Tuesday Insider Report on Alabama Crimson Tide football
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama players were back outside Tuesday for their second practice in preparation of Saturday’s game against Tennessee. Players were dressed in full pads and worked under cloudy, 66-degree weather. Here are some notes from the media viewing period of practice.
— Alabama’s first-team offensive line saw some shakeup as Deonte Brown replaced Lester Cotton at left guard. Cotton started in all seven of Alabama’s games this season but has been battling an ankle injury.
— Two of the three starting receivers who were limited Monday returned to action as Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III went through individual drills and caught passes from quarterbacks. DeVonta Smith continued to stand to the side during drills and did not catch passes from the quarterbacks. Monday, Saban said Smith has a hamstring injury and called the receiver the “most questionable” of Alabama’s injured players.
— Tyrell Shavers took Smith’s spot leading one of the outside groups during drills.
— Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa continued to wear a brace on his right knee and didn't kneel like other quarterbacks during warmups. He moved well during practice and delivered the ball well to receivers.
"I’m a lot better actually than I was last week after the Arkansas game," Tagovailoa told ESPN on Monday. "I mean, it looked bad on the field. I re-tweaked it kind of, but we got some treatment after the game following this morning leading up to practice today. So, we’re a lot better. We’re much better."