Happy Monday, everyone. The softball team knocked off #2 Oklahoma yesterday after blowing a 7th inning lead in game one of the series, setting up a rubber match tonight at 6pm CT on SEC Network. Meanwhile, baseball had a disappointing weekend, dropping two of three to Mississippi State.
Saturday marked the final day of spring football practice, and one highlight has been making the rounds.
Glad that worked but I certainly hope that Germie would not throw the ball into double coverage in a real game. What an arm he has for a wide receiver though, and Horton’s ability to high point the ball is exciting. Those two dudes outside with Ryan Williams in the slot could be terrifying as long as Alabama can protect the passer and get good QB play.
Speaking of the QBs, things went about as expected. Ty is the steadiest while Russell’s talent jumps off the page.
Last season, Simpson produced a rushing touchdown against Western Kentucky and made appearances against Wisconsin, Mizzou, LSU, Mercer and Oklahoma.
On A-Day, he delivered a 35-yard touchdown pass to defensive back-turned-receiver Jaylen Mbakwe.
Simpson later quarterbacked the drive that saw Germie Bernard take a lateral pass from Simpson and connect with Isaiah Horton, who got behind two defenders for a deep-ball touchdown.
When A-Day throwing drills began, Simpson started 2-for-4 from the 45-yard line, but got more consistent as the day went on, finding a variety of receivers from the first- and second-team offense downfield.
Russell was obviously the third quarterback in the current order. He mostly worked with the second-team in Mack’s place when he got reps in 11-on-11 drills.
DeBoer said after the Tide’s second spring scrimmage that Russell’s youth and inexperience in the system was the thing keeping him from first-team reps, in favor of Simpson and Mack. He did make some nice plays, including a pretty throw to Germie Bernard in 7-on-7s.
However, he threw a pick early in the practice, a lousy throw that fellow freshman Ivan Taylor took advantage of. Russell also fumbled on a handoff and missed several other passes.
The potential is clearly there for the five-star freshman. However, if he’s going to see the field in 2025, he will need to make large steps during the summer months ahead of preseason camp.
It’s tough for a true freshman to start in the SEC, but Russell will have 7 on 7 season to learn the ropes a bit and try and turn it into a real competition. Austin Mack reportedly had a solid camp, but by most reports didn’t help himself on Saturday. He threw two interceptions in live play, and they were apparently ugly.
Russell had one interception as well, and freshman Ivan Taylor was the antagonist.
Ivan Taylor, defensive back
The son of Ike Taylor, the two-time Super Bowl champion cornerback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, stood out almost right away.
Taylor, the one who’s a freshman with the Crimson Tide, grabbed an interception on a deep pass during the first drill of the day.
During 11 vs. 11, Taylor snagged a pass from Russell at the end of the drill. That play alone earned Taylor a spot on the standout list.
Of course, none of us got to see any of that on TV because this new spring game format is ass. Attendance reflected that, too.
Fans were well aware that this would be the case and the attendance in Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium reflected that. Although the tickets were free, there were way more empty bleachers than occupied seats. UA hasn’t announced the total attendance but the stadium that holds over 101,000 people couldn’t have had more than 30,000 on Saturday.
The years of the A-Day scrimmage spanned a wide margin of attendance. In 2011, there were 92,310 fans and the entire 2010s decade had at least 62,000 seats taken. 2001 and 2004 each had 35,000 and those teams were coming off of sub-.500 seasons. Saturday’s showing was very likely less than that and it also wasn’t broadcast on television like usual.
It can’t be said that fans looking for positives in their 2025 A-Day experience came up empty. They noted that traffic was lighter. Parking was easier. Security lighter. Hotels cheaper. At any given moment, if you wanted a snack or a coke, concession stand staffers outnumbered customers.
There was no official announcement on the crowd, but 10,000-15,000 is a fair estimate, which would make it by far the smallest A-Day crowd this century.
It’s little wonder. Based on the fans willing to speak on it, this year’s A-Day put the flake in Golden Flake.
“Unless I’ve got kids coming here to school in a couple years, no, I wouldn’t come back. I understand the way the sport is moving toward the pro model. But at the same time, it’s not good for the fans,” said Jason Bailey, who drove with his wife from Florence. “When coach (Nick) Saban showed up, there were 92,000 people here.
Last, Alabama got a commitment from a huge pass rusher from Muscle Shoals over the weekend in Kamhariyan Johnson.
“Number one, his length,” Basden said of Johnson. “He’s fast-twitched, he bends really well. Just the upside, you know?”
Basden said Johnson was “really a basketball guy” in middle school before realizing football could be “his ticket” to success.
For Basden, Johnson is “different,” much like how the top kids in the state of Alabama are “different,” the kind of players where “it doesn’t take long to put in the tape an see it,” Basden said.
“When you’ve got kids that are big and fast-twitched and powerful, you need to sort of keep them in state,” Basden said.
It also says that Kam has grown taller than the 6’4” in his bio and has the frame to play at 290+. If that’s the case he should shoot up the rankings in his senior season, and is tailor made for the Bandit position currently occupied by LT Overton.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
