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White Team Edges Crimson Team in Tight 2021 A-Day Game, 13-10

The starting offense just barely edged on the starting defense in a tough contest from both sides
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In a Bryant-Denny Stadium infused with 47,218 fans — the most  seated since the 2019 season — the 2021 A-Day Game was a return to a somewhat sense of normalcy after spring practices were canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a mostly-defensive contest that saw five combined turnovers between Alabama's split roster, the White Team was ultimately able to emerge victorious in a 13-10 win over the Crimson Team.

"I think that we had a very productive spring," head coach Nick Saban said. "I think now's the time in the locker room after the A-Day Game that you say to everybody 'Look, it's time for us to come together and become a team. No offense, no defense, no Crimson, no White.' And everybody's got to create winning habits. You don't want to introduce any habits in your life that aren't going to be productive for you."

Although the offense had numerous new starters and new coaches led by coordinator Bill O'Brien, both side were missing a decent number of players out with injuries. In addition to running back Brian Robinson Jr., wide receiver John Metchie III and linebackers Christian Harris, Shane Lee and Drew Sanders were among those unavailable.

However, it meant more opportunities for the younger players to step up and play a larger role than usual.

"I don’t think you can get a total assessment on those guys who didn’t play, but it was a great opportunity for some of the guys who got to play a lot more today than if everybody had been able to play in the game," Saban said. 

"For the most part, we didn’t have any issues all spring long, so we made a lot of progress."

Sophomore quarterback Bryce Young led all quarterbacks in completions and yards with 25-for-44 and 333, respectively, en route to being named the game MVP.

"I think he's starting to get more and more respect from the other players by the way he plays," Saban said. "Every scrimmage we had, he performed very, very well and I thought he performed well today."

Freshman offensive lineman Jah-Marien Latham received the most valuable lineman award for the media .

The first half was predominantly led by the defenses, with each side managing only one touchdown apiece. The first score came on the White Team's opening drive, when the first-team offense moved the enough for junior place kicker Will Reichard to nail a 22-yard field goal.

At the 10:26 mark of the second quarter, the White Team struck again again, this time with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Young to redshirt-junior tight end Cameron Latu. Up 10-0, the momentum was clearly in Young's favor.

It was until :53 seconds remained in the first half, when he was sacked on a blindside hit sophomore linebacker Chris Braswell, who forced the fumble that was recovered and returned a yard into the end zone by senior linebacker Jaylen Moody.

In the first half, Young was 16-of-26 for 251 passing yards and a touchdown en route to the 10-7 lead. 

In the backfield, sophomore running back Roydell Williams led the stable with nine rushes for 31 yards, while sophomore Traeshon Holden led the receiving corps with six catches for 67 yards.

To start the final 30 minutes of play, the Crimson Team began the second half with an opening drive similar to that of the White Team's in the first: a 12-play, 40-yard drive to set up a 48-yard field goal by Allen to tie the game at 10 points apiece at the 7:47 mark in the third quarter.

After the Crimson Team was able to stop the White Team's offense on the next drive, the game seemed to be shifting directions. However, on the Crimson Team's ensuing offensive possession, redshirt-junior quarterback threw an interception to sophomore defensive back Kristian Story, who returned the ball 31 yards to the Crimson Team's 32-yard line. However, after three-consecutive incompletions, Reichard's 33-yard field goal attempt missed.

The rest of the game went back and forth via either punts or turnovers. In total, the Crimson Team turned the ball over three times compared to twice for the White Team.

With 1:27 left in the game, Reichard, who had gone 1-of-4 prior to his last attempt, nailed a 19-yard kick to complete the scoring. 

On defense, junior defensive back DeMarco Hellams lead both teams in tackles with 12 on the day. He also had one pass breakup and one forced fumble on the day. Sophomore linebacker Chris Braswell had a solid game as well, totaling five tackles, with three of them being sacks. He also had a forced fumble.

With both Hellams and Braswell playing for the Crimson Team, sophomore linebacker Demouy Kennedy led the White Team in tackles with seven. Kennedy also registered a sack on the day. In his first game in front of fans, freshman defensive back Ga'Quincy McKinstry had three tackles, including one for a loss. He also registered one pass breakup as well as an interception and a fumble recovery.

Among all running backs, Williams and sophomore running back Jase McClellan each had 12 carries, with McClellan just edging out Williams in yards 46-43.

In receiving yards, the Crimson Tide had a total of seven players total 50 receiving yards or higher. Hall led all receivers in both receptions and receiving yards with nine catches for 89 yards.

“I think that [Hall] is a young player, he is getting better every day," Saban said. "[...] He has made significant improvement throughout the spring, and he is someone that we think has a lot of potential. He makes a lot of contested catches. He’s got great size. He’s got really some explosive speed that I think we need. 

"We need some guys to compliment John Metchie when he gets back. We are pleased with his progress. He had a really good spring.”

As usual, Saban noted that he was happy with the team's progress over the spring, but noted that the Crimson Tide has a long way to go in preparing for the 2021 season. 

"I’m not satisfied with where we are, we have a lot of work to do as a team but certainly looking forward to taking every opportunity that we have to improve our team and continue to improve our players," Saban said. "It was a fun game. We made a lot of mistakes, drop balls, turnovers, had a couple explosive plays called back because of pre-snap penalties, illegal formation, covering up people. These are all things that can get fixed, but there was a lot of good things out there as well.”

The annual A-Day Game signified the end of the Crimson Tide's spring practice season. The team is scheduled to reconvene for practices starting in August, with a Sept. 4 start to the season against Miami at the 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.

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