Alabama picked up what will certainly be one of the most highly-touted signees of the 2013 recruiting class earlier today with the verbal commitment of Virginia Jack linebacker prospect Jonathan Allen. The direct quote from Allen on his commitment, per the Washington Post:

"I'm feeling so good that I finally committed," Allen said. "Hopefully, the process will start slowing down and I can focus on football and on my senior year ... At the end of the day I felt Alabama was the best fit for me. I'd develop more under [outside linebackers] coach Lance Thompson and the whole staff."

Allen visited Alabama over the weekend, and many had hoped the Tide would be able to secure his commitment at that point in time. Obviously that came to fruition, and for the time being he puts an end to what had been a very intense recruiting cycle that featured most of the national powerhouse programs.

As a prep prospect, Allen has been a standout for Stone Bridge High School, racking up 192 tackles and 35 sacks the past two seasons. A dominant player in the Virginia prep ranks, it comes as no surprise that he has offers from effectively every school in the country, and no one should expect opposing schools to stop recruiting him simply because he has given a verbal commitment.

Just how good is Allen? He is considered by most to be one of the top fifteen prospects nationally, and he will be no lower than the second or third best overall in the 2013 Alabama recruiting class. Only Reuben Foster and, if he ends up in crimson, Robert Nkemdiche would be considered bigger signings. Prospects of Allen's caliber are exceedingly rare, and those who do possess such a frame and requisite athleticism are the type of prospects who can be dominant players at the collegiate level and high-round draft picks in the NFL.

Simply put, Alabama has signed several high-end Jack linebacker prospects in the past four years, but Allen looks to be the most physically impressive to date. The depth chart at Jack is very deep at the moment, with Adrian Hubbard, Xzavier Dickson, and Ryan Anderson all expected to see playing time, but the odds are that a player like Allen finds a way on the field almost immediately after setting foot on campus.

Being a Virginia native, the distance will be a legitimate concern for many, but on a further glance there does not seem to be any real cause for concern. While he hails from Virginia, Allen was actually born in Anniston, Alabama and still has family within the state. Additionally, the lack of a true powerhouse program in the state of Virginia certainly helps matters, and Alabama has had success in recent years under Nick Saban recruiting the talent-fertile mid-Atlantic region. After going public with his commitment earlier today, Allen was adamant that he was done with recruiting and would not be taking any further visits, so distance concerns or not Allen seems as firm as a verbal commitment can realistically be this far from National Signing Day.

Allen becomes the fourteenth commitment of the 2013 recruiting class.

Addendum: Todd posted the junior highlights earlier, but here are some sophomore clips per YouTube:

Given the general backlash against the current BCS system, it has been exceedingly clear in recent months that some form of a playoff would be implemented in the near future, and the uncertainty was just the specifics of the post-BCS landscape. However, with the news that, beginning in the 2014 season, the champions of the SEC and Big XII will meet annually in the so-called Champions Bowl on New Year's Day, the specific playoff structure seems to be in place and the dawn of an era of superconferences now looks more inevitable than ever.

So, for starters, why the pairing of the SEC and Big XII? Part of the reasoning likely involves geographic proximity and prior relationships between several of the member programs, but the bigger driving factors were likely necessity and the influence of the Rose Bowl.

To outsiders and the rational-minded, the Rose Bowl is an anachronism, an over-hyped event that lost most of its relevance many decades ago. The parades are nice and the picturesque Pasadena setting even better still, admittedly, but the games themselves were typically irrelevant in the national championship discussion even before the dawn of the BCS, and snoozers were especially common. It's frequently unremarkable football and even worse television.

But good luck getting far with that argument when dealing with self-congratulatory Rose Bowl apologists, who view the annual event as the nearest mere mortals can ever hope to transcend the space-time continuum. And, given that many people and institutions holding such views also wield tremendous influence in college football, for better or for worse the Rose Bowl and its Big Ten versus Pac-12 match-up will be largely preserved in the post-BCS landscape.

