Alabama held its second scrimmage on Friday afternoon, as the team went through 115 plays inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. As was the case in the first scrimmage, the first and second units took part in 50 plays apiece while the third unit took part in 15 plays. While the scrimmage was closed to the public, Tide Illustrated was able to gather some information from sources in attendance.
— Ty Simpson threw another touchdown to Isaiah Horton. This one was from about 70 yards out against cover zero, as Horton beat his man allowing Simpson to hit him about 30 yards downfield. The two connected for three touchdowns in the first scrimmage last week.
Unlike the first scrimmage, Simpson also threw an interception, as he was picked off by DaShawn Jones. Still, Simpson was mostly solid on the day, setting the first-team offense up for a pair of scoring drives.
Simpson also completed a big pass to Germie Bernard on fourth-and-5 as part of a scoring drive that was capped off by a touchdown run from Jam Miller.
— Keelon Russell worked primarily with the second and third units but showed his five-star potential at times. One source called the five-star freshman a "freakazoid," stating he was in the same class as Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young. Rusell's first touchdown was a 30-yard seam pass over the middle to fellow freshman Derek Meadows. His next touchdown pass came on a swing pass to fellow freshman Lotzier Brooks in the red zone. Russell also delivered a swing pass in the red zone to walk-on Michael Lorino III for a score from roughly 17 yards out.
— Austin Mack struggled a bit with a few questionable passes, including one that was intercepted by safety Zay Mincey. He did throw a touchdown to Bernard in the red zone. Bernard made a nice catch in the end zone and held on despite getting rocked. Mack would have had another interception, as he was picked off by freshman cornerback Dijon Lee. However, the play was blown dead, as he was tapped down for a sack by Jah-Marien Latham before delivering the ball.
— Lee was arguably the MVP of the scrimmage. The five-star freshman started across from Zabien Brown at cornerback, tallying two fumble recoveries and a sack to go with his pseudo interception.
— Brooks continues to shine. He's been the freshman I've heard the most about through camp. He had several catches in both scrimmages and showed off his playmaking ability again Friday.
— With Ryan Williams out once again, Bernard and Horton led the receivers with a handful of catches apiece.
— I was told Daniel Hill had some powerful runs, breaking through defenders on a regular basis. That's two straight scrimmages where someone has pointed him out to me.
— The defense is running a lot of cover zero with heavy blitzes. That combined with a makeshift line led to a few sacks.
— The first-team offensive line was Olaus Alinen, Kam Dewberry, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts and Wilkin Formby from left to right. Geno VanDeMark worked with the second unit after holding the left guard spot with ones last week. Alinen improved from last week and could develop into a serviceable backup tackle down the road. However, Alabama's offensive line will be much improved when starting left tackle Kadyn Proctor returns to the fold.
— Alabama is scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to tight ends. The Tide started the spring without injured redshirt junior Danny Lewis. Friday, head coach Kalen DeBoer revealed that redshirt senior Josh Cuevas and true freshman Marshell Pritchett will also be out for the rest of camp with injuries. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Jay Lindsey went down during the scrimmage. Weber State transfer Peter Knudson, a preferred walk-on, ended up taking some first-team reps, while offensive lineman William Sanders served as a blocking tight end.
— I was told Alabama had plenty of problems with long snapping. The Tide is currently without California transfer David Bird, who will be back in the fall.
— Punting was also an issue, as freshman Alex Asparuhov is also out. I was told that Colorado Mines transfer Blake Doud was inconsistent. One source said they wouldn't be surprised if Alabama goes to the portal for another punter if it feels Asparuhov won't be ready by the fall.
— Kicker Conor Talty hit the goalpost a couple of times but hit a couple of long field goals, including one from 51 yards.
— One source mentioned Edric Hill as a standout on the defensive line. The redshirt sophomore also earned praise from starting defensive tackle Tim Keenan III earlier this spring. He recorded just three tackles over nine games last year. However, he might be one to watch this fall.
