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Alabama’s defense dominates spring game

John Hollis

By John Hollis

Published:

Saturday’s A-Day spring football game brought mixed news for the Alabama offense.

On the one hand, the Crimson Tide isn’t likely to face a defense this coming fall as formidable as the one that took to the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. But in the meantime, it made for a miserable afternoon for those in search of offensive fireworks as the White team pulled away for an ugly 7-3 victory.

“I always say in the spring game when you don’t score a lot of points, everybody says you’re really bad on offense,” Alabama coach Nick Saban told ESPN at halftime. “Well, how about you’re maybe pretty good on defense.”

He’d get no argument there. The first- and second-team offenses failed to score in the first half after converting on just 3 of 15 third-down conversions against an aggressive defensive front seven led by standout defensive end Tim Williams.

A first-team All-SEC pick last year after registering 10.5 sacks, Williams almost single-handedly slammed the door shut on the Crimson offense, consistently dominating off the edge to prevent any sort of offensive rhythm. The White defense played without injured defensive end Jonathan Allen.

At halftime, Saban was asked whether they needed to make an adjustment to slow down Williams. Saban said he doesn’t really make spring game adjustments but joked that if the line didn’t block better, Williams was going to ruin the game.

It didn’t help the offense that kicker Adam Griffith had an equally-as-forgettable day, missing four field goals (36, 47, 43 and 54) yards in the first half alone. Griffith, who missed just nine field goal attempts (23 of 32) all season in 2015 en route to second-team All-SEC honors last fall, finally connected on a chip-shot 21-yarder with 10:55 to account for the game’s first three points.

Quarterbacks struggle

Quarterback Cooper Bateman, who will likely enter the fall with the slight edge in the bid to succeed Jake Coker as the Crimson Tide quarterback, never had a chance to allow plays to develop downfield as a relentless pass rush led by Williams and Ryan Anderson made things miserable for him.

Sophomore safety Ronnie Harrison when he stepped in front of a Bateman pass in the end zone to deny the Crimson team a potential game-winning score with 1:02 remaining.

https://twitter.com/BamaVine/status/721453210016333824

The first-team offense managed just 21 yards in the first half.

The same pretty much held true as well for fellow quarterbacks David Cornwell, Blake Barnett and Jalen Hurts as they all competed for the starting job. The toll of the defensive pressure quickly became obvious as the inexperienced quarterbacks began to rush throws at other times in anticipation.

Hurts, a true freshman who enrolled in school early, accounted for the game-winner and the contest’s lone touchdown when he connected with wide receiver Derek Kief from five yards out with 2:48 left. Hurts, who enjoyed a solid spring, flashed a lot of potential, but his inexperience also showed at times. Cornwell who paced the Crimson team to its only score of the day in the fourth quarter.

Saban cautioned from drawing many, if any, conclusions from the spring game.

The Alabama offensive line, which was without injured starting left tackle Cam Robinson and the graduated All-SEC center Ryan Kelly, struggled all afternoon against the quick defensive pressure dialed by new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

Running back Damien Harris was among the few bright offensive spots, earning A-Day MVP honors after rushing 20 times for 114 yards.

Williams, who will be an every-down player for the Crimson Tide after serving as a specialist in the past, was tapped as the game’s Most Outstanding Lineman.

Alabama will open the season against USC when the teams meet in Arlington on Sept. 3.

John Hollis

John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.

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