🏈 Spring camp 2015: Tide through second of three scrimmages

[T&B]

Scrimmage notes I snagged off twitter:

OL Petitbon carted off field with leg injury

RB Bo Scar played like a beast. Broke 95+ yard TD run so his speed is apparently no longer a concern after knee injury.

Defense looked ridiculous

Re Foster and R. Anderson stepping into leadership roles and making the calls on D

Hamilton and Evans trading off opposite RF both look good

Shank has lost weight and is noticeably quicker (love to hear that)

Not positive but it sounded like the schizoid version of Griffith kicked today. lol

Ridley got his Ridley on - moved all over including slot. He also fielded some punts.

Xavian Marks also fielded punts

Did I mention the Defense was salty ?

Tim Williams looks improved in run support.

Sounded like JK had some well placed punts

OL moved around a good bit, but RP looking good at C

 

[T&B]

OJ dropped a few that hit him in the hands, but he caught a few today as well. Hentges looked like the better run blocker though.

Robert Foster supposedly looked like he could challenge Ridley for No.1 WR ? Wow. Thats what the dude that was there said anyway.

Evans looked good inside.

Oh yeah and everyone on the defense looked like a blood thirsty animal. The speed of the defense was also mentioned repeatedly.

 

[JoshB]

Marks needs to be the return guy. Guy has crazy speed and is shifty, and we dont need Ridley getting hurt on a punt return.

 

[Tidestalker]

Thanks for the updates TB. Good stuff there

Absolutely genius move to put Evans at MLB. He gets to the ball so fast it only makes sense. I'm hoping they find a way to let him pass rush as well

Hate to hear Petibone being carted off. I believe he has a bright future

Anyone hear ANYTHING about the QB play???

 

[T&B]

Check the QB thread, TS.

 

[planomateo]

Defense is gonna be a good one this year.

 

[planomateo]

 

[JoshB]

Thanks for the updates TB. Good stuff there

Absolutely genius move to put Evans at MLB. He gets to the ball so fast it only makes sense. I'm hoping they find a way to let him pass rush as well

Hate to hear Petibone being carted off. I believe he has a bright future

Anyone hear ANYTHING about the QB play???

Makes me think of Dont'a Hightower, they had a package with him rushing off the edge at an end spot. I think we did it with Ragland a bit last year too.

 

[jlabit]

Looks like Damien Harris didn't excel today. Twelve carries for 36 yards isn't exactly wearing it out. Who do you guys see as #2 behind Scarborough? It's probably way to early to be discussing these things but......it's the off-season and I need some football.

 

[bama alum]

Looks like Damien Harris didn't excel today. Twelve carries for 36 yards isn't exactly wearing it out. Who do you guys see as #2 behind Scarborough? It's probably way to early to be discussing these things but......it's the off-season and I need some football.

Maybe it's just because the D is that good. If 95+ of Bo's 120+ yards came off one run, then his other numbers are relatively equal.

I wasn't there. I don't know. I'd like to think the D is that good.

 

[Tidestalker]

Looks like Damien Harris didn't excel today. Twelve carries for 36 yards isn't exactly wearing it out. Who do you guys see as #2 behind Scarborough? It's probably way to early to be discussing these things but......it's the off-season and I need some football.

After last season I'm not sure he will ever be the type of dominant RB we've been lucky yo have... But if he can just not fumble and be a really good pass blocker that will be good enough to win a lot of games, especially if Bo is stud.

 

[JoshB]

Looks like Damien Harris didn't excel today. Twelve carries for 36 yards isn't exactly wearing it out. Who do you guys see as #2 behind Scarborough? It's probably way to early to be discussing these things but......it's the off-season and I need some football.

Derrick Henry had one last spring where he had like 20 yards... stats dont tell you much of anything. For all you know all of his carries came with the second string or in short yardage situations. Remember they do goal line situations, short yardage, 3rd and long, etc. all kinds of situations.

 

[T&B]

 

[BamaFan334]

I think a lot of it is that our defense is so stout. Harris did not get any blocking worth a crap last year and learned real quick the difference between high school and college. It's still early to make statements against his ability, because he wouldn't be second string if he wasn't any good. We have been pretty spoiled with Richardson and Yeldon stepping in as Freshmen and playing at such a high level during important parts of the season, so if he isn't primed by his Junior year, even though we need him now, then I feel we can discuss his inabilities.

 

[PurlJam]

Looks like Damien Harris didn't excel today. Twelve carries for 36 yards isn't exactly wearing it out. Who do you guys see as #2 behind Scarborough? It's probably way to early to be discussing these things but......it's the off-season and I need some football.

