Alabama, competing in front of over 73,000 fans, concluded spring practice with their annual A-Day game on Saturday. Many spectators left Bryant-Denny Stadium with fears and concerns about the performance put on by the Crimson Tide. All coaches, including the perfectionist Nick Saban himself, know that spring games are usually mediocre in nature.
Nonetheless, Fans are still raving and ranting about Adam Griffith's poor kicking performance or Blake Sims' shaky start. Plenty of positives can be taken away from Saturday's game, but it is easier to point out the negatives.
Offense
Quarterbacks
Where is Jacob Coker? When is Jacob Coker enrolling? Two questions, both of which sadly sum up the performance of Blake Sims. Sims completed 13 of 30 passes for 178 yards. His lone touchdown pass of the day came late in the fourth quarter on a 55 yard reception to Chris Black. It is no secret that Sims likes to run the ball, something that is hard to do when a two-hand touch rule is in effect. Cooper Bateman proved to be slightly more impressive of the group going 11 of 24 with 156 yards and a touchdown. Alec Morris was limited to 7 pass attempts, 3 of which he completed. Parker Mcleod's one and only pass attempt was an interception. Early enrollee David Cornwell, still bothered by a knee injury, lost control of a pass that was ruled an incompletion. Overall, the quarterbacks did not impress. Sims is still the clear cut leader to go to head-to-head with Jacob Coker. Bateman should not be far behind the pack. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin still needs more time to develop this group.
Running Backs
Alabama may have the best band of running backs in the country next season. Veteran TJ Teldon won his 3rd consecutive MVP award with 95 rushing yards on 11 carries. White team running back Kenyan Drake was the second best running back statistically with 41 yards on 7 carries. The surprise of the day came from redshirt freshman running back Tyren Jones. Jones carried the ball 6 times for 30 yards including a 19 yard scamper in the second half. Both Derrick Henry and Altee Tenpenny were impressive, but did not put up eye opening stats. The top 3 running backs this season will be Yeldon, Henry, and Drake. Tenpenny should contribute to the trio of running backs sometime this season. Despite his impressive showing, Jones his undersized in comparison to the other four running backs and will need time to grow.
Wide Receivers
This group is poised to be better than last year even with Kevin Norwood and Kenny Bell graduating. Star wide receiver Amari Cooper did not have his best outing. Cooper dropped a few passes, but finished the day with 3 receptions for 45 yards. Christion Jones also had 3 receptions. Chris Black reeled in a late touchdown grab to finish the day with a team leading 78 receiving yards. DeAndrew White did not play in the game due to injury. Robert Foster and Ardarius Stewart should get looks this season after their profound performance for the White team. Both had over 50 receiving yards on minimal receptions. Nick Saban has a slew of young wide receivers that have the speed and catching ability of a four year starter.
Offensive Line
For the second consecutive year, Alabama will be trying to replace two offensive linemen. True freshman Cameron Robinson is the favorite to replace Cyrus Kouandjio at left tackle. Robinson played well with the first team offense on Saturday despite a couple of mistakes. Leon Brown is the expected to replace Anthony Steen at right guard. Brown was brought in as a tackle, but has made the transition to guard. The line we saw on Saturday we likely be the line you see all of season. The offensive line should be one of the best in the SEC even with Robinson at the pivotal left tackle position at such a young age. Right tackle Austin Shepherd has been the most impressive lineman this off-season, and is in no danger of losing his spot. Center Ryan Kelly would have faced tough competition from Chad Lindsay. Lindsay reportedly planned to follow former Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to Michigan. He later decided to transfer to Ohio State. Arie Kouandjio, older brother of Cyrus, never was in any real danger of losing his starting job. The line did fail at times to open up running lanes and protect Blake Sims, but this group will continue a long standing tradition of great Alabama offensive linemen in the Saban era.
No comments:
Post a Comment