I’ve kept the new coffee shop on 15th Street in business this past week. Alabama’s new morning practices have been a shock to the system for me and my usual night-owl routine.

While players have focused on remaining hydrated during the first week of preseason camp, I’ve been pumping my body with as much caffeine as it can handle. At $6 a pop, it’s a race to see whether my kidneys or wallet will give out first.

In all seriousness, I can’t complain about Alabama’s new preseason policies. While I might prefer Nick Saban’s practice times over Kalen DeBoer’s, the access under the Tide’s new regime is far more favorable than it was previously.

In today’s column, I’m emptying the Week 1 notebook to provide 10 things that have stood out to me during camp. With that said, pour yourself a drink (especially if it’s coffee), and let’s dive in.

In honor of Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, this week’s drink is out of season. Drinking a hot chocolate cocktail in the dead of summer doesn’t make much sense, but neither does wearing a sweatshirt in 90-degree weather.

The Winter in Los Altos from our friends at Session Cocktails is the perfect way to toast Wommack. Like the defensive coordinator, the drink turns its nose at temperatures, featuring hot chocolate syrup despite being served cold. Meanwhile, the cocktail’s pepper-infused tequila matches Wommack’s fire on the practice field. Here’s how Session mixes it up.

Add 1.5 ounces of pepper-infused tequila, 0.5 ounces of Hoodoo Chicory Liqueur, 1 ounce of hot chocolate syrup and three dashes of cocoa bitters into a tin and shake over ice. From there, strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Enjoy as part of Alabama’s “Cold Summer.”

Cheers!

(Commercial break: My drink of the week section is now sponsored by my friends at Session Cocktails in Tuscaloosa. Session has been a mainstay in Tuscaloosa’s cocktail scene since 2019 and offers some of the tastiest drinks in town. Stop by and tell them I said hi!)

1 — The cornerback battle is encouraging

Alabama needs to replace both of last year’s starting cornerbacks, but the cupboard isn’t bare at the position. Southern California transfer Domani Jackson appears poised to live up to his five-star potential during his first year with the Tide. Across from him, Alabama will be able to choose between a crop of blue-chip freshmen or an experienced transfer addition.

Five-star freshmen Zabien Brown and Jaylen Mbakwe both have the talent to contribute during their debut seasons. Meanwhile, Wake Forest transfer Dashawn Jones provides a humble, veteran with Power 5 starting experience. All of the above have received plenty of praise from the coaching staff following the first three practices of camp.

2 — Hollywood hype

Ryan “Hollywood” Williams didn’t waste any time stepping into the spotlight this past week. The five-star freshman receiver pulled off an impressive one-handed catch during his first official practice last Wednesday and has been the most asked-about player by reporters during interview sessions.

While Williams appears to have the necessary tools and mindset to live up to his early hype, it’s important to remember he’s just 17 years old. The reclassified freshman might indeed develop into one of Alabama’s best players this fall, but he’s going to have to walk before he can run. That being said, he does seem to be ahead of the curve in terms of picking things up at the college level.

“I think the hardest thing for a young freshman wide receiver is just getting lined up properly,” Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said when asked about Williams on Saturday. “And that has never been an issue for him. He has been on it as far as recognition of communication, whether it be signals or in the huddle or whatever it may be. Lining up properly. All the varieties of formations and motions and shifts that we do.”

3 — Don’t forget about Caleb Odom

With Williams serving as Alabama’s new flashy addition, it’s easy to forget about the Tide’s freshman fascination from the spring. Unlike Williams Caleb Odom already has a few months of college practices under his belt. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound playmaker signed with Alabama as the No. 2 tight end in this year’s class but switched to wide receiver in the spring. It’s still early in camp, but Odom's progression looks promising.

“Certainly the time that he's had to learn the offense has helped him,” Sheridan said Saturday. “It's just more time on task. You have to ask Caleb, but certainly from our perspective, he's more comfortable with his assignment and alignment and what he's supposed to do each and every play.”

4 — I’m changing my pick at the right tackle position

Heading into camp, I provided my depth chart projections for Alabama’s offense. I stand by the majority of my picks, but I’d like one do-over.

In my projected depth chart, I have Wilkin Formby beating out Elijah Pritchett at the right tackle position. To my credit, Formby has spent all three practices as the first-team right tackle, while Pritchett worked as the first-team left tackle. However, that likely won't be the case for long.

While Kadyn Proctor is still working his way back to the first-team offense following his brief transfer to Iowa, the five-star sophomore is widely expected to retain his starting spot at left tackle by the end of camp. When that move eventually occurs, Pritchett will likely move over to the right side to compete with Formby. And based on the reviews Pritchett has received this week, it’s hard to bet against the redshirt sophomore at the moment.

5 — Does Milroe already have his go-to target?

