The Crimson Tide was out in full pads Wednesday for the team’s sixth practice of the spring. The practice was Alabama’s next-to-last before the first scrimmage of 2014, which will take place Saturday.
Senior quarterback Blake Sims, who is battling for the open quarterback spot, said he is anticipating the first preview of Alabama’s team.
“I’m looking very forward to it,” Sims said. “It’s a good opportunity to just show the world what we can do. Nothing really changes.”
Sims’ teammates, fifth-year senior safety Nick Perry and sophomore defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, echoed Sims’ feelings on what will be their first game-type action in months.
“I’m looking forward to Saturday’s scrimmage because I’ve been off the field for a while,” Tomlinson said. “So I’m just looking forward to being out there with my teammates and have fun.”
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Tomlinson sustained a knee injury at practice the week after the Virginia Tech game in 2013. He went down with an injury to the opposite knee before he enrolled on campus in 2012.
“I think it made me mentally tougher than I was before, because tearing your ACL at the beginning of the season hurts you mentally,” Tomlinson said. “So you have to come back through it and fight through it and just keep working hard and get ready for next season.”
Perry, who injured his shoulder in the Texas A&M game last season, said he is at full health now but was in a very different place after he unsuccessfully tried to play through the pain last fall.
“I thought really my career was over at UA, but then they told me I could qualify as a medical redshirt, so I was like, ‘I’m up for it,’” Perry said.
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One of the veterans on an otherwise raw Crimson Tide secondary, Perry said he will relish the action Saturday due to his relative inactivity the past few months.
Other notes from practice:
– Defensive lineman Darren Lake recently sustained a pectoral injury and underwent surgery to repair the muscle. He will miss the remainder of spring practice.
– Sophomore running back Altee Tenpenny was spotted at practice despite his recent arrest for possession of marijuana March 24 in North Little Rock, Ark.
– Several former Alabama players were in attended Wednesday’s practice, including Cyrus Kouandjio and Anthony Steen, who are both preparing for the NFL Draft. Current pros Josh Chapman, Jesse Williams, Chance Warmack and Wallace Gilberry were also roaming the sidelines.
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