Alabama Football: Week 3 Fall Camp Stock Report

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — To the surprise of no one, the University of Alabama football team closed training camp and held its second and final preseason scrimmage last week without naming a starting quarterback.

Nick Saban did the same thing in 2014.

“The quarterback decision is going to get made by what the players do on the field, who performs the best, who does the best job of leading the team, making good choices and decisions, taking care of the ball,” he said. “That's how it's going to get decided. We're sort of monitoring that every day.”

However, a toe injury to senior Jake Coker might have made that approach impossible, as he missed three days of practice during the crucial time period when coaches were looking for someone to emerge and secure the job.

While Saban and his staff met Sunday and Monday to decide which players would make contributions this season, quarterback remains the team’s one big question heading into the 2015 season. Coker and junior Alec Morris appear to be the front-runners while Alabama also has sophomore Cooper Bateman, redshirt freshman David Cornwell and true freshman Blake Barnett.

Saban won’t meet again with reporters until Thursday, while the Crimson Tide’s initial depth chart is due to be released next Monday. Don’t be surprised if it reads Coker “or” Morris to start against Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 5 (8 p.m. ET, ABC).

ArDarius Stewart poised for breakout season

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Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is known for getting the ball to certain playmakers and then essentially daring the defense to stop him, and this year that figures to include ArDarius Stewart.

Throughout camp, Stewart was the one wide receiver who Saban consistently praised, including after Saturday’s scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“Made some really good catches,” he said. “Adjusted to the ball well, made some contested plays, which was good to see.”

Stewart was beginning to become a bigger part of the offense last season when he suffered strained knee ligaments against Western Carolina in November. He finished the season with 12 catches for 149 yards.

“I'd definitely say his speed,” defensive back Maurice Smith said stood out the most about Stewart. “He's improved on every aspect as a receiver. Blocking, running routes and just knowing the plays. He's being a complete receiver.”

Injury update

Alabama emerged from training camp without any major setbacks, although offensive tackles Dominick Jackson (shoulder) and Korren Kirven (sprained knee) are expected to be out a few days this week.

All indications are that senior running back Kenyan Drake (hamstring) will be ready to go for the opener, but freshman Bo Scarbrough (knee) will start serving a four-game eligibility suspension.

The wide receiving corps will enter the season banged up as junior Chris Black (ankle) and sophomore Robert Foster (sprained knee) both suffered camp injuries and sophomore Cam Sims (ACL) has only recently started practicing.

“He has a ways to go,” Saban said.

With junior Raheem Falkins (leg) also out and even walk-on Parker Barrineau cutting his toe so badly in the shower that it required surgery, Richard Mullaney, a fifth-year transfer from Oregon State, and true freshman Calvin Ridley have gotten a lot of extra practice reps.

Special teams

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Alabama’s special teams have started to take shape around the established trio of sophomore punter J.K. Scott, junior long snapper Cole Mazza and junior kicker Adam Griffith, who struggled with back issues last season.

When asked who would be the primary returner, Saban only mentioned one name, Cyrus Jones, who returned four kickoffs (19.2 average) and punts (20.5) last season.

“He’s got really good judgment, really good hands, running ability, fast and explosive,” the coach said. “So after that we’re looking at three to four guys to be backups.”

Black and Mullaney are two possibilities, but one notable player Saban didn’t mention was Drake, who did field some returns in the spring.

As for the rest of the spots, Saban listed Tony Brown, Bradley Sylve, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Robert Foster, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Dillon Lee and Shawn Burgess-Becker as players who have stood out.

“We've got kind of a group that's got some experience,” he said. “Obviously it's important that we get a lot of people involved on special teams so we don't play starters. I think it's good for team morale when you have a lot of different guys with roles. But those are some of the guys I've been impressed with.”

Brown, a sophomore cornerback, switched his jersey from No. 2 to No. 7 so he can be used simultaneously with junior running back Derrick Henry. 

Crimson Tide bits

• While Alabama didn’t release any statistics from either scrimmage, Saban disclosed that Henry had eight carries, Drake six and freshman Damien Harris 14 on Saturday. “That’s about what we wanted to get out of ’em. We wanted to get them banged, we wanted to get Kenyan Drake hit, he hadn’t been hit since the Ole Miss game, so he scrimmaged quite a bit and we wanted five or six carries for him and to play a lot of loose-play downs, which he did.”

• On the defensive side, senior linebacker Reggie Ragland has been the player drawing the most praise from Saban, but the coach also singled out Reuben Foster after Saturday’s scrimmage. That was telling because most of the plays were passes and Foster has been better against the run. It’ll be interesting to see if he won a starting job outright when the Crimson Tide’s depth chart is released next week.

• Alabama didn’t have many starting jobs up for grabs during camp, but one player who might have earned one is junior Alphonse Taylor at right guard. “Shank’s a great player,” sophomore left tackle Cam Robinson said about Taylor. “Lot of power. He’s just grown a lot from last year to this year; more comfortable in the offense, being able to do more things. He’s progressing really well.” Sophomore Bradley Bozeman played at right guard in the spring but might be more valuable as a sort of sixth man who can also play center.

• Redshirt freshman Marlon Humphrey appeared to be working with the first unit at cornerback last week and all indications are that he had a good camp. With Jones established, Alabama has some real depth at the corners again, including Brown, Sylve, Smith, redshirt sophomore Anthony Averett and Fitzpatrick.

• The coaches have been telling Scott that they want his punting to resemble a golf swing, fluid and not trying to muscle the ball. "It's a spot-on analogy,” Scott said. “It's perfect. Like, that's exactly what it is. The mentality of a punter is kind of the same exact as a golfer. You don't have many chances. It's just one shot, and you've just got to do everything you can for that one shot."

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.