It was another hot summer morning in Tuscaloosa as Alabama football held its fourth of 20 preseason practices on Sunday morning.
It all leads up to Aug. 31 when the Crimson Tide host Western Kentucky for its season-opener and coach Kalen DeBoer makes his official debut as Alabama’s head coach.
Media was able to view periods 5-9 of the Crimson Tide’s Sunday morning practice. Here are some of the things we learned, noted and saw during the viewing period.
Intensity ramps up at Alabama football practice
Saturday was the Crimson Tide‘s first fall practice in pads, and the intensity has definitely ramped up from day one of practice to now.
Tackling drills were taking place during the viewing period on Saturday and while the viewing portion on Sunday did not last as long as Saturday’s, the intensity was all the same.
The offensive line was running different blocking drills as were the defensive linemen, while the linebacker group was switching between sled drills and other on-the-field stuff. The defensive backs were on their side of the practice field, working with coaches Maurice Linguist and Colin Hitschler.
Coaches, again, were seen getting involved with the drills and offering active corrections, whether it was helping players with where they should be lining up or how they should be running a drill. If drills were not run to a coaches liking, the players re-ran it until it was done properly.
Kadyn Proctor back getting first-team reps
Through the first few days of fall camp, left tackle Kadyn Proctor was getting reps with the offensive line second-team. On Sunday, though, Proctor could be seen getting reps in with the first-team.
It comes after Proctor started all 13 games at left tackle for the Crimson Tide in 2023, originally earning the role during fall camp. Proctor then transferred back to his native Iowa following the 2023 season but transferred back to Alabama following spring practice.
Alabama has three-interior offensive lineman that seem to have solidified themselves as projected starters: center Parker Brailsford and guards Tyler Booker and Jaeden Roberts, but the question as to who will start at tackle is where the question still remains. Proctor will be one of those battling for a starting tackle spot along with Wilkin Formby and Elijah Pritchett at right tackle.
On Sunday, it was Proctor, Tyler Booker, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts and Wilkin Formby seen lining up on Alabama’s first team.
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Other general practice notes
Much of the viewing period consisted of individual position drills taking place. Sometimes they overlapped, like the quarterbacks running passing drills with the tight ends and wide receivers or handoff drills with the running backs, but primarily, each group did its own things.
DeBoer was present when the quarterbacks were running their drills with the tight ends, being heard offering praise. Wommack, again in his sweatsuit, was on the defensive side of the ball, as expected.
Que Robinson has also visibly taken on a leadership role, especially with the younger players on the team, specifically freshman Noah Carter and redshirt freshman Yhonzae Pierre. At one point during Sunday’s practice, when the linebackers were switching between the sleds and on the field drills, Robinson could be heard echoing his coaches to get his teammates ready for the next drill telling them to stay out of the defensive linemen’s drills. Then later, Robinson could be seen coaching up the younger guys and offering corrections to them on certain drills.
Robinson is a projected starter at the Wolf spot along Alabama’s defensive line and is a redshirt-senior, so it is not surprising to see him step up with the younger guys on Alabama’s roster.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Nuggets from Aug. 4 fall practice
The Tuscaloosa News