With the Rose Bowl effectively immovable, then, by pairing together the SEC and the Big XII guarantee their own post-BCS standing. No worries over complex mathematical formulas, voter biases, at-large bids, strength of schedule, margin of victory, or any other similarly nebulous consideration. Bottom line, as a matter of right, every year at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 1st, your conference champion will take the field with only sixty minutes separating them from a berth in the national championship game. Is it a more difficult road what members of these conferences face now? Arguably so, but such is the trade-off for certainty you get under the new system.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have to feel like this is Christmas morning. Not only do they get to preserve the traditional Rose Bowl format, they get to play among themselves with no regular season concern for what is developing in the SEC and the Big XII, both of which have been historically stronger conferences that have routinely been selected over the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions in the current BCS format. Now come January 1st every year, they, too, will only have sixty minutes separating them from the national championship game. And if that entails 11-2 Ohio State going against 10-2 Oregon, while, say, later that night 13-0 Alabama squares off against 13-0 Texas, so be the luxuries of the system. No small consideration, mind you, for two conferences that have combined for only about four national championships -- three of which were split titles -- in the past thirty years.

And with that basic model implemented, everything else falls easily into place, even if not smoothly so. Superconferences quickly form, simply because there is no alternative to being on the outside looking in at the Big Four championship format. There is no room for a fifth conference in a Big Four environment, and whichever conference, or conferences, are tainted with that status will be effectively mid-majors, even if they are called by another name.

The ACC will be the obvious casualty, and on short notice it should effectively go the way of the Big East. The few viable programs that it has will have to go elsewhere to maintain their own viability. To that end, Florida State is already publicly searching for the exits, and programs like Virginia Tech, Miami, and Clemson will have to quickly follow. What will be left will be also-ran programs like Wake Forest and basketball schools like Syracuse and Duke.

The BCS as we know it is dead. Superconferences will become the norm, and with the inability to expand the regular season schedule further, divisions within superconferences become more solidified with fewer games being played less frequently between inter-divisional conference members. The conference championship games become a final four play-in game, which means the Big Four format creates a de facto eight-team playoff, which should sit very well with those who believe a four-team playoff does not go far enough.

Even the white whale of conference expansion, Notre Dame, is now more isolated than ever, and independence may no longer be the answer. It is possible that there could be an at-large trigger in the Big Four format, where even a conference champion of one of the Big Four conferences does not get a spot at the table when they are below a certain ranking, for example, but the specter of potentially being on the outside looking in could simply be too big of a risk in South Bend, assuming they can ever finally transcend their Champs Sports Bowl tradition of the past two decades.

Some details have to be worked out, but on the whole the landscape is relatively easy to envision even at this early stage. A de facto final four championship playoff, even if it is not expressly called a playoff, comes into being with the Champions Bowl and the Rose Bowl, the effect of which leads to a massive premium placed on membership in the four major conferences, which will lead to another bevy of conference realignment as independents and members of the ACC search for a place in one of the four major conferences. Like it or not, expect this to be the format of college football in the aftermath of the BCS.

Nick Saban and company went a long way today towards solidifying the long-term outlook of the quarterback position at Alabama by landing Cooper Bateman, the 6'3 and 210 pound quarterback prospect out Salt Lake City, Utah. Bateman made his commitment public earlier this morning with a press release, the relevant excerpt of which is provided by the Daily 'Bama Blog:

"This has been a great time in my life, I have had the rare opportunity to be able to choose from many great schools that would allow me to get a college degree and continue to play the game that I love.This has been a very difficult decision only because I was able to meet and get to know so many wonderful coaches at so many great universities.

"I have chosen to attend the University of Alabama. I am honored that I will get to learn from Coach Saban and Coach Nussmeier and will get to represent Alabama, the state and the University. I want to thank my coaches at Cottonwood for all they have done for me and mostly to my parents who have made this all possible."

Consider this an addition that speaks for itself. Bateman held offers from nearly every school in the country, and most recruiting services have him as one of the top quarterback prospects in the country. In terms of his caliber as a prospect, he is very similar to what AJ McCarron and Phillip Sims were prior to matriculating to Tuscaloosa. He is less of a developmental project and more of someone who can legitimately be considered a viable starting candidate in the intermediate-to-long term, and if he can live up to the billing he will likely be the starting quarterback at Alabama as a second-year player in 2014.

