🏈 Fall Camp reports/articles/links

[planomateo]

="TerryP, post: 1041796, member: 12209"][sidenote] Kiffin has someone in the Athletic Department designing tweets for him now. [/sidenote]

Heard it was Saban

:rolf:

 

[TerryP]

 

[Tidestalker]

He has been working with the 1's this week. Bozeman has as well. Bozeman is one story I've found myself caught up in. At worst, he's the sixth man on the line. One thing that has caught my attention is he's not only flipping positions on the line this fall, he's also flipping coaches between Mario and Key.

[sidenote] Kiffin has someone in the Athletic Department designing tweets for him now. [/sidenote]




We've pretty well known that since spring, right? It's no secret that they were moving Evans to the inside, the question was who lines up with Foster in base and nickel. In the practice Saturday Evans was there all day. In the last two reports coming from the media periods, SDH was second in drill work (putting him with the 1's if history is an indicator.)

**In the practice Saturday the only consistent was Foster ... from base, all the way through the dime/rabbits package.

WR Foster. Again, why is everyone so quick to dismiss Stewart? It's an opinion, and I'm not saying it's a bad one. I am asking why?

Nickel: The only question left if who gets the nod at the opposite corner from Humph, right? I've maintained don't sleep on AA, everyone is seeing what potential there is in Sheffield, and I think it's safe to say hearing Mayden's name come up as often as it has ... well, can we call that one of the surprises of the fall?

I don't think it's as much about Stewart as it is Foster. Really intrigued with his physical ability. Kiffin also makes a good point:

As Kiffin said, Foster is a dynamic player who was on his way to having a breakout season prior to suffering the shoulder injury.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Foster, arguably the fastest player on Alabama's team, had 10 catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the first two-plus games last year.

"People forget," Kiffin said. "As great as Calvin Ridley was last year ... Calvin was actually backing Robert up last year until Robert got hurt."

 

[Tidestalker]

2nd practice update - Not much here

-- First off, this wasn't the most eventful of media viewing periods.

-- Linebacker Keith Holcombe was back working with the middle linebackers after he wasn't spotted in the morning workout.

-- Freshman receiver Trevon Diggs continued work with the safeties.

-- After going in pads in the morning, rules allow only helmets and shoulder pads for Part II of a double session.

-- Grad transfer receiver Gehrig Dieter had a nice one-handed, reaching-back snag of a deep pass from Cooper Bateman. He's known for athletic catches and he flashed a little of that Tuesday evening.

-- The weather was close to comfortable, though afternoon rain showers left the air heavy in the evening.

-- The Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers were among the NFL teams who had scouts on hand to observe.

Alabama practice report: News, notes from second workout of the day

 

[TerryP]

I don't think it's as much about Stewart as it is Foster. Really intrigued with his physical ability. Kiffin also makes a good point:

As Kiffin said, Foster is a dynamic player who was on his way to having a breakout season prior to suffering the shoulder injury.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Foster, arguably the fastest player on Alabama's team, had 10 catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the first two-plus games last year.

"People forget," Kiffin said. "As great as Calvin Ridley was last year ... Calvin was actually backing Robert up last year until Robert got hurt."

That's really making my point. Foster's return slides Calvin out to the other side now playing what's essentially the X receiver. A three man rotation with Foster puts him back to the Z on the other side. Calvin was playing that Z position last year and did well. Stewart learned to play that X position as the season went on especially with the getting off jams aspect a split end type of guy gets.

Now we're throwing Deiter in the picture. Where are they putting him? He's certainly capable of playing that slot, but can easily play that X that Ridley's been playing. Does Calving lose his spot in the rotation?

What the team come out four wide against USC.

 

[Max]

This is the time where things get physical as Alabama is working in full pads in preparation for the season. We have you covered with news, notes and video from both sessions.

Injury updates

• Freshman running back Joshua Jacobs was limited during the night session of practice. It was tough to tell exactly what was wrong with Jacobs, but he was limping and not participating in drills. Jacobs was not spotted during the morning session of practice.
• Quarterback David Cornwell (foot) was limited again on Tuesday. Cornwell tossed a ball around with a staff member while the other quarterbacks went through individual drills.

