Saturday’s A-Day scrimmage, the fifth for safety Malachi Moore, was unlike anything he had seen before. Aside from the obvious coaching change, this year’s game didn’t feature two teams split between offensive and defensive players — it was all offense versus all defense. On the surface, the scoring format didn’t favor the defense which could only score via forced turnovers, three-and-outs, fourth-down stops or missed field goals; but Moore saw a very winnable game slip away from the defense by a 34-26 margin.
One thing that is the same is the steak dinner for the winners and beanie weenies for the losers.
“If we would’ve got a couple of turnovers then we would’ve won,” Moore said. “So that’s on our part, we have to do a better job taking the ball away through the air and punching the ball out.”
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Alabama’s personnel at certain positions didn’t allow for split teams, but the revised format was effective. The full complement of players on offense and defense provided a peek into which players fit into certain packages in key situations, and displayed which players are getting some first-team reps. In total, the first team offense and defense competed for 28 snaps against each other. Here are the snap counts for both:
Quarterback — Jalen Milroe (21/28), Ty Simpson (7/28)
Running back — Jam Miller (14/28), Richard Young (9/28), Justice Haynes (5/28)
Wide receiver — Germie Bernard (18/28), Kendrick Law (18/28), Kobe Prentice (14/28), Jaren Hamilton (13/28), Emmanuel Henderson (6/28), Aeryn Hampton (3/28), Caleb Odom (3/28), Cole Adams (2/28)
Tight end — Josh Cuevas (15/28), CJ Dippre (13/28), Robbie Ouzts (8/28)
Offensive line — Tyler Booker (28/28), James Brockermeyer (28/28), Wilkin Formby (28/28), Elijah Pritchett (28/28), Jaeden Roberts (12/28), Olaus Alinen (9/28), Roq Montgomery (7/28)
Defensive line — Tim Keenan III (23/28), Tim Smith (22/28), Jah-Marien Latham (21/28), LT Overton (10/28), Damon Payne Jr. (9/28), James Smith (3/28). )
Outside linebacker (Wolf) — Quandarrius Robinson (14/28), Keanu Koht (12/28)
Inside linebacker — Deontae Lawson (28/28), Justin Jefferson (28/28)
Defensive back — Zabien Brown (28/28), Domani Jackson (28/28), Malachi Moore (28/28), Keon Sabb (28/28), DeVonta Smith (13/28), Red Morgan (5/28)
This Alabama film study takes a deep dive into Saturday’s scrimmage across first-, second- and third-team reps. It is only the spring game, so these conclusions aren’t fully declarative, but they do provide context into what to expect through the summer period and into fall camp.
How did Alabama’s offense race out to a 31-0 lead?
Credit Alabama’s offensive line, the biggest question on offense entering Saturday. The run game frequently gained chunk yardage up the middle but the play of tackles Elijah Pritchett and Wilkin Formby stood out. It’s worth noting that Miles McVay, a candidate at tackle battling with Formby did not play.
“Probably the best day they’ve had thus far,” Tyler Booker said of Pritchett and Formby. “Elijah Pritchett is someone I’ve had to stay on and he’s been more receptive to my criticism and the better he’s gotten. I’m super proud of him, I told him before today’s scrimmage that I trusted him and I think that really resonated with him.”
The touchdown that created the 31-0 lead illustrates Pritchett’s potential when he’s playing with confidence. Jam Miller receives the handoff and Pritchett secrues the edge by sealing off Quandarrius Robinson, affecting Keon Sabb’s rush lane in the process. Sabb is a step late getting to Miller which is enough to spring him for the score.
But Alabama’s offense did most of its damage between the tackles. The play that set up the above touchdown was a 48-yard run by Miller. The defense sends pressure up the middle but James Brockermeyer and Jaeden Roberts neutralize it, then Booker and Pritchett open a hole on the left side. On another note — Kendrick Law’s block downfield was critical and credit cornerback Domani Jackson for coming across the field to make the touchdown-saving tackle.
Early in Saturday’s scrimmage, Miller scored by walking into the endzone untouched on a split zone run. It was a result of a group effort that opened the large hole. On the other side of the offense’s success was the defense not playing up to its standard.
“Early on we were getting gapped out,” Moore said. “If one side of the line is cut off and they’re still gashing us, someone’s not doing their job.”
Jam Miller was named game MVP and even though Haynes didn’t receive a big workload, his role is defined. Richard Young also made a strong impression. If any definitive statement was made on Saturday it’s that running back is one of the strongest positions on the team. Whether Young is a regular rotation player this fall is to be determined but his physical style stood out; he could be a weapon in short-yardage situations. The play below is one of several tough runs from Saturday.
At quarterback, one of the biggest areas of improvement for both Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson was the internal clock. The new pass offense is predicated on timing and rhythm decisiveness with the ball. Both quarterbacks showed that improvement on Saturday.
The throw of the day belonged to Milroe who connected with Germie Bernard for a 52-yard gain. Milroe comes out of the play fake, plants his feet and delivers the ball with perfect touch — once again the offensive line provided good protection for Milroe to get the ball out quickly. Bernard was another star from Saturday and showed some good yard-after-catch ability, meanwhile, Domani Jackson’s hustle to get back into the play and stop a touchdown is the desired level of effort.
Similarly, Simpson had a strong pass completion off a play action. The pocket was a bit muddier but he didn’t allow the pressure to speed him up as he stepped up in the pocket and delivered a strike to an open Kobe Prentice.
