The White team earned a 27-14 victory over the Crimson team Saturday afternoon in the Alabama Crimson Tide's A-Day spring game.
The final score is somewhat deceiving as to the true difference between the two sides. The White team totaled 301 yards, compared to 141 for the Crimson team. The Crimson team did, however, own the turnover edge, collecting four interceptions and a fumble.
At halftime, the White team held a 17-0 lead. Adam Griffith hit a 49-yard field goal two minutes and 40 seconds into the game, and Jake Coker followed up in the first quarter with a 40-yard touchdown pass to ArDarius Stewart to put White ahead 10-0. Derrick Henry found the end zone 20 seconds after halftime, putting the Crimson team down 17 points.
Maurice Smith ate into the deficit with a 51-yard interception return with 10:22 left in the third quarter, but Griffith nailed a 28-yarder to make it a 20-7 game.
David Cornwell made it interesting late in the fourth quarter with a nine-yard TD pass to Parker Barrineau , but the Crimson team was unable to complete the comeback. Stewart got his second touchdown reception of the day, this one from Hootie Jones for 29 yards with 49 seconds remaining.
Marq Burnett of The Anniston Star noted that the White team coaching staff knew exactly how to exploit the Crimson secondary:
Stewart was one of the standout performers from the game. He finished with eight receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore wideout shared the co-MVP honor with fellow wide receiver Robert Foster, per Burnett. Foster had six receptions for 125 yards.
Travis Reier of BamaOnLine is already making the comparison to Amari Cooper:
A number of Tide fans were eagerly watching to see how the quarterbacks performed Saturday. With Blake Sims' graduation, the position is wide open.
Heading into the spring game, head coach Nick Saban admitted that he and his staff haven't yet tabbed anybody for the starting role.
"We don't really have a first-team quarterback," he said, per Michael Casagrande of AL.com. "We had to put some guys on both teams. And I think when it comes to that position, we're putting the guys on the teams so that we feel like they can get the most—how can we them the best reps and how can we play them where they get reps."
Coker seems the best bet for now to start once the season begins, and he did little Saturday to prove otherwise. The senior signal-caller went 14-of-28 for 183 yards and a touchdown.
D.C. Reeves of The Tuscaloosa News highlighted a throw from Coker to Foster late in the second quarter as evidence of Coker 's ability:
The Tuscaloosa News' Aaron Suttles also praised the pass, crediting Coker for letting the play unfold and finding his man:
Blake Barnett, a 5-star recruit from the 2015 class, only got three passing attempts under his belt. He went 2-of-3 for a loss of one yard. He also ran the ball four times, losing three yards.
David Cornwell was the Crimson's leading passer with 110 yards on 12-of-24 passing.
Cornwell fell himself victim to one of the Tide's talented recruits, however. Four-star safety Ronnie Harrison picked off a Cornwell pass in the second half, per Alex Byington of The Decatur Daily:
Former Tide QB and current SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy was a bit unwilling to heap too much praise upon Harrison for the play, per Mike Herndon of AL.com:
Tide fans might be a bit disappointed that more of Alabama's highly touted freshmen didn't make a major impact, but the team's 2015 season-opener against the Wisconsin Badgers isn't until September 5. That's a lot of time for those players to get acquainted to Saban's system.
Meanwhile, Saban will also have ample opportunity to determine whether Coker will be his guy at quarterback for the coming year. The Crimson Tide aren't lacking in talent at the position, so the ongoing battle between Coker , Cornwell and Barnett, among others, will be a story to watch in the coming months.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1b96Oou
via IFTTT April 18, 2015 at 02:57PM
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