TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s ground game carried the offense on A-Day, but the nature of any spring scrimmage is to gravitate to the quarterback position.
As expected Jalen Milroe started for Alabama’s offense. The redshirt junior finished the scrimmage just 3 of 9 for 100 yards but flashed his big-play ability, hitting Washington transfer Germie Bernard for a pair of big gains to set up early touchdown drives.
Milroe’s opening throw to Bernard went for 36 yards, as he found the junior open downfield. His second throw was even better, as he hit the receiver in stride for a 52-yard gain on a deep crossing route.
Milroe's two deep balls were part of three completions of 30 or more yards on the day. Redshirt sophomore Ty Simpson was responsible for the other one, delivering a 34-yard pass to Bernard late in the afternoon. Following the scrimmage, first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke about his team's big-play ability, stating that it has "come along for all the quarterbacks."
"It's just timing, it's confidence, it's read progression and things like that," DeBoer said. "Identifying, there's my one-on-one, there's my guy, where to put the ball. ... The last week or two, I think that’s been pretty consistent. Early on, I can’t say that any of the quarterbacks were just getting dialed in and those plays were being made. That’s what got the offense to a hot start with the scrimmage is those explosive plays. I love that we could come out of the locker room, and the kickoff happened and we're ready to go."
While Milroe's big throws were the only times he was able to push the ball through the air during the scrimmage, the returning starter said he leaves spring camp comfortable with the Crimson Tide's new offensive scheme.
“I feel prepared,” Milroe said. “It just comes from just being confident and also the coaching staff. The coaching staff is really confident in me, and that just pushes me even more because I have a coaching staff that is all for me and that is pushing me to be great.”
While Milroe provided the early fireworks, Alabama’s other passers were more methodical in how they moved the ball up the field. Simpson was the second quarterback behind center and finished the scrimmage with arguably the best stat line, completing 7 of 12 passes for 102 yards.
The redshirt sophomore started the game just 1 of 4 but eventually got in a groove, putting together a string of completions while hitting on some intermediate routes. In addition to his 34-yard completion to Bernard, he was also able to hit Cole Adams for a 21-yard gain before connecting with Kobe Prentice for 25 yards earlier in the scrimmage.
“He does a great job back there,” DeBoer said of Simpson. “You got full confidence with a lot of guys back there, but Ty I thought again he’s just been consistent. He’s gotten better throughout the spring. Never really had any drops in each and every practice.
“You see what he does out there. He’s accurate, he knows when to put touch on it. You saw the one ball on the deep crosser. He’s got goof awareness. … He’s got a command of the offense for sure.”
Alabama's other quarterbacks also put on solid showings. Redshirt freshman Dylan Lonergan was the third passer to enter the game and completed 8 of 12 passes for 67 yards. Washington transfer Austin Mack got off to a slow start while working primarily with walk-ons but was able to finish the day 6 of 9 for 33 yards.
“I thought all the quarterbacks did a better job of pushing the pocket at the right time. That’s something I know we’ve been emphasizing, rather than just sitting back there and letting the rushers on the edge get to you.”
While none of Alabama’s quarterbacks found the end zone, they all avoided throwing an interception. Following the game, DeBoer confirmed Tide Illustrated’s previous reporting that the Tide’s quarterbacks have remained turnover-free in all three major scrimmages this spring.