On the flip side, if he had been down at Lee County Tech corrections facility, he would have went for 350 yds. and 9 tds, with 130 yds. and 4 of those tds running backwards

 

[Tidestalker]

I think a lot of it is that our defense is so stout. Harris did not get any blocking worth a crap last year and learned real quick the difference between high school and college. It's still early to make statements against his ability, because he wouldn't be second string if he wasn't any good. We have been pretty spoiled with Richardson and Yeldon stepping in as Freshmen and playing at such a high level during important parts of the season, so if he isn't primed by his Junior year, even though we need him now, then I feel we can discuss his inabilities.

Well that is very true. The standard at Alabama for freshman running backs has been set extremely high.

Although I do think it's fair to say that after his first year, he doesn't appear to be as physically dominant. All of our stud RB's had impressive stats and passed the eye test their freshman year... Ingram, Richardson,Yeldon, even Drake. Can't remember if Lacy red shirted... But when he got a chance he was ripping off impressive yardage.

And yes we've had better OL's than last years, but Henry did win a Heisman... So they were pretty decent at run blocking.

 

[Tidestalker]

AL.com practice report:

through drills on Monday. Jackson has battled an injury and been limited throughout spring practice though he did look to be a full participant on Monday. Jackson, Maurice Smith and Ronnie Harrison were all out with the first-team secondary. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Anthony Averett were the two cornerbacks with that group.

--Linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton made a teammate look silly during one drill. Hamilton blew past the player and left him on the ground during a one-on-one drill. Hamilton continues to show he's more athletic than people give him credit.

--Continuing Alabama's theme of experimenting with the offensive line, Bradley Bozeman got work at tackle instead of his usual guard spot. Alabama head coach Nick Saban spotlighted numerous offensive linemen following Saturday's scrimmage, including Lester Cotton, Ross Pierschbacher and Jonah Williams.

--Linebacker Keith Holcombe was back at practice on Monday after missing a few last week during baseball road trips. Holcombe was in Montgomery on Tuesday and in Athens through Friday night before returning to Tuscaloosa for Saturday's scrimmage. Holcombe looked to be primarily working with the second team during drills.

--It's hard to really judge a quarterback off one limited viewing of practice but Jalen Hurts showed again Monday that he still has some things to work on with his consistency. The freshman early enrollee is very athletic and has a very bright future but still has a few kinks to work out in his approach. He badly missed on a few longer throws on Monday.

More here:
Alabama practice report: News from first practice since scrimmage

 

[T&B]

 

[T&B]

Free BOL content: Monday Morning Thoughts

OG Alphonse Taylor: Every game starter in 2015 will need to withstand some serious competition from a handful of talented young players to maintain his spot at right guard. New position coach Brent Key brings everyone into the mix, meaning a few of last year's starters will need to stake claims to their jobs all over again.

20.] P JK Scott: A 44.2-yard average is anything but a sophomore slump, but when a guy averages 48 yards per boot as a true freshman there's really only one way to go. Somewhere in the middle of his first two seasons with the Crimson Tide is a reasonable expectation for Scott in 2016.

19.] WR Robert Foster: Other than the black non-contact jersey he's wearing this spring, Foster has shown no signs of the shoulder injury that cost him 12 games a season ago. Explosiveness is still there and competing with the likes of Calvin Ridleyand ArDarius Stewart is only making Foster better.

*** Seeing as how he's worked with the 1s at three different spots (left tackle, right tackle and left guard) during the first half of spring drills, seems almost inevitable that Cotton will land a starting spot somewhere along the offensive line. If the sophomore ends up next to Cam Robinson at left guard, flashbacks to a Cyrus Kouandjio-Chance Warmack combination will be frequent.

*** Stewart's numbers from Saturday's scrimmage (seven catches, 100 yards, two touchdowns) only furthered the notion that Alabama will have three No. 1-caliber receivers at its disposal in the fall. That's factoring in Ridley and Foster, but who's to say incoming grad transfer Gehrig Deiter won't push the number to four? The position has come a long way from the Stallings era.

According to scrimmage stats, linebackerReuben Foster picked off a pass during Saturday's scrimmage. The senior has developed into a better pass defender than I ever would have imagined. He's not C.J. Mosley in coverage, but after a full season of playing every down, I won't be surprised if Foster garners better evals from NFL scouts than did either Mosley or Reggie Ragland.

 

[T&B]