Alabama Football: Takeaways and Stats from Tide's 1st Spring Scrimmage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Bo Scarbrough hype officially reached liftoff Saturday. 

Scarbrough had a statement performance during the Crimson Tide’s first spring scrimmage, with 132 rushing yards on nine carries, according to statistics released by the University of Alabama.

He also scored three touchdowns, including one on a 95-yard carry.

Moreover, Scarbrough was the first of three playmakers that head coach Nick Saban specifically mentioned after the closed session at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“I was encouraged by some of the guys out there,” Saban said. “Bo Scarbrough ran pretty well.”

The buzz among Alabama fans about Scarbrough has been building for years, dating back to even before he was considered since one of the top running back recruits in the nation.

Scarbrough hails from the Tuscaloosa area, and at 6’2” and 230 pounds, he physically reminds many of last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Derrick Henry.

With Henry and Kenyan Drake having moved on, Alabama has little proven depth in the backfield, which is led by second-year players Damien Harris and Scarbrough.

After serving a four-game eligibility suspension, Scarbrough played in seven games and had 104 rushing yards on 18 carries with one touchdown last season. Despite the limited workload, his 5.8 yards per carry topped the Crimson Tide, just ahead of Henry’s 5.6.

Harris, who played in 12 games as a true freshman, had 157 rushing yards on 21 carries last year.

“I certainly think he’s capable of doing all the things that we need him to do,” Saban said when asked about Scarbrough. “I think part of it is confidence, knowledge, experience. Having confidence in what he’s supposed to do, how he’s supposed to do it, why it’s important to do it that way. I think when he understands that he plays fast and he’s very effective.

“I like his work ethic, I like his toughness. I think there are things that we need to improve on, but we’re encouraged by what he’s done to this point.”

A good day for one of the quarterbacks

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The second player that Saban individually praised to reporters was quarterback David Cornwell, who is competing with Copper Bateman and Blake Barnett for the starting job.

Per usual during an Alabama quarterback competition, the program did not release passing statistics from the scrimmage to the media, but Saban said “some of the young quarterbacks made some plays. David Cornwell threw the ball fairly well.”

Although Saban declared that none of the quarterbacks has really stood out so far, they also haven’t had much of an opportunity to do so yet, as Alabama rotated the four on scholarship throughout the scrimmage.

The offense was missing some starters as well.

“There were some inconsistencies in the passing game,” Saban said. “When I say that, I’m not just talking about quarterbacks throwing the ball. I’m talking about the protection, the receivers running the right routes, the timing, all those things. I think the thing that affects the passing game and the kicking game as much as anything is the wind, and it was really windy.

“There were some good plays made today. I’m encouraged by all of those guys. I think the big thing they need to is each and every one of them can’t be thinking about where I am on the depth chart, what my position is and worry about that.”

Injury report

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Alabama continues to bring the players who are coming off injuries along slowly. Defensive end Jonathan Allen (shoulder), left tackle Cam Robinson (shoulder), wide receiver Robert Foster (shoulder) and safety Eddie Jackson (leg) were among those in black no-contact jerseys and held out of the scrimmage.

Maurice Smith has been working at safety in Jackson’s absence, and early enrollee Jonah Williams filled in for Robinson during the scrimmage.

“Jonah Williams has really played nicely and actually played left tackle today with the first team and did a really nice job,” Saban said.

The coach also stated that reserve tackle Korren Kirven missed some time this past week with a foot injury.

Tide-bits 

• Saban indicated that the scrimmage format was simple, as the aim was for coaches to evaluate how the players competed. “I think that I can’t really ever say that I’m pleased with much of anything around here, but I guess, relatively speaking, this scrimmage was a lot like you would expect a first scrimmage to be,” he said. “There were a lot of good things and there were a lot of things that need to be cleaned up.” Overall, Saban said he liked the team’s effort and toughness.

• A third playmaker that Saban singled out was wide receiver ArDarius Stewart. He was credited with a team-high seven receptions for 100 yards and touchdowns of 40 and 18 yards.

• Saban didn’t comment too much on the defensive side, saying it “batted some balls down, got some turnovers, made some good plays.” Defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson and linebacker Rashaan Evans led all players with eight tackles, while linebacker Reuben Foster returned an interception for a touchdown.

Alabama spring scrimmage No. 1

Stats include 11-on-11, situational drills, red area, goal line, two-minute 

Rushing leaders

• Bo Scarbrough: 9 attempts, 132 yards, 3 touchdowns
• Jalen Hurts: 10 attempts, 57 yards
• Damien Harris: 12 attempts, 36 yards

Receiving leaders

• ArDarius Stewart: 7 catches, 100 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Calvin Ridley: 3 catches, 50 yards

Defensive leaders

• Dalvin Tomlinson: 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 passes broken up
• Rashaan Evans: 8 tackles, 1 sack
• Reuben Foster: 7 tackles, 1 interception (returned for a touchdown)
• Ryan Anderson: 7 tackles, 1 sack

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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