TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama moved inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday for the first of two closed scrimmages during preseason camp. According to first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide took part in 102 plays, 81 of which were with the first- and second-team units, while the other 21 featured the third unit.

While Saturday’s workout was closed to the public, Tide Illustrated was able to gather a few nuggets from the select few in attendance.

Here’s a look at what we uncovered.

Starting quarterback Jalen Milroe put together an encouraging performance, tossing three touchdowns while running in another. The redshirt junior’s biggest throw of the afternoon came on a touchdown pass to freshman receiver Ryan Williams from 40 to 50 yards out. Milroe also found Jam Miller for a 30-yard touchdown, as Alabama failed to pick up the running back in the flats. The quarterback’s third touchdown was to tight end C.J. Dippre, who scored from about 17 yards out.

According to sources, Milroe showed nice command of the offense and looked to have improved from the spring. His lone interception came when he was picked off by safety Malachi Moore in the middle of the field. According to a source, Milroe tried to drop in a throw over the Mike linebacker but put too much air under it, allowing Moore to float over and pluck it from the air.

Milroe also ran in a touchdown from about 40 yards out. However, the play would likely not have gone for as much yardage in a full-contact setting. According to one source, cornerback Domani Jackson let up when Milroe was around 7 yards past the line of scrimmage, thinking the quarterback had already been touched down. The coaches didn’t see it and allowed Milroe to scoot untouched to the end zone. Either way, there’s no doubting the dual-threat quarterback’s ability to make plays with his legs.

While Milroe had the brightest day of Alabama’s passers, Ty Simpson also generated praise coming out of the scrimmage. The redshirt sophomore threw for three touchdowns without turning the ball over. He spent most of his time working with the second unit but also got a few series with the ones.

Simpson’s touchdown passes were all from roughly 25 yards out. One came on a corner route to Washington transfer Germie Bernard. Another came on a deep pass to Cole Adams in which the slot receiver managed to get a foot down in the back of the end zone before crashing into the back wall. He also dropped in a nice touchdown pass to Josh Cuevas

Simpson also connected with walk-on running back J.R. Garnder for a big gain on a play similar to Milroe’s touchdown to Miller. Alabama’s offense was able to exploit the defense on passes to the running backs by using mesh routes to the tight ends and receivers to draw away the linebackers.

Redshirt freshman Dylan Lonergan spent a couple of series working with the second-team offense, while Washington transfer Austin Mack worked with the third-team unit.

Mack connected with freshman receiver Caleb Odom for a long gain on what was perhaps the play of the game. The completion occurred after the defense jumped offside, creating a free play for the offense. Mack dialed back and hit Odom who snagged the ball with one hand.

Williams wasted no time living up to his five-star hype. The freshman receiver’s long touchdown from Milroe came on the third play of the first-team offense’s first drive. The score came on a hitch-and-go, as Williams got Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones to bite on a double move, allowing Milroe to hit him on a nicely-thrown deep ball.

“His body moves different,” one source in attendance said. “He’s very fluid. Even though he’s a thin guy, he has explosion. He can get to full speed very quickly.”

Williams almost recorded another touchdown on the day but was unable to come up with a diving catch on a ball from Lonergan. Despite being the youngest player on the team at 17 years old, the reclassified freshman figures to be a big part of this year’s offense.

The term “mad man” was used by one source to describe the play of defensive lineman LT Overton. The Texas A&M transfer had multiple sacks and pressures out of the Bandit position during the scrimmage.

“He’s dominant on the defensive line,” one source said. “He was giving the tackles all they could handle out there. He has a chance to be very, very special.”

Moore also created plenty of pressure from the safety position, coming up with a couple of sacks of his own. According to a source, the offense struggled to pick up the safety thanks to a complex blitz package drawn up by first-year defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.

Alabama’s first-team offensive line consisted of Kadyn Proctor, Tyler Booker, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts and Wilkin Formby from left to right.

According to a source, Formby spent the first six to eight drives with the first-team unit, while Elijah Pritchett also got a few drives at right tackle with the ones. After spending time at left tackle earlier in camp, Pritchett worked exclusively at right tackle where he is battling Formby for the final opening on the offensive line. Meanwhile, Miles McVay worked as the second-team left tackle behind Proctor.

While Alabama gave up a handful of sacks during the afternoon, multiple sources said the offensive line had a productive day. Formby is one player who drew multiple favorable reviews.

Alabama’s two first-team cornerbacks were Jackson and Jones, while freshmen Zabien Brown and Jaylen Mbakwe worked on the second team. Brown is still wearing a club on his left hand, but it was said to be not as bulky during the scrimmage.

Brown had been working with Alabama’s first-team unit during practice earlier in camp. However, it’s hard to ignore Jones’ experience at the position. The Wake Forest transfer started 10 games last season, leading the Demon Deacons with three interceptions.

Multiple sources brought up a bit of a concern in the kicking game as Miami-Ohio transfer Graham Nicholson missed a couple of makeable attempts early in the scrimmage. Nicholson is the reigning Lou Groza Award winner and connected on 27 of 28 field-goal attempts last season. However, filling Will Reichard’s shoes won’t be easy at Alabama. One source at Saturday’s scrimmage described the drop-off between the two kickers as “noticeable.”

— Multiple sources reported that redshirt freshman running back Richard Young did not participate in the scrimmage.

— Alabama’s punt returners on the day were Germie Bernard, Jaylen Mbakwe and Cole Adams.

— Freshman receiver Rico Scott was mentioned as someone who made a couple of nice plays on the afternoon.