In terms of a physical skill set, Bateman has all the attributes that coaches desire. Very few quarterbacks possess good size, a strong arm, and above-average mobility, but Bateman brings all three into the fold and that is the main reason why he comes as heavily regarded as he does. He's no surefire bet for the next level, of course, and admittedly the footwork needs further development, he will have to transition to an offense that typically operates with the quarterback under center, and coming out of the Utah prep ranks will not make for an easy acclimation to the SEC. Even so, the shortcomings generally pale in comparison to the outstanding physical tools.

On the whole, adding Bateman has to induce a major sigh of relief from the coaching staff. With the transfer of Phillip Sims the future of the quarterback position is very much up in the air in Tuscaloosa, and there is no guarantee that either Phillip Ely or Alec Morris will ever be able to be a viable player of SEC caliber. Both were signed as developmental projects of varying degrees, and by adding a prospect with the physical skill set of Bateman there is more certainty with respect to having a player at the position who can play at an acceptable level against quality competition.

Given the shortage of depth at quarterback, it has generally been assumed that Alabama would sign two quarterbacks in this class, and with Bateman in the fold it gives the 'Bama staff additional time to evaluate other quarterback prospects during summer camp and the upcoming prep football season. Riley Ferguson of North Carolina, for example, has been strongly linked to Alabama as a possibility, for example, but getting the verbal commitment of a prospect such as Bateman provides the luxury of further evaluations before making any firm personnel decisions.

Finally, it would be an omission not to note that there could be some concerns about Bateman keeping his commitment through this January because he is the caliber of prospect that opposing coaches will continue to recruit -- and the fact that he is roughly 1,800 miles from Tuscaloosa will surely create some concern -- but Bateman intends to enroll early and for now it seems he plans to shut down his recruitment and not take any other visits. There is nothing at the moment to indicate that this will be a major problem, but it should be duly noted from the outset as a possibility.

Bateman becomes the twelfth commitment of the 2013 recruiting class.

Addendum: Todd posted his junior clip earlier, but here are some sophomore highlights from YouTube:

Dont’a Hightower looks, sounds like Belichick’s type of player - The Boston Globe

It wasn’t that [Dont'a Hightower] was gruff when he met with the media Friday before an on-field session at rookie minicamp, and he did crack a smile or two, but for the most part Hightower was matter-of-fact when talking about acclimating himself to the playbook, the coaching staff, and learning how to do whatever it takes to help the Patriots win. In other words, he’s a Belichick kind of guy.

Bryant had E.J. Junior at 'education;' The rest for Tide All-American is history | al.com

A mainstay on Alabama's 1978-79 national championship teams, Junior now is a head coach at Central State in Ohio. His oldest son will be a freshman running back at the University of Cincinnati.

Georgia provides non-stop threats, but Alabama escapes with 1-0 victory, advances to championship game | al.com

The threats followed Alabama ace Jackie Traina throughout Friday's SEC tournament semifinal, but she found a way out of every single jam. Third baseman Courtney Conley's solo home run in the third inning was the only offense No. 1 seeded Alabama needed in its 1-0 victory over Georgia. Alabama (49-7, 23-5 SEC) advances to play third-seeded Florida, which defeated Tennessee earlier in the day, in Saturday's SEC tournament championship game.

SEC Softball Tournament Championship Game Moved to Noon CT on Saturday - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - University of Alabama Official Athletic Site

Southeastern Conference officials have announced that the SEC Softball Tournament Championship game, originally slated for 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, has been moved to Noon CT due to the potential for inclement weather in the area later in the day. ESPN2 will air the championship game live at Noon CT. Gates will open at 10 a.m. CT.

