Alabama Football: What to look for in spring scrimmage No. 2

There will be more than recruits and family visitors Saturday at the Alabama football ‘closed’ scrimmage. Though closed to the public and to the media, there will be invited guests. Scrimmage information sharing is forbidden, but more than a few snippets always trickle out.

Most Alabama fans will be most interested in any and all information on the Crimson Tide offensive line, particularly the left tackle spot. Probably next in fan interest will be which two or three wide receivers stand out. Crimson Tide fans also hope to receive another report stating that physically and mentally, Trey Sanders is back to being a potential star.

Some of us are interested in who will become the best six defensive backs and where each of them will work in dime formations. Once Nick Saban settles in on the best six, fans are hoping that barring injuries, the secondary will not need rotation during the season to bolster weak links.

Cobbling together information from what has transpired this spring, the left tackle spot’s two main competitors are Amari Kight and Kendall Randolph. Tommy Brockermeyer is also a factor. With Saban saying midweek that offensive linemen are getting moved around, it is possible Javion  Cohen is in the left tackle mix as well.

Alabama Football waiting on Tyler Steen

Earlier in the week, a decision from Vanderbilt transfer Tyler Steen was expected. The week went by and no decision transpired. Early Friday evening a tweet from his father stated Tyler Steen was calling all the coaches involved to inform them of his decision. Public knowledge of his chosen school was not available Friday night.

If Steen goes elsewhere, another player from the Transfer Portal is unlikely. The Portal offensive tackle rankings published by on3.com show two of the top six transfers, having found new teams are former Tide players. That Pierce Quick and Tommy Brown could not earn starting roles for the Tide but are such highly rated transfers is telling.

Picking the top seven defensive backs appears to be easy. Most of us will agree they are (in no certain order) Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Khyree Jackson, Eli Ricks, Brian Branch and Malachi Moore. But there has been some buzz about how well Terrion Arnold is doing this spring. Arnold is an exceptional athlete and he has a chance to become one of the ‘dime’ guys.

At wide receiver, Crimson Tide fans are hoping freshmen Aaron Anderson and Kendrick Law, along with sophomore JoJo Earle will continue their solid springs.

Although the scrimmage information will be limited, Saturday’s performances may show more than the always vanilla A-Day game.