Alabama Crimson Tide vs. South Carolina football game coverage
The Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) will take on South Carolina (1-1) this weekend in Columbia, South Carolina. Scroll down for the latest game coverage.
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WEDNESDAY INSIDER REPORT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama moved indoors to escape the rain Wednesday as it held its third practice in preparation for its SEC opener against South Carolina on Saturday. Players were dressed in full pads for the workout.
— Antonio Alfano continues to be absent from the media viewing periods during practice. Following last week’s game, head coach Nick Saban said the freshman defensive lineman is facing discipline. Alfano, a former five-star recruit, has not seen a snap in either of Alabama’s games
— Freshman running back Keilan Robinson (5-foot-9, 190 pounds) was wearing a No. 5 scout-team jersey representing South Carolina’s Rico Dowdle (6-foot, 215). Last week, Robinson led Alabama with 80 rushing yards on five carries, including a 74-yard touchdown.
— Najee Harris led the running backs and was followed by Brian Robinson, Jerome Ford and Keilan Robinson.
— Alabama’s secondary worked out of the dime package. Patrick Surtain II and Trevon Diggs were the two cornerbacks, while Shyheim Carter played Star and Xavier McKinney played Money. Jared Mayden and Jordan Battle were the two safeties while Shane Lee was the lone linebacker.
TUESDAY INSIDER REPORT: LaBryan Ray returns to action
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama worked outside again Tuesday as it held its second practice in preparation for Saturday’s SEC opener against South Carolina. Players were in full pads for worked under sunny, 91-degree temperatures. Here are some notes from the media viewing period.
— After appearing limited Monday, defensive lineman LaBryan Ray was a full participant during drills Tuesday. Justin Eboigbe (foot) also looked to be at full-go.
— Freshman defensive lineman Antonio Alfano (discipline) was again missing from the media viewing period.
— Chris Owens (concussion) was participating in drills with the rest of the offensive linemen. Emil Ekiyor (knee) was dressed out and participating in drills as well.
MONDAY INSIDER REPORT: Alfano still not at practice
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama worked outside Monday as it began preparations for its SEC-opener against South Carolina on Saturday. Players were dressed in shorts and shells and worked under sunny, 93-degree weather. Here are some notes from the media viewing period.
— Freshman defensive lineman Antonio Alfano was once again absent during the viewing period. Following Alabama’s victory over New Mexico State last week, head coach Nick Saban said the former five-star recruit was “going through some discipline.”
— Starting defensive lineman LaBryan Ray was limited during the viewing period and stood off to the side as the rest of the unit worked in groups of three.
— Justin Eboigbe (foot) was back participating in drills and worked in the first group alongside D.J. Dale and Raekwon Davis. The second group was comprised of Phidarian Mathis, Stephon Wynn Jr. and Byron Young, while Braylen Ingraham, Ishmael Sopsher and Christian Barmore made up the third group.
Watch: Saban's Monday Press Conference
Here are some observations from Saban's Monday press conference
Opening…
I think overall after watching the game, there were certainly some areas where we made improvements as a team. But I think overall from start to finish, we didn’t play the way we would like to play from a consistency standpoint. We just weren’t clean and crisp in some of the things we tried to execute. And one of the things that you don’t want to create is, you know, people see your vulnerabilities regardless of what you’re doing, whether you’re playing offensive line, covering a guy on defense, reading the right things, running the right routes. It really doesn’t matter. And those things get exposed down the road if you don’t get them fixed. That’s certainly something that we can take away from this game in terms of our consistency in performance.
Observations
What vulnerabilities does Alabama have right now? The offensive line, the lack of an explosive run game? Something else? Saban wants to correct these issues as they could result to better teams exposing them if not corrected. To me, the pass protection needs to improve and it will be interesting to see if Even Neal keeps his job at left guard when Deonte Brown or even when Emil Ekiyor returns. Right now, Neal’s pass protection grade is 33.5.
Saban thanks fans on attending the game against New Mexico State despite the heat
One thing I would like to say is I know it was a difficult day for our fans because of the circumstances surrounding the weather and I’d like to thank the fans for supporting the team and a lot of people hanging in there to try to support the team. I think the players really appreciate it. We know it was a difficult circumstance for a lot of folks, and hopefully, our administration will continue to work to try to play some of these games at a different time.
Observations
Something needs to be done by the administration because that was dangerous.
Saban On South Carolina
We certainly look forward to the SEC opener this week. Will Muschamp has done an outstanding job of building a very, very good program at South Carolina. They had a successful season a year ago. They’re a very well-coached team in every phase of the game. Their guys play hard. They sort of reflect the personality of their coach. This is a good football team. They’ve got a lot of veteran players coming back. I think 15 starters and both their specialists, kicker and punter. Their offense is second in, I think, the SEC or whatever, over 500 yards a game.
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