Baseball Falls to Kentucky, 4-2, in Series Opener - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - University of Alabama Official Athletic Site

The Alabama baseball team dropped the series opener to the seventh-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, 4-2, on Friday night from Cliff Hagan Stadium. With the loss, Alabama falls to 18-31 overall and 7-18 in Southeastern Conference play. The Wildcats improve to 39-11, 16-9 in conference play. Due to impending weather on Sunday, Alabama and Kentucky will play a doubleheader on Saturday. Game two of the series will begin as scheduled at 1 p.m. CT, and will be televised on Fox Sports South. The series finale will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one of the doubleheader.

Nation's top prospect, Robert Nkemdiche, calls an audible to explore options further | al.com

As the time neared to make his announce­ment on a college des­tination, Robert Nkemdiche audibled. Not a bad move, consid­ering quarterback is about the only position the na­tion's No. 1 prospect has yet to play. "I'm just not ready yet," Nkemdiche told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "This is one of the biggest deci­sions of my life. I want to go see some new places, and go back to some other places to spend more time with the coaches and to check out the campuses.

SEC wants wireless communication for football officiating crews in 2012 | al.com

If SEC coordinator of officials Steve Shaw gets his way, the SEC will use a wireless communication system to officiate some football games this season. The goal is to improve communication within crews and speed up the game. The NCAA football rules committee allowed the SEC and Big Ten this spring to test the system, which international soccer referees have used for several years. Wearing a small earpiece and microphone, the seven football officials didn't have to huddle to discuss penalties and could engage in pre-snap conversations to catch possible infractions.

Defensive lineman Chris Rock leaves Michigan football team, spokesman confirms

Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Chris Rock has left the Michigan football team, a program spokesman confirmed Thursday afternoon.

Texas-OU rivalry to remain at Cotton Bowl through 2020 | Dallas-Fort Worth Communities - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

The historic rivalry between the universities of Texas and Oklahoma will remain at Fair Park through 2020, with the signed contracts from both schools arriving at City Hall this afternoon. Mayor Mike Rawlings and top officials with the State Fair of Texas all but promised that a deal to keep the schools playing in Dallas could be reached if only the city would commit to major improvements to the aging Cotton Bowl.

Alabama ejects Harvey Updyke from SEC softball tournament | al.com

"Mr. Harvey Updyke was asked by University of Alabama officials to leave today's softball game and he complied. Several months ago, the University issued a formal directive to Mr. Updyke stating that he is not to come to the University of Alabama campus. Mr. Updyke has no affiliation with the University of Alabama and does not represent the institution in any way. The University of Alabama will have no further statement on this matter."

It's rarely a good sign when the former high school coach of a current college player gets his name in the news regarding said player, and that holds true again today, as Phillip Sims' prep coach, Richard Morgan, spoke publicly about his former star's decision to leave Alabama. Some of his comments today regarding the recent transfer of his former quarterback are as follows below, per the Virginia-Pilot:

"If it's a close competition between an in-state guy and an out-of-state guy, the in-state guy is getting the job," he said. "Phillip was in a situation where I thought he was the better quarterback, but he was the out-of-state guy. That's just the way it works in college."

So, Sims was actually better than AJ McCarron, or something, it's just that there is some inherent bias against out-of-state players that shows up in the personnel decision making process, and that is why McCarron won the starting job last fall, right? You see such an absurd distinction made like that and instinctively you want to attack it with logic and reason, but frankly it's so ludicrous such that it is not worth the time to recite even a few of the countless examples which poke holes in that patently absurd claim.

Now, regarding the actual competition between McCarron and Sims, clearly this is just nonsense. A starter was not named during spring practice, summer workouts, or fall camp, and the competition was in fact held open into the season. At some point, though, you have to make a final decision on the matter, and when one player has clearly performed better than the other, you simply must give that player the starting job, or otherwise you not only lower the overall performance of your team but as a coach you also risk your legitimacy with the roster by making a clearly erroneous and unsupported personnel decision at the game's most important position.

McCarron had the slight edge coming out of fall camp, and had a better performance in the season opener against Kent State. From there, he solidified his hold on the starting job with a strong showing on the road in hostile environment against Penn State, and by the time he picked up wins over Arkansas and Florida two and three weeks later, respectively, it was fait accompli in Tuscaloosa.

