Alabama held its first scrimmage of the fall on Saturday, and other than a few nicks and bruises, everything went according to plan. Head coach Nick Saban got his first look at 2012’s Crimson Tide in a game-like situation and, for the most part, liked what he saw.
“I thought we really had a good first scrimmage out there today,” he said. “The ones on both sides of the ball probably did a pretty decent job. [Quarterback] AJ [McCarron] played pretty well. First offense moved the ball well.”
McCarron went 19 for 29 with 222 yards and a touchdown in a scrimmage that featured multiple situational drills. His two leading receivers were junior Kevin Norwood (two receptions for 61 yards) and true freshman Amari Cooper, (three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown) who continues to make noise in a wide receiving corps stacked with competition.
Behind McCarron, Saban said redshirt freshman Phillip Ely “showed that he has a little more knowledge and experience” and that true freshman Alec Morris “played like a freshman.”
“I think the most important thing for every player is to evaluate where you are, don’t make any comparisons to anybody else,” Saban said was his message to his team after the scrimmage. “Just evaluate where you are, decide where you want to go, and decide what you need to do.”
On defense, inside linebacker Trey DePriest led the way with five tackles and an interception. Sophomore linebacker Xzavier Dickson notched five tackles and safeties Robert Lester and HaHa Clinton-Dix each recorded four. Sophomore Vinnie Sunseri recorded three touchdowns and blocked a field goal that would have been returned for a touchdown.
“We’ve got lots of guys at those positions — and a couple other young players that have some ability,” Saban said of the linebackers. “So there’s a lot of guys there and they all have some potential. It’s who can go in there and get the job done on a consistent basis by doing their job. That’s the big thing.”
There were no significant injuries, though Saban said a few players sustained the usual bumps and bruises. Outside linebacker Adrian Hubbard sprained his elbow today, but Saban said it would not be a big problem.
Jarrick Williams tears ACL, out for the year
Junior cornerback Jarrick Williams, who appeared in seven games last season as a special teams contributor, tore his ACL at Friday’s practice, Saban revealed, and will be out for the year. “Jarrick was a core special teams player for us,” Saban said. “He has a better understanding now of getting better and being able to execute in the secondary. Probably was going to be a role player and a solid backup there for us. So, we going to have some young guys in the secondary who are going to have to be backup players and they’re probably going to have to have some roles.” Saban mentioned true freshmen Landon Collins and Geno Smith, as well as Eddie Williams, who recently made the switch from wide receiver to safety, as players who will have to step into Williams’ role.
