How Alabama’s Newcomers Performed on A-Day

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s A-Day game gave an early look at the Crimson Tide’s freshmen and transfers, with several newcomers making plays throughout the scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Noah Rogers, WR (NC State transfer)

Rogers made an early impact, catching a short pass from Austin Mack on the opening drive after Mack extended the play outside the pocket. His afternoon ended early after taking a hard hit on a fade route in the sixth drive. Rogers was carted off the field and seen wearing a brace.

“Unfortunate with him getting dinged up,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We’ll kind of see what that looks like ... I’ll have more information here as we go through the spring and summer.”

Jorden Edmonds, DB (Freshman)

Edmonds was one of the most active defensive newcomers. He tackled Rico Scott short of the line to gain on second down early in the scrimmage, nearly intercepted a pass from Keelon Russell and later broke up a goal-line fade in the end zone.

Fellow cornerback Dijon Lee Jr., who is entering his sophomore season, said that he is proud of the way that Edmonds and freshman defensive back Zyan Gibson have grown this spring.

"They came in, put their head down, were ready to work, just listening to the coaches, listening to us, like me and Zabien and the older guys," Lee said. "You see how it's going so far from them. They just gotta keep their head down and just keep working."

Trae’shawn Brown, RB (Freshman)

Brown showed a mix of power and elusiveness. He caught a short pass on the second drive, powered through a pile of defenders for a medium gain on the fourth drive and turned a short reception from Jett Thomalla into a big gain after making two defenders miss in space.

Brown stands at 5-foot-10 and runs the football with a low center of gravity. Lee said that is the main factor that makes the freshman a hard player to tackle.

" He's low to the ground, man," Lee said. "He's making people miss, and he's been putting that work in in the weight room, so it's kind of hard to bring him down. He just, like I said, the freshman came in and just worked."

Cedarian Morgan, WR (Freshman)

Morgan was one of the top performers among Alabama’s newcomers. He caught a red-zone pass from Russell early, later hauled in a deep ball over two defenders — one of the standout plays of the day — and appeared to add another score on a sideline catch that was negated by a penalty.

Ryan Coleman-Williams, who shares being a former in-state, five-star wideout at Alabama with Morgan, said that it was surreal to watch him make big plays inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium, and even revealed Alabama's players nickname for him

"That's my dog, man," Coleman-Williams said. "He's really stacking days. He's early on, still learning and stuff, because he's only been here 24 seconds, so you know, just to see him continue to stack days. We call him the Gulf of Mexico; you throw it in there and he's gonna catch it, he's got plenty of space. I'm just super proud of my guy, and we got two more practices and were ready to continue to work."

Jett Thomalla, QB (Freshman)

Thomalla flashed playmaking ability during his only drive. He connected with Brown on a short pass that turned into a big gain, took a sack and later showed pocket movement by avoiding pressure before delivering a sidearm throw to Tyler Henderson.

Tayden-Evan Kaawa, QB (Freshman)

Kaawa was efficient in limited action, completing his first two passes after entering the game. He showed poise in the pocket and later connected with a receiver for a first down after evading defenders in the pocket, though a dropped checkdown stalled the sequence.

Jireh Edwards, DB (Freshman)

Edwards made a big defensive play late in the scrimmage, breaking up a pass intended for Ryan Coleman-Williams.

EJ Crowell, RB (Freshman)

EJ Crowell did not participate in Alabama's A-Day scrimmage and was seen wearing a boot and riding a scooter on the sidelines. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said the five-star will need to catch up to speed once he is fully healthy.

"With EJ Crowell, not a lot of reps this spring but he has a lot to learn," DeBoer said. "The contact and physicality is something to get used to when you come from high school. He's got the strength and we're optimistic. He needs to learn the scheme and get comfortable in the offense."

Lorcan Quinn, K (Marshall transfer)

Quinn handled the majority of the kicking duties for Alabama, converting an extra point early, adding another after a touchdown later in the scrimmage and connecting on two 47-yard field goals and one 29-yard attempt.

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