After a day off yesterday where Alabama did more of a Friday walkthrough than a Monday shells-only practice, the Crimson Tide returned to the practice field to prepare for the Georgia State Panthers. Here are a few observations from the practice viewing.

– As expected, backup center Chad Lindsay was taking snaps as the No. 1 center as starter Ryan Kelly takes a couple weeks to recover from what Nick Saban calls a stretched MCL. Lindsay replaced Kelly in the Ole Miss game and appears to be Alabama’s center for at least Saturday’s game against Georgia State and against Kentucky on Oct. 12.

– After his excellent performance against the Rebels, freshman cornerback Eddie Jackson was practicing as the No. 2 cornerback, where John Fulton was early in the season. Behind Jackson and Deion Belue was Fulton, Maurice Smith and Bradley Sylve.

– On the defensive line, coach Chris Rumph was working a lot with gap rules: not just keeping in the gap assigned to them, but also making reads on ballcarriers and making moves to help a defensive lineman who has the ball ran towards his gap. It’s tough to tell if this is preparation for something the Panthers do offensively or if this is a move to correct mistakes from the Ole Miss game. But, either way, the defensive line’s ability to work the gaps is a thing to watch against the Panthers.