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 9
Alabama football conducted its first spring scrimmage on Saturday. Today we will discuss the post-scrimmage information released by Saban and comments from a few individual scrimmage observers.
Before beginning, let’s step back and remember Saturday was only one of three spring scrimmages. During fall camp there will typically be another set of three scrimmages. There will be changes, and some may be considerable, until after the last fall scrimmage.
We will review by individual positions or position groups and start with Saban’s statements. All the Saban quotes are from the Tide TV video provided by rolltide.com
Quarterback
Saban commenting on the passing game and Jalen Hurts:
"“I thought we were much more effective passing the football today, a lot of big plays, a lot of explosive plays … (on Hurts) “He completed over 50 percent of his passes and threw for four touchdowns. I don’t think he had an interception… He did a much better job in the pocket and with the play-action passes”"
Alabama football does not release stats from early scrimmages, and typically Saban is vague about QB details from early scrimmages. He chose some specificity today and it is fair to assume he is pleased with Jalen’s progress as a passer.
Alabama Crimson Tide Football
From multiple other sources, we learned Tua also passed well during the scrimmage. Tua threw at least one long touchdown pass. A couple of observers suggested that Tua’s passes were consistently thrown to space, leading to easy catches. One parent of a Tide player suggested Tua’s performance was so impressive that he could end up pushing Jalen for the starting position.
Running Back
Saban said Scarbrough, Emmons and Jacobs (thigh bruise) did not participate in the scrimmage. Damien Harris did scrimmage but aggravated his injured foot and was limited. Najee Harris and Brian Robinson got plenty of work during the scrimmage.
Offensive Line
Saban commenting on what the offensive line needs to accomplish:
"“Pass protection and being more physical are two things we need to improve on and being more physical in the running game and getting more movement up front”"
Wide Receivers
Saban said Calvin Ridley had eight receptions and T. J. Simmons had seven. If you view the press conference you may notice the Saban comment that “Robert Foster …did good” was a bit terse. Observers reported Foster caught a couple of touchdown passes but it may be they came from second or third team defensive breakdowns.
Earlier in the press conference, Saban had been a bit testy when asked to elaborate on the defense giving up some long pass plays.
Secondary
The biggest surprise of the scrimmage was Trevon Diggs with the first team at left cornerback. Minkah Fitzpatrick returned to first team safety.
Saban on Diggs:
"“We’re pleased with the progress Trevon Diggs has made at corner. Much more natural there than safety. We’re pleased with the progress that he’s made. … He’s long, he’s got good toughness, he’s a good tackler. He plays the ball well in the deep part of the field, and he’s done a good job of playing man-to-man.”"
It is too early to guess if the Diggs-Fitzpatrick switch is permanent. Saban was non-committal as to Diggs’ future position.
We do know Diggs is blessed with athleticism. We also know Fitzpatrick cannot effectively perform as QB of the defense while playing corner. Perhaps the value of Minkah’s leadership as safety is worth taking some risk with Diggs’ inexperience at cornerback.
If Diggs does earn a starting corner position, we expect Hootie Jones will play the money or sixth defensive back as he did last season.
Many of the invited observers for the scrimmage have a good understanding of the game. Their eye-tests have some merit. From several sources, the players who most impressed in Saturday’s scrimmage were Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa; Calvin Ridley, T. J. Simmons, Najee Harris, Trevon Diggs, Isaiah Buggs, Jerry Jeudy and Major Tennison.
Next: Favorites to Win 2017 National Championship
Check in with us on Monday morning when we publish an updated (and projected) spring depth chart. We are aware that Saban denied the existence of a depth chart during the Saturday press conference. Maybe so – maybe not – like every other college football media platform, we’ll ignore that admonition.
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