Alabama Football: Takeaways and Stats from Tide's 2nd Spring Scrimmage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban borrowed one of the favorite teachings of Tony Dungy, who was on hand for the Crimson Tide’s annual coaching clinic this weekend, when describing his team’s second spring scrimmage.

Specifically, Saban related to what the former NFL coach said he learned from Chuck Noll, who won four Super Bowls as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers—that champions don’t have to do extraordinary things, they just have to do ordinary things extraordinarily.

“I think that really speaks a lot about the scrimmage that we had today, the spring practice as a whole,” Saban said.

Although Alabama didn’t release any passing statistics, which has become the norm whenever there’s a quarterback competition, the players whom one would expect to post the best statistics pretty much did just that Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Running back Bo Scarbrough topped 100 rushing yards for the second straight scrimmage. Wide receiver Robert Foster, who is coming off a shoulder injury, topped that same number in receiving yards.

With linebacker Reuben Foster posting a team-high nine tackles, the first-team defense scored three touchdowns—two on interceptions and the other on a fumble recovery.

“But past that I think we have a lot of guys who need to learn how to play winning football, which is really taking care of the ordinary things well,” Saban explained. “Things like take care of the ball, discipline not to get penalties, don’t have mental errors, be able to go out there and do your job well.

“[The second-team players], they’re trying to make plays and they don’t play with a lot of discipline, which affects their ability to go out there and do their job like they need to. This is the goal for the rest of this spring, to get more and more guys to play winning football.”

The wide receivers appeared to demonstrate the difference. The three likely to start—Robert Foster, Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart—combined for 12 receptions, 228 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think we have three guys who are ahead of the rest,” Saban said, before adding that Cam Sims and Derek Kief have both had a good spring and are right behind the trio in the rotation.

Foster, who had a 50-yard touchdown in the closed scrimmage, is the biggest question mark of the front-runners. He’s coming off a shoulder injury that sidelined him for all but three games of 2015.

“Robert has struggled at times this spring and is not 100 percent healthy, but I think he’s gotten better and better,” Saban said. “I’m just really happy to see he made some plays today because that probably did a lot for his confidence.” 

Quarterback competition 

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press/Associated Press

After specifically praising David Cornwell’s performance last week, the coach didn’t single out any of the quarterbacks during his post-scrimmage press conference.

“I think that what you look at it is how do they move the team?” he said. “Not just their stats or completions and all that kind of stuff. How did they move the team? I think Cooper [Bateman] moved the team a lot. I think Jalen Hurts did a nice job today and David Cornwell did a pretty good job.”

Redshirt freshman Blake Barnett is the other player competing for the starting job, but all indications are that he’s behind the two older quarterbacks, Bateman and Cornwell.

“I think there’s still a lot of competition with these positions,” Saban added. “Taking care of the ball is a big thing. I don’t know how many times you’ve heard me say it before, if every series on offense ends with a kick, whether it’s a punt, field goal or an extra point, we’re OK with that.

“The game we lost last year we turned it over five times. That’s probably the single statistic that determines winning and losing.”

Offensive line update

LM Otero/Associated Press

Outside of quarterback, the Crimson Tide’s biggest competition battle is on the offensive line, where only two spots are set: Cam Robinson (who is out with a shoulder injury) at left tackle and Ross Pierschbacher at center.

During Saturday’s media observation period, the offensive line’s front five consisted of Korren Kirven, Lester Cotton, Pierschbacher, Brandon Kennedy and Jonah Williams. The second unit had Bradley Bozeman, Dallas Warmack, J.C. Hassenauer, Alphonse Taylor and Matt Womack.

“Lester Cotton has had a really good spring, and if I had to say is he one of the top five linemen based on what he has done in the spring, I would say probably yes,” Saban said. “Can I say where he would play? I don’t know for sure. He could play right tackle, he could play right or left guard.

“Some of the younger guys are making a lot of progress. Jonah has done a nice job. So we’ll just see how they continue to progress."

Injury report 

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Saban did not announce any new injuries after the scrimmage.

Robert Foster (shoulder) and safety Eddie Jackson (leg) wore black no-contact jerseys.

Among those who were held out as a precautionary measure were defensive linemen Jonathan Allen (shoulder) and Dakota Ball (foot), Robinson, linebacker Shawn Jennings (knee) and wide receiver Raheem Falkins (leg).

Defensive end Da'Shawn Hand was sidelined this past week due to back spasms but could return before the end of spring.

Reserve offensive lineman Richie Petitbon suffered a knee injury during Alabama’s first scrimmage and had surgery last week.

“We anticipate a full recovery,” Saban said. 

Alabama’s final week of spring football will feature two practices and the A-Day Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, April 16. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Alabama scrimmage statistics

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

Rushing leaders

• Bo Scarbrough: 12 attempts, 112 yards, 1 touchdown
• Damien Harris: 8 attempts, 56 yards
• Ronnie Clark: 7 attempts, 31 yards

Receiving leaders

• Robert Foster: 4 catches, 106 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Calvin Ridley: 3 catches, 62 yards
• ArDarius Stewart: 5 catches, 60 yards
• Cam Sims: 2 catches, 47 yards

Defensive leaders

• Reuben Foster: 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble
• Ryan Anderson: 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
• Rashaan Evans: 7 tackles, 1 sack
• Christian Miller: 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble
• Minkah Fitzpatrick: 5 tackles, 1 interception (returned for touchdown)

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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