TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The key to Alabama’s national title defense this season will be … its defense. That’s the way it has appeared this spring and was certainly the story during Alabama’s A-Day game on Saturday.
Led by the first-team defense, the Crimson team came away with a 24-12 victory over the White team, which featured the first-team offense. Combined, the two defenses tallied a whopping 13 sacks and made life difficult for quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Mac Jones on the afternoon.
The victory earns the Crimson team a steak dinner for the second straight year. However, the White team still holds a 7-5 advantage in head coach Nick Saban’s 12 seasons at Alabama.
Here are some notes from the scrimmage:
Jones makes the most of A-Day start
The discussion over who Alabama’s quarterback will be next season dominated the Crimson Tide’s spring camp. Until now that debate has centered around returning starter Hurts and backup Tua Tagovailoa, the hero of Alabama’s national title win over Georgia.
Saturday, Jones did his best to add his name to the mix. The redshirt freshman earned co-MVP honors completing 23 of 35 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns and an interception. With Tagovailoa on the sidelines due to a hand injury, Jones made the most of his start for the Crimson team, beginning the game by completing 8 of 11 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown following a 65-yard connection with Chadarius Townsend.
Jones slowed down a bit later in the second quarter and made a poor decision when he was picked off by safety Jared Mayden, who returned it 16 yards to the Crimson 29-yard line with 1:35 left to play in the half. The young quarterback bounced back in the second half to finish with a solid performance on the afternoon.
Alabama’s quarterback competition will continue this fall as Tagovailoa returns from his injury. From all indications, the battle will still likely be between him and Hurts for the starting role. However, Jones did enough Saturday to prove he can be a capable option if Alabama needs to call on him at any point this season.
Hurts suffers slow start
For a second straight game, Hurts suffered a slow first half. In his first appearance since a disappointing performance in the national championship game, the rising junior again took some time to get going on Saturday.
Hurts and the first-team offense went three-and-out on their first possession, with the quarterback nearly throwing an interception to linebacker Mack Wilson. Despite pulling off a few nice runs, Hurts slumped into the half completing just 6 of 14 passes for 32 yards.
The starting quarterback came out better in the second half and finished the game completing 19 of 37 for 195 yards and an interception but was never able to get his team into the end zone.
Defense dominates
Whistles blew well before Alabama’s quarterbacks were in any danger. Although, despite not being able to touch the quarterbacks, Alabama’s defense did an excellent job of affecting them.
Raekwon Davis, Quinnen Williams and Christian Miller tallied two sacks apiece for the Crimson team, while LaBryan Ray and Christopher Allen both had a pair for the White team. Isaiah Buggs, Jamey Mosley and Daniel Wright also had one sack apiece.
Even when Alabama defenders weren’t in the backfield, they were busy swarming ball carriers across the field. Dylan Moses led all defenders with 10 tackles and was followed by Joshua McMillon and Trevon Digs who had nine apiece.
Mayden and Diggs both had interceptions.
Freshmen specialist solid in A-Day debuts
Two A-Day debuts and two tests passed. Redshirt freshman kicker Joseph Bulovas and early enrollee punter Skyler DeLong weren’t perfect but did enough to put some of Alabama’s special teams anxiety at ease.
Bulovas shared co-MVP honors with Jones, converting on 5 of 7 on field goal attempts. He hit on tries from 33, 49, 26, 35 and 48 yards out while missing from 47 and 43 yards. DeLong averaged 39.4 yards per punt on 10 punts while pinning his opposition inside the 20-yard line six times.
Both freshmen will play key roles this fall as Bulovas will hold both kickoff and field goal duties, while DeLong replaces JK Scott, Alabama’s all-time leader in punting yards.
Game Highlights
Interview with Damien Harris
