Alabama was geared up for Saturday’s live scrimmage, regardless of what weather conditions had to offer. After a 30-minute rain delay in warm-ups, coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide went inside Bryant-Denny Stadium to continue its preparation for the upcoming season.
Quite a few players wore black, non-contact jerseys, while others appeared to be limited in position drills. Saban updated the press on the health of a couple of players upon the end of the scrimmage.
“We had a couple of guys that did not scrimmage today,” Saban said.
“Dalvin Tomlinson (ankle) was dressed and probably could have done some things, but we didn’t want to push the envelope on him. Keith Holcombe has a twisted ankle. We held him out and he’ll probably be out for another day or two. Cam Sims got a little knee soreness late in the week. We held him out basically because we thought it would be good for him to get three days of rest.”
Saban mentioned that no one was seriously injured and he hopes to have everyone back to full strength on Tuesday, as Alabama starts implementing its game plan for Southern California.
It’s been a roller coaster offseason for the Tide’s secondary, with three defensive backs transferring elsewhere. Saban intends to create depth at the position, and one of ways will be starting some true freshmen. He did single out a couple veterans that have made progress.
“I’ve been really encouraged by Hootie Jones and Deionte Thompson,” Saban said.
“We’ve played Trevon Diggs on both sides of the ball and he’s done very well, so that’s been helpful. Anthony Averett has had a good camp. We feel like we have three good corners, but we need to have one of these young guys come along and step up and continue to improve.”
While we have yet to see the full maturation of Jones, Averett and Thompson, all three guys will have a chance to make a quality impact this season. As for some of the freshmen, it’s been Shyheim Carter, Jared Mayden and Aaron Robinson who have made the biggest waves in camp.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
