5 Takeaways From Alabama Football's 2023 A-Day Game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It wasn't the prettiest football scrimmage, but A-Day seldom with the Alabama football team. Nevertheless, the Crimson Team, led by the first-team defense, prevailed 30-21 Saturday afternoon At Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Here's five takeaways from this year's exhibition.:
1) Alabama is going to really miss Bryce Young
That's nothing against any of the quarterbacks on the roster, but there's a reason why he won the Heisman Trophy and appears poised to be the first selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
It goes beyond the numbers, but in this case they sort of tell the story.
Jalen Milroe: 19-37, 245 yards, two TDs, two interceptions, 13 carries, 65 rushing yards, 114.0 rating
Simpson: 12-26, 155 yards, 0 TDs, one interception, six carries, 62 yards, 88.5 rating
Dylan Lonergan: 8-14, 1 TD, 128.1 rating
Eli Holstein: 3-6, 61 yards, 102.1 rating
There's a leader after the spring, but the job is far from won.
2) Alabama has some nice depth in the secondary
The competition for starting spots will go into the fall, but we got a glimpse of why a pair of defensive backs entered the transfer portal this week because some of the top reserves are pushing for playing time.
Among them, freshman Dezz Ricks broke up a couple of passes, (in fairness he was also flagged for pass interference) including what could have been a 33-yard touchdown, and sophomore Earl Little II had an impressive pickoff.
Meanwhile, freshman Caleb Downs intercepted a Hail Mary at the end of the first half, and senior Kristian Story nearly had a pick-six on a ball that never should have been thrown out of the end zone. Cornerback Terrion Arnold also had an interception.
3) Malachi Moore may be carving out a new role
The senior has played at numerous spots, including at star, but he's clearly at his best playing as close to the line of scrimmage as possible. He spent most of his time this spring at safety and then played star in the slot for A-Day, with Little moving down to the second-team for game purposes.
Regardless, Moore showed on Saturday that he's at his best when attacking, and the guess here is that he'll be moving around in the fall in an effort to keep doing just that.
Moore had a team-high seven tackles and three sacks in the first half en route to being named the A-Day MVP. He also appeared to be the defender on the 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver sophomore Emmanuel Henderson Jr.
4) Kayden Proctor's for real
Gauging how well the linemen played really requires looking at the game film, but the freshman more than looked the part at left tackle with the Crimson side.
During one stretch in which we were watching closely he stood out. On back-to-back plays late in the third quarter he easily handled a bull-rusher, and then moved a defender to his left to create the space for a nice gain on the ground.
If the 6-7, 354-pound Proctor ends up starting, and with Tyler Booker and JC Latham on the right side, Alabama's offensive line will be ugly-good.
5) The offensive chemistry isn't there yet
Not only did none of the quarterbacks stand out, but really no one did on the offense as a whole. From situational issues to lack of execution, no one was crisp and there were few sustained drives.
There were too many dropped passes and missed opportunities across the board, although Nick Saban said wide receivers Isaiah Bond, Ja'Cory Brooks and Jermaine Burton all had a good spring.
He added that junior-college transfer Malik Benson "has a chance to be a real contributor" and Henderson is "getting better."
"I think we have the right combination of people," he said .