— Redshirt sophomore edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre provided nice pressure and was mentioned as a standout on defense.
— Ty Simpson threw another touchdown to Isaiah Horton. This one was from about 70 yards out against cover zero, as Horton beat his man allowing Simpson to hit him about 30 yards downfield. The two connected for three touchdowns in the first scrimmage last week.
Unlike the first scrimmage, Simpson also threw an interception, as he was picked off by DaShawn Jones. Still, Simpson was mostly solid on the day, setting the first-team offense up for a pair of scoring drives.
Simpson also completed a big pass to Germie Bernard on fourth-and-5 as part of a scoring drive that was capped off by a touchdown run from Jam Miller.
— Keelon Russell worked primarily with the second and third units but showed his five-star potential at times. One source called the five-star freshman a "freakazoid," stating he was in the same class as Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young. Rusell's first touchdown was a 30-yard seam pass over the middle to fellow freshman Derek Meadows. His next touchdown pass came on a swing pass to fellow freshman Lotzier Brooks in the red zone. Russell also delivered a swing pass in the red zone to walk-on Michael Lorino III for a score from roughly 17 yards out.
— Austin Mack struggled a bit with a few questionable passes, including one that was intercepted by safety Zay Mincey. He did throw a touchdown to Bernard in the red zone. Bernard made a nice catch in the end zone and held on despite getting rocked. Mack would have had another interception, as he was picked off by freshman cornerback Dijon Lee. However, the play was blown dead, as he was tapped down for a sack by Jah-Marien Latham before delivering the ball.
— Lee was arguably the MVP of the scrimmage. The five-star freshman started across from Zabien Brown at cornerback, tallying two fumble recoveries and a sack to go with his pseudo interception.
— Brooks continues to shine. He's been the freshman I've heard the most about through camp. He had several catches in both scrimmages and showed off his playmaking ability again Friday.
— With Ryan Williams out once again, Bernard and Horton led the receivers with a handful of catches apiece.
— I was told Daniel Hill had some powerful runs, breaking through defenders on a regular basis. That's two straight scrimmages where someone has pointed him out to me.
— The defense is running a lot of cover zero with heavy blitzes. That combined with a makeshift line led to a few sacks.
— The first-team offensive line was Olaus Alinen, Kam Dewberry, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts and Wilkin Formby from left to right. Geno VanDeMark worked with the second unit after holding the left guard spot with ones last week. Alinen improved from last week and could develop into a serviceable backup tackle down the road. However, Alabama's offensive line will be much improved when starting left tackle Kadyn Proctor returns to the fold.
— Alabama is scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to tight ends. The Tide started the spring without injured redshirt junior Danny Lewis. Friday, head coach Kalen DeBoer revealed that redshirt senior Josh Cuevas and true freshman Marshell Pritchett will also be out for the rest of camp with injuries. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Jay Lindsey went down during the scrimmage. Weber State transfer Peter Knudson, a preferred walk-on, ended up taking some first-team reps, while offensive lineman William Sanders served as a blocking tight end.
— I was told Alabama had plenty of problems with long snapping. The Tide is currently without California transfer David Bird, who will be back in the fall.
— Punting was also an issue, as freshman Alex Asparuhov is also out. I was told that Colorado Mines transfer Blake Doud was inconsistent. One source said they wouldn't be surprised if Alabama goes to the portal for another punter if it feels Asparuhov won't be ready by the fall.
— Kicker Conor Talty hit the goalpost a couple of times but hit a couple of long field goals, including one from 51 yards.
— One source mentioned Edric Hill as a standout on the defensive line. The redshirt sophomore also earned praise from starting defensive tackle Tim Keenan III earlier this spring. He recorded just three tackles over nine games last year. However, he might be one to watch this fall.
— Redshirt sophomore edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre provided nice pressure and was mentioned as a standout on defense.
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