Although Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer believes the Crimson Tide secondary is one area where he’ll look to add some help from the NCAA’s spring transfer portal, he’s been impressed with what he’s seen among UA’s younger defensive backs.
The Crimson Tide will hold the annual A-Day scrimmage on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium (3 p.m. CT, ESPN), using an offense vs. defense format rather than splitting up two teams. DeBoer, asked Thursday about position groups that have impressed him most through 14 spring practices, included the secondary among several areas of mention.
“(I’m impressed) maybe where I thought we were a little bit younger. … The position groups that have the veterans, you expect them to go out there and get it done. I really like some things that are happening up front defensive line-wise, but I also think that defensive back-wise, there are some young guys that have grown. I’ve really been impressed with some individual play considering how (young) they are,” DeBoer said. “I think the running backs, we’ve got some strong running backs in there that are really steady. On offense, to pick two on each side, it’d be the quarterbacks. The number of quarterbacks we have that you’d feel comfortable putting into a football game. Really, all four of them. They’re extremely solid and doing a great job with the accuracy, their reads, their competitiveness. They’re picking things up each day.”
DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan are installing a new offense that will be on display for fans for the first time on A-Day on Saturday. UA’s returning starter at quarterback, Jalen Milroe, said he’s been glad to expand his knowledge of the game by learning a different system than the one he played in last season as a first-year starter.
The running back position returns Jam Miller, who was UA’s third-string rusher last year, and Justice Haynes, who saw limited action as a freshman but played well in UA’s College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Michigan.
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
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