Alabama hit the practice field Monday afternoon to begin preparations for this week’s SEC game at Arkansas, the Crimson Tide’s third conference game of the young season. Here are our observations from practice:

As expected, junior left tackle Jonah Williams was not present. Coach Nick Saban said after Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette that the team’s most experienced offensive lineman had twisted his ankle, but by Monday’s press conference, he had upgraded Williams’ ailment to a sprained ankle. However, Saban still said he expects Williams to suit up against the Razorbacks this Saturday.

When the offensive line went through team drills under the direction of OL coach Brent Key, the first four that lined up together were Matt Womack, Lester Cotton, Ross Pierschbacher and Jedrick Wills Jr.

Anfernee Jennings, Christian Miller, Jamey Mosley and Ben Davis led the outside linebackers through a drill in which they weaved in between tackling dummies. Then OLB coach/defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi tossed a ball on the ground and the players practiced corralling it, presumably to simulate recovering a fumble.

Inside linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator Pete Golding enlisted the help of freshman Jaylen Moody while explaining what appeared to be a new drill. He had him hold a blocking pad as the other ILBs practiced their “clean-up” tackling technique two at a time – that is, one secures the tackle and any others look to force a fumble while helping wrestle the ball carrier to the ground.