Simpson’s poise was noticeable on Saturday. He showed glimpses of improvement in mop-up duty late last season and has carried that momentum in the spring. Areas like accuracy, awareness in the pocket and confidence have taken a step forward, and Alabama can be confident knowing it has two capable quarterbacks.
However, it wasn’t a perfect day through the air. There were several drops on Saturday between Milroe and Simspon, Milroe specifically had four dropped passes: two by Richard Young, one by Jaren Hamilton and one by Emmanuel Henderson. Late in the game, the offensive line did a good job of picking up the blitz, Milroe found an open Henderson in the middle of the field, but the ball was dropped.
Behind the top two, Dylan Lonergan’s experience shined on Saturday. He was a standout at A-Day last year and got in-game reps against Chattanooga in the fall. The large crowd on hand didn’t affect him to start as he completed 7-of-10 passes on his first drive for 58 yards, which ended in a field goal. Conversely, Austin Mack’s start was a little slower, skipping his first two passes and then getting sacked on third down before settling in and completing six of his next seven pass attempts.
Kalen DeBoer noted after the game that no quarterback recorded an interception during any scrimmage, and all four led at least one scoring drive on Saturday. Quietly Alabama’s quarterback room has developed into one of the best in the SEC, if not nationally.
Positive defensive takeaways, standout performers
Alabama’s defense flipped the script in the second half of the scrimmage by forcing seven three-and-outs resulting in 21 of the team’s 26 points. It doesn’t absolve the early-game struggles, but it was a good sign to see the defense battle back. DeBoer attributed some of the early struggles to the fact that the defense kept things vanilla in the first half. However, the second half saw a few different looks.
Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack didn’t blitz much at South Alabama last season (18.1 percent blitz rate — 124th nationally) but understanding that Deontae Lawson is a strong pass rusher, he decided to send pressure that resulted in a holding on the offense. Lawson shot through the middle of the line and was held by Brockermeyer, meanwhile, Jah-Marien Latham had a case for holding and he got pressure off the edge.
There was a play early on that can be chalked up to bad luck. On the second play of the game, Milroe’s pocket collapsed when Latham pushed Pritchett into his lap and DeVonta Smith followed behind on a defensive back blitz. Milroe escaped but Tim Smith was right there. DeBoer gave the offense the benefit of the doubt and ruled it a play on and Milroe rushed out for 8 yards — in a real game, or perhaps with Saban, a defensive-minded coach, it likely would’ve been a sack.
Eventually, the defensive front held its ground and prevented frequent chunk plays on the ground in the second half. One player who stood out late was linebacker Justin Jefferson, a senior who filled in for the injured Jihaad Campbell. On a second-and-10, the offense went back to a similar look that sprung Miller’s 48-yard run in the first half. This time Jefferson maintained gap integrity and thanks to a Tim Keenan stunt that threw Roq Montgomery’s balance off, exploded through the hole to make the tackle on Miller.
Outside linebacker was another position of interest on Saturday. The first team reps were reserved for the veterans Robinson and Keanu Koht, who each had double-digit reps as the lone Wolf and two plays together when the defense lined up in a traditional 3-4 look. That position is still fluid as there’s no clear frontrunner, and young players like Qua Russaw are ascending and will push for playing time in the fall. That said, Robinson and Koht had a few nice moments.
This two-play sequence sums it up: On a second down Alabama’s offense attempts a pull play with Miller to the right side, however Koht races past Josh Cuevas who was supposed to block him and slams into a pulling Brockermeyer, blowing up Miller’s path. Miller cuts back inside but does so into a brigade of defenders.
A few minutes later, Robinson earns a sack on Milroe after playing QB spy. Pre-snap Robinson is standing up, hovering close to the line as if he’s a third off-ball linebacker. Dropping into coverage is a requirement for the Wolf position, Robinson looked comfortable roaming around on Saturday.
Alabama’s rush defense, particularly up the middle, should improve once the injured Jaheim Oatis is back in the fold. One player within the interior defensive line that had a really strong day was sophomore James Smith. The former blue-chip prospect played spot snaps last season but made a case for an expanded role on Saturday.
On this play, Smith combines with freshman linebacker Justin Okoronkwo — Saturday’s leading tackler with 11, for the tackle for loss. Okoronkwo shoots the gap, Smith beats his man and the two meet at the ball carrier.
On the very next play, Alabama’s defensive line performs an effective stunt: Russaw rushes upfield and moves Simpson off his mark, Simpson shifts to the right but Smith is there in his face and affects the throw. The result is an incomplete pass intended for Cole Adams.
Short-yardage situations were especially tough for Alabama’s defense on Saturday. This play from Smith was a bright spot, though, as he easily beat his man inside to create a tackle for loss. His tackle was part of a three-play stand at the 1-yard line that forced a field goal attempt.
Best play that never was
A ton of freshmen saw game action on Saturday, especially in the secondary, but none had a better play than Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.’s interception of Austin Mack. It was a bit of a broken play that was negated by a Keon Keeley offsides penalty. Still, Kirkpatrick made a strong effort — recovering after initially being beaten inside, then, at 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, outmuscled tight end Ty Lockwood (6-5, 234 pounds) for the ball. The best part: his father and Alabama legend Dre Kirkpatrick was on the sidelines as it happened.
(Photo: Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today)
2024-04-15 19:40:41
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