Alabama Crimson Tide News: AJ McCarron proves prophetic, notes from first scrimmage
Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from the weekend of August 8th through 10th.
AJ McCarron’s QB comments prove prophetic
Ahead of Alabama football’s first scrimmage of fall camp, former Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron commented on the current QB competition. What he said ultimately proved to be pretty prophetic, according to what Kalen DeBoer said in his post-scrimmage press conference.
McCarron said on “The Dynasty” podcast that he was hearing that, as talented as he is, Keelon Russell wasn’t a serious threat in the QB battle, and the real competition was between Ty Simpson and Austin Mack, with Simpson closing in on the starting QB job.
DeBoer’s comments after the scrimmagepointed to that being true. He seemed to lump the quarterbacks into two categories, talking about Simpson and Mack in tandem, while discussing Russell separately.
That shouldn’t be viewed as too much of a surprise. Russell is a ridiculous talent, but he’s only been on campus for five months, as opposed to four years for Simpson and three years in college for Mack.
DeBoer stated that they want to have a starting quarterback named after next weekend’s scrimmage. All signs continue to point toward that guy being Simpson.
Two projected starters missed the first scrimage
Neither injury is expected to be long-term, but it’s still noteworthy: projected starters Jaeden Roberts (RG) and James Smith (DT) both missed Saturday’s scrimmage with injuries.
For Roberts, it elucidates perhaps why he was receiving second-team reps during practice all of last week, with redshirt senior Geno VanDeMark stepping in at RG and Kam Dewberry holding down the fort at LG. It’s an unfortunate break for Roberts, who has struggled to stay healthy. He dealt with lingering injury issues all of last season.
Alabama’s depth at DT isn’t where they would like it to be, so holding Smith out in an abundance of caution makes sense. It also gives other players – like Florida transfer Kelby Collins and third-year DL Edric Hill extra reps.
Jam Miller, Cole Adams, and Yhonzae Pierre receive scrimmage shout-outs from DeBoer
No player received higher praise in DeBoer’s post-scrimmage press conference than senior RB Jam Miller. DeBoer stated Miller had a great day, perhaps the best scrimmage performance since DeBoer became the head coach.
Miller is the unquestioned No. 1 on the depth chart at RB, but there’s plenty of competition for carries behind him. Junior Richard Young, senior Dre Washington, and redshirt freshman Daniel Hill are likely competing for two spots.