What we saw

• There were a few tweaks in the secondary when Alabama worked on its nickel package. The first group had Marlon Humphrey and redshirt freshman Kendall Sheffield at the corner spots with Minkah Fitzpatrick at star. Ronnie Harrison and Eddie Jackson were the safeties. What’s clear here is that Alabama is looking for that third cornerback to come in for nickel situations so they can slide Fitzpatrick inside to take advantage of his versatility.
• The second group had freshman Jared Mayden and Anthony Averett at cornerback, with freshman Shyheim Carter at star. Hootie Jones and Tony Brown were the safeties. Freshman Aaron Robinson (cornerback) and Deionte Thompson (safety) checked in as a part of the third group. Alabama coach Nick Saban got onto Thompson when he didn’t execute the drill properly.
• Another note on Carter: He and Fitzpatrick appear to be the only two players working at both star and cornerback.
• Freshman Trevon Diggs wore a Crimson jersey and worked exclusively with the safeties again. Diggs worked at both wide receiver and safety during Sunday’s open practice, but it appears the coaching staff likes him more on defense at the moment. Diggs shadowed Eddie Jackson, and also received extra coaching from Saban. Alabama has a lot of depth at receiver and not much at safety.
• The first offensive line group had Cam Robinson at left tackle, Lester Cotton at left guard, Ross Pierschbacher at center, Bradley Bozeman at right guard and Jonah Williams at right tackle. Outside of possibly moving Alphonse Taylor in at right guard once his suspension is lifted, this may be the line we see start against USC.
• Taylor worked at right guard with the second group. The rest of the unit had Matt Womack at left tackle, Brandon Kennedy at left guard, J.C. Hassenauer at center and Korren Kirven at right tackle.
• Linebacker Kieth Holcombe missed the early session, but was participating in drills during the night practice.

https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/...n-rb-and-more-from-1st-two-a-day-of-fall-camp

 

[Tidestalker]

Sounds like much of the same.

I can see why they moved Diggs to safety. Hopefully by the end of the year he finds a place to stick at. Loved his WR tapes in HS

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Tuesday Evening practice, Jones:

Alabama was in shells for the second practice of the day after working in full pads this morning. This is the first of 3 scheduled two-a-day practices.

• Trevon Diggs continued to work at safety, as he did this morning. He was at wide receiver earlier in camp, so this is something we'll keep an eye on.
• Keith Holcombe was participating with the inside linebackers and looked fine. Some other reports said he didn't go this morning (I didn't notice). Wouldn't think there's anything to be worried about.
• The inside linebackers were working on some basic gap assignments, lining up and running to the correct hole between some garbage cans that were set up.
• There are a bunch of TEs out there. I counted 9 guys in that group including an H-back or two. A bunch of walk-ons and TEs are one of the body types that can contribute on special teams, but that's a lot of guys. Just something I hadn't paid attention to until today.
• Gehrig Dieter had a nice one-handed catch. I think right now the 3 best receivers on the team are Ridley, Foster and Stewart, but it'll be interesting to see if Dieter can work his way into that group, starting with the scrimmage this weekend. With O.J. Howard as well, I don't see a lot of 4-WR sets this year, so there's the possibility someone is left out. But there might also be a situation like last year where Foster was hurt, so you never know. There's a lot of depth at receiver, which is always a good thing.
• They're known to sometimes wait until after the media leaves before switching jersey colors, but no one in a noncontact jersey yet. They've only done a couple of practices in full pads and the first scrimmage is on Saturday, so we'll keep you updated on injuries as we can.

That's all for today. Nick Saban speaks tomorrow after practice.

 

[18Champs]

Alabama’s players returned to the practice field Wednesday afternoon after its first two-a-day practice for its eighth session of fall camp. The Crimson Tide practiced indoors and in full pads on a mostly-cloudy, 88-degree afternoon.

Here are several tidbits from the Crimson Tide’s second Wednesday practice in Tuscaloosa:

- Freshman running back Joshua Jacobs appeared to be limited for a second consecutive day, as he stood at the back of the tailback line during the two viewing periods. Walk-on Derrick Gore was also missing from practice again.

- Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris led the running backs through individual drills inside the indoor facility. B.J. Emmons, Avery Reid, Lawrence Erekosima and a new back wearing No. 47 made up the rest of the tailback line.

- As the players retreated to the indoor facility, we received our first look at the running backs. Strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran lurked around the tailbacks, attempting to punch the footballs from their grasps.

- The receivers spent the entire second period with the quarterbacks, breaking up into two lines to run routes. ArDarius Stewart, Cam Sims, Xavian Marks and T.J. Simmons made up one line, while Calvin Ridley, Gehrig Dieter, Derek Kief, Raheem Falkins and Robert Foster were in the other. Falkins did not participate in all of the wide receiver drills Wednesday.

- Toward the end of the viewing portion, the secondary appeared to line up in its dime package as Nick Saban and defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley looked on. Marlon Humphrey and Kendall Sheffield were the cornerbacks, Eddie Jackson and Ronnie Harrison were the safeties, Minkah Fitzpatrick was the Star and Laurence Jones was the Money.

- Freshman receiver Trevon Diggs continues to practice with the safeties, wearing a crimson No. 7 jersey.

- Inside linebacker Keith Holcombe was missing for the first viewing period, but he jogged onto the practice field and joined his teammates in individual drills with Jeremy Pruitt for the second of two media viewing periods.

- NFL scouts from the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers watched Wednesday’s practice.

