Alabama Football Daily Insider: Practice Notes – Session No. 11
By Ronald Evans
Alabama football fans have a big appetite for information and we’ll be serving up healthy portions of hot food for thought with a side of seasonal inside information every morning this Spring.
There was a time when getting to the Waysider early on a weekday morning was the best way to learn what was really going on with Alabama football.
In the compact dining area, all you had to do was listen. Most conversations included tidbits of information about the University and the football program.
These days there is more to be gleaned by surveying the digital landscape of multitudinous sources. The problem with this wondrous abundance of information is in separating the sense from the nonsense.
That’s where we come in. This column will endeavor to guide that process of discernment.
We’ll peruse message boards, podcasts, tweets, talk radio and numerous digital communication platforms. We’ll ferret out the most worthwhile information and offer our take on what it means.
The Daily Insider: April 13
Alabama football was outside in full pads on Wednesday for the eleventh practice of the spring season. After a day off on Thursday, the second spring scrimmage is Friday afternoon.
Yesterday we devoted most of our attention to offensive line weakness Does Bama have an offensive line problem?
The Wednesday practice rep lines indicate there may indeed be a problem. As a reminder, the rep lines are updated daily and despite Saban’s denials, they indicate a pecking order very similar to a depth chart.
Yesterday, Chris Owens was doing drills at right guard instead of Lester Cotton. Today the first group had Cotton at right tackle with Deonte Brown working at right guard. Charlie Potter of Bama Online reported the second group had Womack at left tackle, Josh Casher at left guard, J.C. Hassenauer at center, Richie Petitbon at right guard and Alex Leatherwood at right tackle.
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The Cotton at right tackle is no surprise. Saban said after the first scrimmage that Lester could also play at tackle. Deonte Brown is a big surprise. Multiple reports earlier this spring projected Brown as third team at best due to a weight problem.
The lack of any positive news on Elliot Baker is troubling. Many recruiting experts projected the JC transfer as a probable starter in the fall. Over two weeks ago, Baker was reported to be struggling with a foot injury. Baker could be another in the Tide feast or famine with JC transfers.
Wednesday also had some movement with the linebackers. Evans worked outside and Ben Davis worked inside, but such practice adjustments are not unusual.
Nick Saban has not announced it yet but we believe the Trevon Diggs experiment is an experiment no more. Diggs will play on defense, mostly likely at cornerback, and most likely as a starter. Diggs would make most any list of the ten best athletes on the team. He will make the 2017 defense better than he would make the offense better as a receiver.
The big question for the 2017 defense is whether capable backups can be counted on in the secondary. Aaron Robinson, Shyheim Carter, Levi Wallace and Deonte Thompson will need to provide depth. Jared Mayden is another possibility if he is healthy by fall camp. Maybe even Nigel Knott, depending on how he responds to his poor performance in the first scrimmage.
With only four more sessions this spring, much is unsettled. Either because of injury or heated competitions to replace last season’s starters, many issues remain in doubt.
Next: 30 Best Games in Alabama Football History
We’ll keep these reports going throughout spring. Send your thoughts, questions, and disagreements through Facebook or Twitter. We would love to hear from you.