Alabama Football 2011: What's Going on in Spring Practice at Alabama?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) When practice first began this spring, things were going against the norm. The offense was way ahead of the defense and it seemed as if the rock that Alabama was counting on had cracks in it.

Saban was not happy with the defense at all and said the tackling was sloppy and the pass protection had too many breakdowns.

He threatened that no one had a starting role on this team regardless of how many starts they may have had in past. 

The message must have been heard and clearly understood.

In Saturday's practice held in front the University's Red Elephant Club, the defense took a huge step forward in showing that are the rock that can be counted on after all.

The running game was cut back as the defense came up with stops at or near the line of scrimmage. There were a lot more hurries and some good sacks, but the passing game continued to click even though Saban and Groh mixed in some different receivers with the regulars.

A.J. McCarron is beginning to separate himself from Sims as expected, not just with the total yardage, but the number of touchdowns and fewer mistakes. He simply looked like the starter and leader of the offense.

Take a close look at the numbers from this weekend's practice and compare the offensive totals with that from a week ago and you'll see the defensive line is coming along nicely.

SCRIMMAGE STATS THIS WEEK COMPARED TO LAST WEEK

PASSING LEADERS

Player                         Stats                Total               TD’s    INTS        Wk ago
A.J. McCarron              19 for 40          255 yards           4 TD    0 INT         189-3-1
Phillip Sims                 19 for 34          232 yards           2 TD    1 INT          225-3-2

RUSHING LEADERS

Player                         Rush Attempts           Rush Yds        Avg.    TD’s  Wk ago
Trent Richardson          13 rushes                      44 yards        3.38               8.0
Dee Hart                      13 rushes                      41 yards        3.15               2.27
Jalston Fowler              10 rushes                      23 yards        2.30     2 TD    6.2
Eddie Lacy                   8 rushes                        22 yards       2.75     1 TD    9.2

RECEIVING LEADERS

Player                         Passes Caught            Passing Yds    TD’s    Wk ago numbers
Darius Hanks               6 rec.                          131 yards         3 TD       61 yards
Trent Richardson          6 rec.                            87 yards                      25 yards – 1 TD
DeAndrew White          5 rec.                            85 yards          1 TD      61 yards
Marquis Maze              5 rec.                            73 yards          2 TD     76 yards – 2 TD
Brian Vogler                 4 rec.                            36 yards
Corey Grant                 2 rec.                            34 yards
Harrison Jones             2 rec.                            22 yards
Brad Smelley               2 rec.                            21 yards                      17 yards
Michael Williams          3 rec.                           17 yards

Saban switched some receivers this week so there were no numbers this week for Kevin Norwood who had 16 yards last week, Kenny Bell, who had 89 yards and 2 TD’s and Brandon Gibson, who had 28 yards, all last weekend.

SCORING

(In Order)
Maze 2-yard pass from McCarron - PAT Foster, good
Lowery 51-yard INT return
Shelley 43-yard FG
Foster 50-yard FG
Hanks 68-yard pass from Sims - Foster PAT, good
Hanks 18-yard pass from McCarron - No PAT attempted
Foster 30-yard FG
Hanks 7-yard pass from McCarron, No PAT attempted
White 18-yard from Sims - PAT Shelley, good
Lacy 3-yard run
Fowler 2-yard run
Fowler 1-yard run
Shelley 25-yard FG
Maze 36-yard pass from McCarron

FIELD GOALS
Cade Foster - Made: 50, 30; Missed: 48, 58
Jeremy Shelley - Made: 43, 25; Missed: 30

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Player                         Tackles           Tackled for loss         Pass Breakups           Sacks
Dont'a Hightower          10 tackles         3 TFL                                                           1 sack
Courtney Upshaw          7 tackles         1 TFL                                                            1 sack
C.J. Mosley                  7 tackles                                               2 PBU
Robert Lester               6 tackles          1 TFL                             1 PBU
Mark Barron                 4 tackles                                               1 PBU                     1 sack
DeQuan Menzie            4 tackles                                               1 PBU
Trey DePriest               4 tackles          2 TFL
Ed Stinson                   4 tackles          1 TFL
Dee Milliner                  4 tackles
Quinton Dial                 4 tackles                                                                              1 sack

Who was praised by Saban in his after practice press conference?

The biggest praise was focused on Trent Richardson, was was second in reception yardage even though his rushing numbers were off. "He did a great job in terms of the passing game, was a real threat for us in so many different ways," Saban said of Richardson. "I thought he played extremely well today."

He also mentioned that Menzie, a defensive cornerback, did another good job and certainly deserves to be starter.

He also mentioned Darrington Sentimore, a defensive end, Nick Gentry, a nose guard, were doing good and that Damion Square and Ed Stinson, both defensive ends had also showed some improvement.

Lastly, he said DeAndrew White is getting more comfortable and looking like a contributor. He said it's good that a receiver with the potential for so much "pop" is coming along so fast and so well.