Alabama football had session No. 2 of fall camp Saturday afternoon in Bryant-Denny. Check out the notes from the two-hour practice.
It was an eventful day in Tuscaloosa Saturday. There was the annual Alabama football Fan Day autograph activity. There was the season’s only opportunity for fans to view a complete practice. There were morning media sessions from Nick Saban, offensive coordinator, Mike Locksley and defensive coordinator, Tosh Lupoi. The media members were given broad opportunity to interview players.
One of those player sessions sent shock-waves across the Crimson Tide nation. Jalen Hurts spoke candidly about his opinion of how the quarterback situation evolved during the spring and summer. Jalen made two things clear. He had and has no intention of leaving Tuscaloosa before his graduation in December. He also stated his conversations with coaches since January have not addressed his response to being benched and what that meant for his future. We shared our opinion earlier. You can read it here, and see the actual video.
What else happened on Saturday?
There was a full, two-hour practice with players in shorts and helmets. No pads and no hitting made it more than drills but less than a scrimmage.
- In base defense sets, there was a surprise with Shyheim Carter at the corner opposite Trevon Diggs.
- In the nickel (really the Tide’s base because of frequency of use) Carter moved to Star and Saivion Smith came in at corner. The first unit safeties were Deionte Thompson and Xavier McKinney.
- As part of the second unit, Patrick Surtain Jr. worked at corner and star.
- The QBs made numerous good, deep throws. Mac Jones had a particularly good afternoon.
- There were five interceptions. All the QBs got picked. Three of the interceptions were made by Shyheim Carter. Trevon Diggs and Daniel Wright added interceptions.
- Skyler DeLong did a nice job punting with several long, high kicks.
- A few players suffered cramps in the heat. There were no injuries.
- With a full session of viewing, media members were raving about the size and conditioning level of the summer arrivals and some returning players.
It has not been confirmed but we believe the annual fan sprint for autographs caused no injuries – to players or fans.
Sunday is an off-day for the players. They return to the practice field on Monday.
Another little snippet for Alabama football fans. Dismissed linebacker VanDarius Cowan is apparently moving on to the Big 12 with West Virginia.