Alabama will hold its final scrimmage of the preseason Saturday in what Nick Saban is calling the “last dress rehearsal” of camp. The Crimson Tide still has two weeks until its season opener against Utah State on Sept. 3. Still, Saturday’s workout inside Bryant-Denny Stadium should go a long way toward ironing out positional battles and determining who will take on important roles this season.
While the media will be shut out from the action, bits of information are generally passed down by the select few in attendance. With that in mind, here are five questions we will be looking to learn more about from the scrimmage.
What’s going on in the secondary?
Alabama’s defensive backs are a bit banged up at the moment. After Khyree Jackson missed last weekend’s scrimmage with a groin injury, Saban announced Wednesday that LSU transfer Eli Ricks has been unable to practice this week as he deals with “a little back problem.”
While neither injury is thought to be serious, the setbacks make it difficult to evaluate the cornerback position as Alabama looks to replace departing starters Jalyn Armour-Davis and Josh Jobe.
With Jackson sidelined for last weekend’s scrimmage, Kool-Aid McKinstry and redshirt freshman Terrion Arnold took the majority of reps with the first-team defense, according to sources. It’s likely Alabama will go with that pairing again this weekend given the status of Jackson and Ricks.