Truth be told, if anything, Nick Saban and company arguably held open the competition longer than they should have, by continuing to split snaps between McCarron and Sims against North Texas even after McCarron helped lead the team to victory in Happy Valley.

Now, if Sims' former coach wants to say that he could have been the better player with more time, or that he has the higher upside, or that the same end result (i.e. a national championship) could have been attained with Sims under center, or that Sims would have won the job had he not reported to campus six months after McCarron, all of that would be fair enough. Admittedly, Sims is a very talented player who likely would have played well had he been forced under center this fall, and for the most part there is no real reason to believe he won't be a quality player at Virginia. But to say he was the better player last year and deserved the job then? Nonsense. Supporting your former player is one thing, but publicly making an imbecile of yourself is another.

Unfortunately for Sims, his former coach didn't stop there, doubling down on the idiocy by adding further:

"McCarron still has two years of eligibility," Morgan said. "If it was the case where (McCarron) was a senior and Phillip had to sit one more year and then have two years, he wouldn't leave. Let's face it, they did win the national championship. So you're not going to bench the quarterback who won the national title. And (Sims) doesn't want to sit because he feels he's just as good. So he has to go somewhere where he can play."

That statement may seem innocent enough on its own, especially since it accurately describes the considerations driving the transfer, but consider the context. Sims left Alabama with a carefully-worded public statement which essentially claimed that it was family issues back home necessitating the transfer, and clearly that was a not-so-thinly-veiled attempt to help persuade the NCAA to grant him a waiver to play immediately this fall and not have to sit out a year.

But how can the NCAA even begin to give such allegations a hint of legitimacy when the player's former high school coach comes out publicly days after and details at length how the decision was the result of a lack of playing time? It's Morgan's own prerogative to make himself look bad with some dumb statements to the media, but to prejudice the playing career of a former player with poorly-conceived comments is a far different matter.

Nick Saban has long-since eschewed the practice of publicly disclosing depth charts, for a variety of reasons, but nevertheless coaching staffs must have a general roster breakdown in place in order to divvy up practice reps and to determine who will take the field when the front-line players go down. Call them organizational groupings or whatever you wish, but either way with spring practice now in the rear view mirror we'll take our best shot at a post-spring depth chart as we head into the summer workouts and the offseason strength and conditioning program.

Instead of merely ranking players at positions, however, what we try to do below is come up with a working overview of the personnel moves that would actually be made in the face of attrition. Barrett Jones, for example, is listed as a back-up at three different positions (and frankly could see the field at any of the five offensive line spots, if necessary). By using this methodology, we're hoping to get a better view of the personnel changes as they would play on out on the field, as opposed to merely rating players overall at a single position.

Also, please note the depth chart listed below only includes players currently on campus, meaning that the 2012 signees who will arrive this summer have not been added. Clearly some of those players will crack the depth chart later this fall, but in the interest of attempting to attain an accurate snapshot of where the roster stands right now, they have been omitted for the time being.

After months of silence with a widely expected transfer oddly never coming to fruition, the long-anticipated departure of Phillip Sims finally became official yesterday afternoon. He released a statement through UA, and the reasoning he gave for the transfer is as indicated below, per the Tuscaloosa News:

"The reason for me leaving is nothing more than a personal matter. I just need to be closer to home to support my family at this time and that needs to be my priority right now," Sims added. "I would still like to continue my football career, and hopefully I can do that and also be there for my family."

I've emphasized the most relevant passage regarding the reasoning allegedly behind the transfer, and you can take that for what you wish. Personally, though, I would pay it no mind. Clearly Sims will be applying for a waiver from the NCAA allowing him to play immediately this fall without having to sit out a year, regardless of where he ultimately transfers -- with a school in his native state of Virginia being the likely destination -- and generic references to personal issues relating to the family have become commonplace in recent years as players try to increase their chances of being granted waivers. However, all the references to personal matters notwithstanding, I think it can safely be assumed that Sims would not be leaving Tuscaloosa if he was slated to be the starting quarterback next season.

