I've spoken to a few people following Alabama's second scrimmage to bring you the latest information I could gather. Here are a few tidbits from Saturday.
There wasn't much separation from the quarterbacks that played, but at this point David Cornwell was the most consistent. There were many interceptions thrown, but a lot of those came on tipped passes. You'll recall Reggie Ragland and Nick Saban have both spoken about how much turnovers are being preached on defense and in this case it looks like the message is getting through. The worst interception came on a pass by Jake Coker. I was told that as soon as he threw the entire stadium saw the interception coming. Dillon Lee had already broken on the route before the ball was thrown.
The Eddie Jackson at safety experiment is going pretty well. I was told that when Hootie Jones was out of the game that Jackson played free safety and Geno Smith played strong safety. Odd combination for sure, but at this point it's about getting the players experience in game-like conditions. Ronnie Harrison, whom I've said on several occasions is a freshman I can see making an impact, continues to gain confidence. Tony Brown remains a physical presence at corner but he got lost a couple of times in coverage.
Bradley Bozeman worked with the ones at right guard for most of the day but Alphonse "Shank" Taylor got some work with the first unit too. Believe it or not, Korren Kirven was working as the second team left tackle. I don't expect that to the be the case come fall, but the loss of Grant Hill has created some movement among the reserves.
Reggie Ragland came off the field due to a minor injury but he remained on the sideline. It wasn't serious.
On the goal line offense, Dakota Ball was at tight end along with O.J. Howard and Johnny Dwight with Michael Nyeswander as the fullback. As of right now, Nyeswander is the guy at fullback.
Cooper Bateman had a couple of wow throws, including one to Parker Barrineau for a long gain. It's also worth noting that on that play Keith Holcombe chased Barrineau down from behind.
When Alabama was in a 3-4 base (which isn't that often these days), Jarran Reed was the first team nose guard with Josh Frazier getting some work with the twos. Reed remains the heartbeat of the defensive line, and it's a really deep and talented defensive line.
Reuben Foster appears to be making good progress as he was the inside linebacker working alongside Reggie Ragland. If Foster can continue that progress and stay healthy, that's a big plus for the Alabama defense.
I was told that Adam Griffith was probably "5 of 8" on the day on field goal attempts and that all of his misses came from 50+, and even those were on line.
Overall, there is a good feeling about the defense. The word "salty" was mentioned several times to me. It's important to note that with the changes to the game on offense, it's unlikely we'll ever see a 2011 defense again. However, this defense has a chance to be really, really good. I know everyone remains skeptical about the secondary, and rightfully so, but the front seven is nasty. Really nasty.
The offensive line is solid. The question on offense is whether or not and how quickly a quarterback can establish himself. Depth at running back is also a question mark. At wide receiver, Robert Foster has really taken a step forward, which is big. He made a couple of really nice catches, I was told.
Like all of you, I'm anxiously awaiting A-Day to get a look for myself.
There wasn't much separation from the quarterbacks that played, but at this point David Cornwell was the most consistent. There were many interceptions thrown, but a lot of those came on tipped passes. You'll recall Reggie Ragland and Nick Saban have both spoken about how much turnovers are being preached on defense and in this case it looks like the message is getting through. The worst interception came on a pass by Jake Coker. I was told that as soon as he threw the entire stadium saw the interception coming. Dillon Lee had already broken on the route before the ball was thrown.
The Eddie Jackson at safety experiment is going pretty well. I was told that when Hootie Jones was out of the game that Jackson played free safety and Geno Smith played strong safety. Odd combination for sure, but at this point it's about getting the players experience in game-like conditions. Ronnie Harrison, whom I've said on several occasions is a freshman I can see making an impact, continues to gain confidence. Tony Brown remains a physical presence at corner but he got lost a couple of times in coverage.
Bradley Bozeman worked with the ones at right guard for most of the day but Alphonse "Shank" Taylor got some work with the first unit too. Believe it or not, Korren Kirven was working as the second team left tackle. I don't expect that to the be the case come fall, but the loss of Grant Hill has created some movement among the reserves.
Reggie Ragland came off the field due to a minor injury but he remained on the sideline. It wasn't serious.
On the goal line offense, Dakota Ball was at tight end along with O.J. Howard and Johnny Dwight with Michael Nyeswander as the fullback. As of right now, Nyeswander is the guy at fullback.
Cooper Bateman had a couple of wow throws, including one to Parker Barrineau for a long gain. It's also worth noting that on that play Keith Holcombe chased Barrineau down from behind.
When Alabama was in a 3-4 base (which isn't that often these days), Jarran Reed was the first team nose guard with Josh Frazier getting some work with the twos. Reed remains the heartbeat of the defensive line, and it's a really deep and talented defensive line.
Reuben Foster appears to be making good progress as he was the inside linebacker working alongside Reggie Ragland. If Foster can continue that progress and stay healthy, that's a big plus for the Alabama defense.
I was told that Adam Griffith was probably "5 of 8" on the day on field goal attempts and that all of his misses came from 50+, and even those were on line.
Overall, there is a good feeling about the defense. The word "salty" was mentioned several times to me. It's important to note that with the changes to the game on offense, it's unlikely we'll ever see a 2011 defense again. However, this defense has a chance to be really, really good. I know everyone remains skeptical about the secondary, and rightfully so, but the front seven is nasty. Really nasty.
The offensive line is solid. The question on offense is whether or not and how quickly a quarterback can establish himself. Depth at running back is also a question mark. At wide receiver, Robert Foster has really taken a step forward, which is big. He made a couple of really nice catches, I was told.
Like all of you, I'm anxiously awaiting A-Day to get a look for myself.
