Besides, when it comes to starting quarterbacks, especially those who have yet to prove themselves in the SEC, we love to eat our own.
For more proof, just look at Coker, who, despite not being enrolled at UA at the time, was the most popular Alabama player in the stadium at last year's spring game. Twelve months later, Coker finds himself in the same spot Sims was in a year ago.
Anything less than a spot-on performance from the senior, and the drum beat for freshmen
David Cornwell and
Blake Barnett will grow louder. It is, after all, what we do.
Prediction revisited: Coker did a lot of good things in the opening half. While the deep ball to
ArDarius Stewart for a touchdown was a thing of beauty, I was even more impressed by the patience he displayed in coming off primary receivers to connect with Foster (30 yard pickup on scrimmage's opening snap) and Stewart (third down conversion) in the first quarter.
Was he perfect? Not exactly. There were a couple of throws in the first quarter that were late and he was fortunate a pass he forced into coverage wasn't intercepted by
Dillon Lee. All things considered, though, it was the kind of start to the scrimmage he needed.
Unfortunately, the concern about Coker's ability to sustain performance cropped up early in the second half, as a poor decision led to a poor pass that was picked off by
Maurice Smith and returned for a touchdown. Even on a day when Coker's good moments outweighed the bad, it was the kind of play that keeps a competition alive. That said, I thought he did enough to maintain his status as the top option heading into the summer.
As for the other quarterbacks, Morris was the only signal caller to get through the scrimmage without a pick. He was also one of two quarterbacks who didn't throw for a score in the game, joining Bateman in that department. For me, Morris' value comes in his ability to get the offense through an injury situation over the short-term.
A lot of the focus heading into the spring's final practice was on Cornwell, the redshirt freshman whose candidacy seemed to gain some steam over the second half of drills. Like Coker, Cornwell was given ample opportunity to do his thing through the air. And like Coker, there were some highlights (touchdown pass to
Parker Barrineau) coupled with the kind of mistakes (interceptions on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter) that can kill a team's championship hopes.
Based on what we saw today, Kiffin will continue to put the quarterbacks in a position where they won't be overly stressed from a game management standpoint. Instead, as was the case with Blake Sims last season, they'll be able to play more and manage less.
Even with the turnovers, UA fans should feel better about where their team's quarterback situation sits today compared to a year ago. The question is, what is the ceiling for Coker, Cornwell and the others between now and August? It was there where Sims' strides took Alabama from a potential contender to playoff participant in 2014.
Secondary will show signs of improvement
Friday's prediction: Given the way the 2014 season ended, how could it not, right?
The move of
Eddie Jackson from cornerback to safety has drawn positive reviews. Freshman
Ronnie Harrison and sophomore
Laurence Jones have been impressive as well and having veteran voices like Jackson and
Geno Smith on the back end should prove to be a good thing.
At corner, Jackson's move paved the way for Tony Brown to cement his status as a starter.
Bradley Sylve looks to be the third corner at this point, with
Marlon Humphrey and
Anthony Averett up next. Considering starter
Cyrus Joneshasn't practiced this spring, that's a pretty solid group. And more five-stars are on the way.
Prediction revisited: On a positive note, I liked the way the linebackers and secondary responded to throws in front of them. It's that whole deep ball thing that continues to be a bit of an issue.
Understanding that
Cyrus Jones will be back in August, there's still plenty of reason for concern back here. And most of them reside with the safety and the sub package roles.
Star defensive back
Maurice Smith had a solid second half, including the interception return for a score, but he was also beaten for a couple of big plays. If you and I saw Stewart and Foster running away from Smith, I'm pretty sure future opponents did as well.
Meanwhile, competition at safety would seem to be anything but over. There were some takeways produced by players at those spots, but I'm not sure if they had more to do with good safety play or poor quarterback play.
Inaccurate throws in the middle of the field at this level are gimmes and that's what we saw on picks by
Jabriel Washington, whose theft came on almost the same spot on the field that he intercepted Florida's Jeff Driskel last season, and
Ronnie Harrison.
I did like what I saw from the corners, especially
Marlon Humphrey. The redshirt freshman showed some physicality, both against the run and pass. His interception in the fourth quarter was nice but his leaping pass breakup a series later was even better.
The Crimson team will eat steak
Friday's prediction: As far as exercises in futility go, trying to pick a winner in this "game" ranks alongside betting on the Pro Bowl. After a solid quarter or so of 1s vs. 1s at the start of each half, it will likely become a hodgepodge of backups and personnel combinations you won't see once the season rolls around.
If forced to make a pick, though, give me the squad that features the strength of this team: the first-team defense. In front of the smallest A-Day crowd of the
Nick Saban era,
Reggie Ragland and the rest of the Crimson team will eat steak for the first time since 2011.
Prediction revisited: I went with the starters, but you've got to hand it to the second-team defense, whose stat line included four interceptions, five sacks and minus-16 yards rushing for the Crimson offense. Those kind of numbers will typically keep a team in steak. I say throw in some lobster tails while we're at it.
Considering the depth this team has on the defensive side of the ball, we probably shouldn't be all that surprised. And that's why the play of the first-team offense should also be considered a good thing.
Coker's pick six aside, it was a solid day for an area of this team widely considered to be the weakest link. While we already knew what to expect from Henry and Drake, we saw some things from Foster and Stewart to suggest the Amari Cooper hangover might be survivable.
There are enough pieces on hand -- combined with a few more on the way -- to field an offense capable of putting up respectable numbers in 2015. Comparable to last year's record-setting unit? No one can say for sure right now. If last year taught us anything, though, it's that it wouldn't be wise to discount the possibilities