*** What’s next: Saban will hold a post-practice press conference at approximately 5 p.m. CT.

Practice report: Alabama heads indoors Wednesday

 

[Tidestalker]

Video of Bo Scar and D Harris

See how RBs Scarbrough, Harris look during Alabama's fall practice

 

[planomateo]

 

[JoshB]

WR Foster. Again, why is everyone so quick to dismiss Stewart? It's an opinion, and I'm not saying it's a bad one. I am asking why?

I dont understand the question. For the past like 6-7 years you could consider 3 wide outs as "starters", OP even listed Stewart on his list. I'm not dismissing Stewart, I'm simply saying I think the three "starters" will be Stewart, Ridley and Foster.

 

[planomateo]

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Thursday Morning Practice, Ben Jones:
Alabama was in full pads this morning for the first half of its second two-a-day. The final one will be on Monday, before classes start on Wednesday.

• This is the ninth practice overall of fall camp out of 19 before game week arrives, so today is the halfway point. Still felt like the energy level was good and players were staying at a good effort level. There have been some days where Saban seemed really lit up, but for the most part it's been business as usual.
• I'd look to see more of Christian Miller this fall. Looked like he was working second string at outside linebackers and got a lot of praise from Tosh Lupoi. He could be due for an increased role.
• Not much new with the quarterbacks. I didn't see them throw with the wide receivers during the viewing period, though it may have been while I was with another group. They were throwing a lot to the tight ends this morning.
• The defense lined up for some passing drills with Reuben Foster and SDH at inside linebacker, with Marlon Humphrey and Anthony Averett at CB and Minkah Fitzpatrick at nickel. Eddie Jackson and Ronnie Harrison were the two safeties. It's still early, before the first scrimmage, but Minkah might be spending more time at nickel this fall than we anticipated in spring.
• As noted with that defensive group, we're starting to see the early parts of some groups lining up together and getting beyond the most fundamental position drills in practice. Should see more of that as scrimmages come and go and the season is closer.
• If it seems like a lot of the info we're giving you is re-hashed from previous days, bear with us. The first scrimmage on Saturday should provide some illumination and some movement in the order guys are working in. Until that first scrimmage, it's just not normal to see big moves made in practice.
• Scouts from the Titans, Redskins, Panthers and Texans were all at practice.

Second practice begins later this evening. Should have notes some time after 8:00 from Aaron.

 

[Tidestalker]

Practice report from al.com
Alabama practice report: Notes on Tide nickel defense

Alabama had its second two-a-day of fall camp Thursday.

Here are some notes from the portion of Thursday night's practice that was open to the media:

— After participating in position drills, cornerback Marlon Humphrey wasn't present once Alabama started working on its nickel defense. With Humphrey not out there, the two cornerbacks were Minkah Fitzpatrick and Anthony Averett. Eddie Jackson slid down from safety to nickel back. Ronnie Harrison and Hootie Jones were the two safeties. Reuben Foster and Rashaan Evans were the two linebackers.

— The second-team nickel defense consisted of Kendall Sheffield and Aaron Robinson at cornerback, Shyheim Carter at nickel back, Tony Brown and Deionte Thompson at safety and Shaun Dion Hamilton and Keith Holcombe at linebacker.

Never thought about using Eddie Jackson as the Star, but it makes a lot of sense! That position plays the run a little more than outside CB, and he's physical as hell. Has a ton of experience as a true CB from his first 2 years. Not sure if he's quick enough for some of the little slot receivers but that vet experience goes a long way. Tons of length too. Good option if Minkah/Avarett/Sheffield go down.

This also brings a few things to mind - First, Saban values the Star position... Got to be special to play that in his D (Which says a lot about Minkah winning the job as a freshman). But it also seems like a positive that for Hootie Jones that he would slide him into Eddies spot over a handful of other options... Including leaving Eddie at safety. Maybe he's making some strides.

If that's not over analyzing one practice drill I don't know what is! LOL. Slow night... RTR!

 

[Tidestalker]

"QB Stock Report" Breakdown from al.com

Who will be Alabama's starting quarterback? Stock report on top three candidates

 

[planomateo]

"QB Stock Report" Breakdown from al.com

Who will be Alabama's starting quarterback? Stock report on top three candidates

I just watched that and I'm wondering what the point of that was. :headscratch:

 

[Tidestalker]

I just watched that and I'm wondering what the point of that was. :headscratch:

Mee too... I posted the link before I watched it. WTF was that lol

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Thursday evening practice report, Suttles:

Not a lot new to report from the second two-a-day of fall camp. But here are a couple of things I noticed.

Marlon Humphrey didn't participate in the drills during the media viewing period. An Alabama spokesperson said they absence had nothing to do with injury. I don't think there is a major issue here, so don't panic.

Keith Holcombe was back with the middle linebackers after not being seen at the last couple of practices. He didn't appear to have an injury, so take for what it's worth.

Speaking of middle linebackers, the group worked out in the following order: Rueben Foster, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Rashaan Evans, Keith Holcombe, Keaton Anderson, Joshua McMillon, Ben Davis and Mack Wilson.

 

[T&B]