Alabama tight end Brian Vogler catches a pass from AJ McCarron in Wednesday’s practice. (Photo by Brett Hudson)
On a nice day in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide went indoors to practice on Wednesday, possibly to help the players transition from natural grass to the artificial turf the Tide will play Virginia Tech on in the Georgia Dome.
Here are some observations from the final practice viewing of the opening week.
– Taking after strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran, starting running back T.J. Yeldon tried to teach the freshmen the importance of ball security by trying to punch the ball out when they least expect it … and got some victims. Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara lost the ball when Yeldon threw his punch, but Altee Tenpenny and Tyren Jones kept it tight. (You can see all of that in the video below)
– Speaking of the running backs, Kenyan Drake is still practicing ahead of the freshmen ahead of him on the depth chart, namely Tenpenny and Henry. Drake is wearing No. 14 as a member of the scout team, emulating Virginia Tech running back Trey Edmunds. Drake’s role in the offense is not known, but he is clearly doing some good for Alabama in practice.
– The offensive line, led by position coach Mario Cristobal, was working on directional blocking today. Some were as subtle as guards and centers moving defensive linemen one gap over for a middle run on the other side of the line, but some guards were seen practicing cut blocks after pulling outside of the tackle.
– Finally, at the quarterback position, a third quarterback was not listed on the depth chart, but Alec Morris was ahead of the others, as expected. Behind him, Cooper Bateman, Parker McLeod and Luke Del Rio are essentially on the same level. One may have separated himself from the other two since the beginning of spring practice, but reps in practice have not reflected such.
