A-Day 2014 Recap: White beats the Crimson 17-13

It came and then turned around and left just as fast, but A-Day 2014 answered a lot of questions we had about this team and where they are after the conclusion of Spring Practice.

Offensively, the QBs struggled. Cooper Bateman looked the most consistent, tossing a TD and 156 yards on 11/24 passing. Bateman appeared to be the number two QB, as he started for the victorious White team.

Blake Sims on the other hand started for the Crimson Team with the first team offense, and had his struggles. Blake tossed 2 INTs, perhaps none more costly than the pick six by Defensive End DJ Pettway, which came in the third quarter as the first score of the game. Sims threw for 178 yards and a TD on 13/30 passing. He did not register any stats on the ground.

Leading the charge at WR was Redshirt Sophomore Chris Black, who caught 3 balls for 78 yards and scored on an impressive 55 yard play. Just a little glimpse of what Black can bring to an offense with his play making ability. Robert Foster for the White team hauled in 4 catches for 50 yards, including a beautiful 34 yarder from Cooper Bateman in the first half. Star Junior Amari Cooper caught 3 passes for 45 yards, and added a run on an end around for 8 yards.

Speaking of running, TJ Yeldon was consistent and impressive once again being named A-Day MVP. Yeldon has an argument for the best A-Day player in Tide history. Yeldon carried the ball 11 times and finished with 95 yards and a TD, good for 8.6 yards per carry against a very stingy defensive front. His peers Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake didn’t share the same success. Henry toted the rock 8 times, but only amassed 22 yards. Kenyan Drake of the White team had 7 carries for 34 yards, with 27 of those yards coming on one impressive run early in the game. Drake also had a great second effort on a short yardage situation to get the first down, but fumbled later in the game.

Defensively, a LOT of guys stood out. None more so than Rising Sophomore Jon Allen. Allen played a lot last year in the two deep rotation along the defensive line, and had an impressive moment when he ran down Heisman finalist Tre Mason in the Iron Bowl. At A-Day, Allen looked like an All American candidate, but of course we’re not crowning him just yet. Working with the Crimson defense, he totaled 6 tackles, with an astounding 4 coming for a loss, including 2 sacks. He also hurried the QB once and blocked an Adam Griffith field goal attempt.

In addition to Allen’s front 7 effort, Outside Linebacker Tim Williams had 5 tackles, with 3 of those coming in the backfield. He had 1 sack and 1 hurry, and recovered the Kenyan Drake fumble for a five yard return. Ryan Anderson added 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 of which were sacks. Reggie Ragland was perhaps the best Inside Backer, as he lead all players with 10 tackles, 2.5 coming in the backfield, and had an INT.

Coach Saban had this to say about the front seven after the game:

“I think we have a lot of experienced players. (D.J.) Pettway and (Jarran) Reed add a lot of depth and athleticism to that group. A’Shawn Robinson and Jonathan Allen were both freshman last year, and I always say that you make the most improvement between your freshman and sophomore year. Those guys got to play a lot last year; they’ve both had great springs. We had three inside linebackers that I thought played really well. Trey Depriest had a really good spring. Reggie Ragland and Rueben Foster as well. We also had three guys that played really well at outside linebacker. Denzell Devall, Xzavier Dickson, and Dillon Lee, those guys all had really good springs. Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson both contributed and improved. From the front seven stand point, I feel a lot further along. There’s maybe not quite enough depth at inside linebacker, but there will be opportunities for younger guys to develop at that position.

In the secondary, Tony Brown, who enrolled early, looked impressive breaking up 2 passes and bringing in an INT. Safety Landon Collins also broke up two passes, and Bradley Sylve had a consistent day at Corner.  Sophomore Eddie Jackson missed the A-Day game with a knee injury that will probably keep him out for at least the first few weeks of the season.

Landon Collins added this when asked about how the Spring went:

“The positives would be our communication skills have grown as a whole. At the safety position, at the linebacker position, along the defensive line, all of us are communicating well as a unit. Our defensive line has done a great job. The thing we need to work on is tackling. It’s been a while since we have been tackling.”

Keep your eyes open this upcoming week for a more in depth breakdown of the A-Day Game, and head on over to the forums if you want to check out the rest of the stats from A-Day, found in this thread.