In the minds of some Alabama football fans, Saturday’s scrimmage would define who will be QB1 and QB2 when the season opens. Based on what Nick Saban said in his media review, the Alabama Crimson Tide is no closer to quarterback closure than it was after Friday’s pre-scrimmage practice.
With one exception, in response to a question about Dylan Lonergan, Nick Saban offered no praise of the scrimmage performance of Alabama’s five quarterbacks.
When asked about Lonergan, Saban answered,
"He’s done really well, he shows great ability, great potential … the thing that he needs is experience … he’s a talented guy, and certainly a guy we want to develop, but he’s done a nice job so far in camp."
In response to a broader question about what he saw from the quarterbacks in the scrimmage, Saban provided little information.
"They all got to play. They all took snaps. They all completed some passes. They all made some throws that weren’t as good as they should have been … and they all got sacked."
Alabama football fans learned nothing from Saban’s answer. Neither did Steve Sarkisian and Texas Defensive Coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski. That is a perfectly sound coaching strategy. It also indicates, that as previously expected, in the Middle Tennessee State (MTSU) game few of any 2023 wrinkles to the Alabama football offensive playbook will be used.
Perhaps the Blue Raiders present some challenge to the Alabama football defense. They will offer no such resistance to even a pared-down Crimson Tide offense, led by multiple Crimson Tide QBs.
Other Alabama Football concerns
During fall camp, Crimson Tide fans have been concerned that drops by receivers continue to be a problem. Message boards during Saturday’s scrimmage were filled with ‘observers’ commenting on more dropped passes.
Nick Saban had a rather different take.
"I think our receivers have really improved. They’ve played faster, they are playing with more confidence. I think we have had less drops … we’re going to continue to work on that."
Two more areas in which the Alabama Crimson Tide is very much a work in progress are the offensive and defensive lines Saban gave positive reviews to Jaheim Oatis, Tim Keenan, and Justin Eboigbe, but repeated what he said earlier in camp that more depth is needed at defensive line.
Trying to strengthen the left side of Bama’s offense, Saban said Tyler Booker has been working at left guard. Alabama football insiders said that on Saturday, Kadyn Proctor was with the first unit the most, at left tackle. Taking Booker’s place at right guard were Terrence Ferguson II and Darrian Dalcourt. Saban commented the personnel adjustment might not be permanent.
Check the full media session review below.
Speculating on the Crimson Tide’s backup quarterbacks and their scrimmage performance, various reports from insiders claimed Ty Simpson, Tyler Buchner and Dylan Lonergan all did well.