As is the case with most Alabama quarterbacks over the years, Jalen Milroe has perfected the art of robotically spewing out coach speak to avoid giving away too much during interviews. However, the redshirt junior left us with a little bit of a nugget when discussing his wide receivers on Saturday.

“One thing about our receiver room, they’re all uniquely different,” Milroe said. “So they all have unique traits that are going to be a key resource for us to go to whenever game one is. So we’re finding that guy, but I can say I have in mind who’s going to be ready to go by the time Game 1 happens.”

A few favorites come to mind when attempting to guess at Milroe’s next go-to target. Perhaps it’s Washington transfer Germie Bernard, who he found for a couple of big gains during the A-Day game this spring. Kendrick Law is a solid guess, especially after DeBoer revealed that the junior was clocked at 23.6 miles per hour during summer workouts. Speaking of speed, Kobe Prentice also has the ability to run down Milroe’s deep balls this fall. Who knows, maybe Milroe has been impressed with what he’s seen from Williams in the freshman’s first few practices.

6 — Building a bond with Brailsford

As Milroe looks to build chemistry with his receivers, his bond with Washington transfer center Parker Brailsford will be equally important.

Alabama was haunted by bad snaps last season, as Milroe and center Seth McLaughlin failed to establish a good sense of communication at the line of scrimmage. Looking to put those problems behind him, Milroe is already focused on building more comfort with Brailsford over the next few weeks.

“As a whole, the foundation starts with the offensive line, but the offense goes between the quarterback and the center exchange,” Milroe said. “It’s been very important to get the run checks down, get the passing game down as a whole because all we want to do is just keep building and improving. No. 1, it starts with communication, so between me and him it’s very important. To have this opportunity to have these reps in fall camp, that’s going to lead to when we have to play Game 1 or whenever that happens.”

7 — Mr. Reliable

By now, everyone has heard about the big names in Alabama’s offense, but it was interesting to listen to wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard gush over Cole Adams when asked about the redshirt sophomore receiver on Saturday.

“Mr. Reliable,” Shephard said of Adams. “You can rely on him in everything that we do. He knows what to do, when to do it. He’s got very consistent hands. He’s a tough son of a gun, he’s going to throw his entire body in there. He ain’t no big-bodied dude, but he’s going to throw in everything he’s got, all 115 pounds he’s got. I appreciate that from him because he plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He has respect for the game.”

Adams is a bit bigger than Shephard jokingly gave him credit for, standing in at 5-foot-10, 186 pounds. The reliable slot receiver might also end up with a bigger role than some expect. After all, he did tally three catches for 46 yards during the A-Day game this spring.

8 — An extra starter at ILB

Speaking of players who might exceed expectations, senior linebacker Justin Jefferson received some serious praise from Wommack earlier this week. As expected, returning starters Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell have retained their first-team spots at the heart of Alabama’s defense during camp. However, Wommack says Jefferson isn’t too far behind the duo.

“I think Justin Jefferson had an unbelievable spring and I think he’s had an even better summer going into fall camp,” Wommack said. “I would say Justin Jefferson is right there with those other two guys. I think we have three starter-type linebackers from that position. So very impressed with him.”

While Jefferson spent the majority of his debut season at Alabama on special teams last year, he piled up 86 tackles during his sophomore season at Pearl River Community College in 2022. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound defender was also clocked with an eye-popping 4.34 time in the 40-yard dash before joining the Tide.

“It's kind of one of those classic cases, right?” Wommack said. “You get a guy from junior college, that first year sometimes the learning curve is a little bit challenging and then all of a sudden a year later they’re showing tremendous production, and obviously he’s a very gifted athlete.”

9 — No problem with Proctor

After making a U-turn in the transfer portal, Proctor returns as the prodigal son of Alabama’s offensive line. However, while the five-star lineman’s offseason path might not look great on paper, he's been a model teammate since rejoining the Tide this spring.

“I think he’s been great,” Kapilovic said. “Work ethic has been off the charts. Open to coaching, learning. He’s working on his own. He lives with Wilkin, so they’re watching extra film, they’re quizzing. They’re doing all the things that you want them to do. So I’ve been really pleasantly surprised at just how eager he has been to learn and jump in. It’s been great.”

Proctor hasn’t pouted while having to earn back his starting spot at left tackle. And while he missed out on Alabama’s spring camp, he’s already well on his way to picking up the Tide’s new offense.

“I feel like he made all his catching up during the summer,” Alabama left guard Tyler Booker said. “He understood that he missed the spring, and he knew that he would have to make strides to catch up and he’s definitely done so so far. So he’s definitely back where he would have been if he stayed.”

10 — A healthy Tide

Knock on wood, but Alabama has opened camp relatively healthy at all positions. Second-year receiver Jalen Hale is likely to miss the season after suffering a significant knee injury in the spring. However, that’s the Tide’s only notable injury at the moment.

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