Ad Disclosure
The first week of the Crimson Tide’s fall camp is in the books, and real clues weren’t offered until the weekend practices. During the first few days, the team ran basic drills. Sunday’s practice was the first fall practice open to the public. Here are the five biggest takeaways thus far.
1. QB battle won’t be settled any time soon
The quarterback battle is going to go deep into the preseason portion of workouts, if not longer. David Cornwell appears to be out of the running for this season as a foot injury dating back to early summer continues to hamper him in what was already a crowded quarterback race.
Media reports indicated the quarterbacks started performing rollouts at Saturday’s practice, all of them except Cornwell. Bateman had his struggles on Sunday, but he also took the most snaps. Blake Barnett and Jalen Hurts might have looked better, but both quarterbacks took fewer snaps and did mostly short to intermediate routes.
The starting job is a long way from being decided. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said it is too early to name a starter, and every year the timetable for naming a starter is different.
2. Tide seem fine at running back
Alabama is stacked at the running back position again, even if it is with unproven talent. Bo Scarbrough suffered through cramps on the first day back but participated fully in practices thereafter. Scarbrough and Damien Harris are sort of a 1A and 1B heading into the season.
Both backs were named to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, the honor given to the season’s best running back. Meanwhile, B.J. Emmons should provide quality depth as the third-string back this season. He appeared to be a physical runner in the mold of past Alabama backs.
3. Transfer talk persists
All the talk of transfers won’t go away. Alabama has seen a high number of young players transfer this year: linebacker Christian Bell is going to Wisconsin, wide receiver Daylon Charlot is going to Kansas and former Alabama transfer Charles Baldwin, who was dismissed from the team, has been accepted to play for Kansas.
All of these players are secondary stories compared to defensive back Maurice Smith. Most fans know by now Smith graduated in three years and hoped to play with former defensive coordinator and current Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. However, his transfer is being blocked. Head coach Nick Saban addressed the issue with reporters this past weekend, stating Alabama doesn’t run the SEC, and the inability to transfer between SEC schools is an SEC policy.
Saban reaffirmed he would help Smith in the process to transfer to a non-SEC school. To see a high number of transfers with the abundance of talent on Alabama’s roster isn’t unexpected. However, Smith’s story is a bit of unwanted attention for the program.
4. Secondary still unsettled
Smith might have competed for a larger role this season as a nickel back, but as things stand now, the secondary depth chart is still up for grabs. Marlon Humphrey is locked in as an outside corner, and Eddie Jackson and Ronnie Harrison appear set at safety.
Minkah Fitzpatrick spent some time on the outside and some at nickel. Anthony Averett and Kendall Sheffield earned most of the second-team cornerback snaps. True freshman Shyheim Carter may work his way into the rotation, too. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt told reporters when he was at Georgia last season, the size of Alabama’s defensive backs stood out in particular.
5. Starting five up front coming into focus
The offensive line is beginning to take shape. Alabama rolled with 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 for the entire first week of practice. Unless there is an injury or Alphonse Taylor’s situation changes dramatically, expect that to be the starting line.
