Alabama is 14 practices into fall camp and just two weeks away from its season opener against Miami on Sept. 4 inside of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. After holding more of a situational scrimmage last weekend, the Crimson Tide will move back inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium today for a workout that will feel a bit more like an exhibition game.
“This will be a little more freedom for the players, we’re also working on gameday coaching organization from that standpoint so we’re looking forward to that,” head coach Nick Saban said earlier this week. “The bottom line is we need more guys to develop consistency in performance so they can play winning football and we have more depth on our team, we have more competition on our team and I think that will make us better.”
Here are five things we are looking for from today’s scrimmage.
Where will Branch play?
Earlier this week, Saban revealed that first-team safety DeMarcco Hellams is day-to-day with a sprained ankle he suffered during last weekend’s scrimmage. Assuming the junior is unable to go today, Alabama has a couple of options for who it decides to pair next to returning starter Jordan Battle.
The Tide could go with redshirt Daniel Wright, who started 11 games at safety last season and has been competing with Hellams for the first-team role this fall. Another intriguing option is sophomore Brian Branch, who Saban revealed has spent time at every position in the secondary during practice.