1 week Ago By The Tuscaloosa News
Alabama football is officially in summer mode. The Crimson Tide finished its spring practice schedule Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium for its annual A-Day, which served as the team's final practice session instead of a traditional scrimmage. And while it was the first chance for fans to see a new roster up close, it was a practice session that remained consistent of the messages Kalen DeBoer, his staff and his players have been pushing all spring.
Here are five things we learned from A-Day. Alabama football QB depth chart remains set heading into summerThroughout the spring, especially out of each Crimson Tide scrimmage, DeBoer was consistently saying that he was seeing what he expected to see. And from the looks of Alabama's A-Day, that remained to be true for the quarterback room.
The order of Alabama's three scholarship quarterbacks remained the same order the Crimson Tide seemingly entered spring with: Ty Simpson, then Austin Mack, then Keelon Russell. Early on, DeBoer and his staff spoke of how experience is king for Alabama, how it defines what the Crimson Tide defense will be in 2025 and why the addition of Isaiah Horton was so important for the wide receiver room. Simpson is the most experienced quarterback in the room, even if not by much from a statistical perspective.
That experience was enough for Alabama at A-Day. Simpson was the first quarterback to take reps. He was the last quarterback to take reps.
He was the quarterback who seemingly had the most reps with the first-team offense, reps he split with Mack.DeBoer has made it clear Alabama's quarterback battle is not set. It's not decided, and it won't be until the fall.
But based on what the Crimson Tide showed the public, and what it has been pushing all spring, the hierarchy is clear.Alabama tight end room will look remarkably different come fall The reason behind Alabama's A-Day practice session instead of a scrimmage was due to the tight end position, a spot that had a limited number of players available with Danny Lewis, Josh Cuevas and Marshall Pritchett – all scholarship players – out, and one remaining healthy: Jay Lindsey. The lack of availability led to DeBoer and the Crimson Tide staff bringing William Sanders over to play H-back during the practice session.
This spring, DeBoer was extremely cautious when it came to injuries. None of the injuries to his tight end room are expected to be long term, and additional reinforcements are set to come in 2025 four-star Kaleb Edwards. Alabama's tight end room is set to look remarkably different come fall.
Derek Meadows may be the Alabama freshman WR to watchLotzeir Brooks has been the talk of spring in Alabama's wide receiver room, the 5-foot-9 slot guy who could line up anywhere on the field. But Derek Meadows, the 6-4 deep threat of a freshman was the talk of A-Day.The Nevada native was a deep-threat favorite of multiple quarterbacks, connecting with Mack and Russell for highlight-reel plays.
He was athletic, quick and overpowering, especially in one-on-one looks. Meadows may not be at the front of the line for that deep-threat role. Horton and maybe even converted cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe were both go-route machines for the Crimson Tide at A-Day.
But Meadows showed promise in what he was given Saturday.Alabama defensive backs may be the strength of the team One-on-one drills proved to be an issue for Alabama quarterbacks. And part of it was due to the amount of talent that receivers had to go up against.
The Alabama defensive backs shined, from interceptions recorded by Zabien Brown and freshman Ivan Taylor, to a dominant one-on-one pass breakup by Cameron Calhoun in the end zone. That is not to mention Domani Jackson and Keon Sabb, who were each sidelined for spring with an injury and Dijon Lee, the 6-4 freshman corner who's made his presence known in practice.For a defense that is looking to provide more and more pressure up front, eager to see an uptick in both sacks and tackles-for-loss, that ball-hawk Alabama defensive back approach doesn't seem to be going anywhere either.
Are certain Alabama football position battles set in stone? Other than quarterback, two other Alabama football position battles seem to be clearing up. On defense, the husky position – Alabama's nickel corner – seems to be DaShawn Jones, who replaced DeVonta Smith in the Crimson Tide's ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan. Jones also ran first-team reps at husky in a recent practice.
On offense, the left guard spot seems to be coming down to Kam Dewberry, the Texas A&M transfer, and Geno VanDeMark, who was last seen on an exercise bike at an open practice viewing April 8. Dewberry took most of the reps with the first-team offensive line at A-Day. Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Five things Alabama football actually learned from 2025 A-Day.
