Even during the first game of a new season, Alabama remains traumatized by its snapping woes from a season ago.
Former starting center Seth McLaughlin, now at Ohio State, struggled throughout all of 2023 to deliver a clean snap to quarterback Jalen Milroe which at several points nearly cost the team wins.
Even with new center Parker Brailsford, those struggles reappeared early on in the Crimson Tide’s 63-0 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday. From a false start penalty where the ball appeared to be delivered late, to a high snap resulting in a lost fumble, issues remained up front for the offense.
But when asked about the turnover following the game, Milroe attributed the mistakes to first-game nerves.
“It was just jitters,” Milroe said. “It’s the first game of the season, and you know you’re getting acclimated to the game. Mistakes happen, but of course, it’s collaborative. It’s something that we can both look at and reflect on how we can improve it’s just first-game jitters, and we just want to build and improve off of it.”
Both plays did ultimately prove to be inconsequential for an offense that posted 600 yards on the Hilltoppers’ defense when it was all said and done.
However those types of issues are things head coach Kalen DeBoer would like to be ironed out before the meat of Alabama’s schedule comes around for proper communication will be key for Milroe and his new teammates and coaches.
“We had a communication,” DeBoer said. “I think we didn’t snap the ball. I think maybe Parker was trying to signal something and get the line locked in and that’s just a quarterback and center being on the same page and then all the sudden it was time to snap the ball when Jalen clapped so just things like that, that we can continue to get better at.”
Alabama will return to practice this week as it prepares to welcome USF to Bryant-Denny Stadium next Saturday.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
