Alabama Spring Football Practice Has a Few Surprises

This week, Alabama started spring practice in helmets, jerseys, and shorts—and a few surprises.

The grass may be rising along with eyebrows as head coach Nick Saban opens this year's version of the Crimson Tide.

Some were surprised to see former receivers Brandon Gibson and Kendall Kelley working at defensive back in an effort to put a little more depth at that position.

Working out at linebacker—a spot where the Tide was thought to have plenty of depth—was running back Jalston Fowler.

Saban's explanation? "Spring is a time where we're going to fiddle around with the roster a little bit. Depth chart means nothing in the spring. Mostly, it's for organizational purposes," he said.

However, the eyebrows reached their peak with the news that Robby Green, the heir apparent to the starting safety position who was suspended for what most reporters understood was for a long time, may be back after spring break next week on March 22.

Saban has never hinted at or allowed any member of the staff or team to leak exactly what Green's transgressions were, but they may not have been as serious as we were first led to believe.

So while it's clear that Green may be back for practice, it's still unclear if he will be available to play and when. Saban's Feb. 18 statement indicated that Green still has "due process" to finish first.

"We have not been through that, but he's allowed to practice," Saban said. "We'll let you know when we have more information on what his situation is. I don't have any more information on that right now."

Allowed to practice means that whatever rule Green broke was not only a team rule, but also an NCAA rule. The fact that he was "allowed" to practice means that the NCAA has at least cleared Green to practice.

According to the Birmingham News , when Green was suspended last month after reports surfaced that he had broken a team rule, Saban indicated that Alabama was appealing.

One thing is for certain: After covering the Tide closely for a year, it is obvious that Saban's doghouse is not a pleasant place to be—and not an easy place to escape.

But the nicest surprise of the day was to see Dont'a Hightower running and practicing. Many were worried about the long-term effect of the injury he suffered last season. Saban commented on it by saying, "I think he could play a whole game right now if he needed to."