Moving beyond motives, perhaps what first jumps out about this development is the strange timing. Aside from the fact that this announcement comes on the one-year anniversary of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes -- just a tad bit tone-deaf on that one, Phillip, though surely it was unintentional -- this is very odd timing in that it is happening so late in the process. It was exceedingly clear after the BCS National Championship Game that AJ McCarron had permanently cemented his status as the unquestioned starter at the quarterback position at Alabama throughout the remainder of his collegiate career. If Sims was going to transfer, the ideal timing would have been immediately after returning from New Orleans, which would have given him the benefit of going through spring practice with his new-found program and having additional time to acclimate himself to his new scheme. Instead, Sims essentially returned for a lame-duck three month period with a now-former school, which certainly will make it more difficult for him to play at a high level this fall if he is in fact granted a waiver by the NCAA.

In terms of Sims as a player, I think his departure largely has to be chalked up to bad luck more than anything else. If he were forced into action, Sims likely would not be a bona fide star, but based upon his physical skill set and his performances in limited action it is reasonable to believe the he would play the quarterback position at a relatively high level. Frankly, he would have beaten out just about any other starting quarterback that Alabama has put on the field in the post-Bryant era, but he didn't have the luxury of weaker competition. The problem becomes the quality of the surrounding roster: Nick Saban arrives, the overall talent pool spikes tremendously, and suddenly incoming recruits are no longer competing for playing time against the Andrew Zows or the John Parker Wilsons of the world. It's a far more challenging competitive environment, and the real world by-product is that occasionally some quality players cannot get on the field. Sims was just one of those players.

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Day one of the NFL Draft begins shortly, and several Alabama players are expected to be selected tonight. Trent Richardson will likely go first, but several observers believe that as many as five Alabama players could be selected in the first round tonight.

The Draft starts at 7:00 p.m. Central Time, and things will start to really pick up with the #3 pick after both Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III go off the board. Chime in here with all of your thoughts and comments.

As leaked several hours ago, Arkansas has hired John L. Smith on a one-year deal to be interim coach in place of the recently fired Bobby Petrino. Per Sports Illustrated:

On a beautiful day in Tuscaloosa for spring football, white edged crimson 24-15 in front of an officially announced crowd in excess of 78,000 fans, and most importantly the Tide avoided any significant, long-term injuries both yesterday and throughout the spring. With that in mind, a few initial impressions from the aftermath of the 2012 A-Day game:

True freshman T.J. Yeldon largely stole the show yesterday afternoon, gaining 179 all-purpose yards as a runner and a receiver while adding a touchdown for the second-team offense, despite frequently playing behind a struggling offensive line. Now, before we crown Yeldon, it should be noted that he has some improvement to make in several different areas -- he needs to run with a lower pad level, improve in pass protection, and bulk up just a bit -- but even so his physical tools as a runner and his soft hands out of backfield as a receiver make it obvious that only an injury could cause him to redshirt, and if he can stay healthy he will receive a significant amount of meaningful playing time as a true freshman. As we wrote here on RBR at the beginning of spring practice, Yeldon just simply oozes star tailback based upon even a cursory glance, and frankly it is hard to overstate at this point just how big of a recruiting coup it was last December when 'Bama flipped the Daphne product away from Auburn.

Rising junior Jalston Fowler never really got going yesterday, picking up only 22 yards on eight carries, but no one should sell him short at this point. He had a very strong spring, received much of the work load in the two scrimmages, and was praised numerous times by Nick Saban. Pedestrian showing yesterday notwithstanding, Fowler figures to be a key cog this fall. Dee Hart, on the other hand, had his best showing of the spring yesterday, providing strong production nearly every time he touched the football as a runner, receiver, and returner. Many were very concerned about his future when he blew out a knee last summer, but by all accounts Hart appears to be recovering quite well with little, if any, negative impact on his overall athletic ability.

On the whole, Alabama came into the spring needing to develop quality depth at the tailback position, and with spring football having come to a close it seems apparent that the Tide has done just that. No one knows how Eddie Lacy will recover from foot surgery and no one knows if he can be a workhorse back this fall, and to complement him it seems clear now that Alabama has three other viable options at tailback when Lacy has to come out of the game. While none of the three tailbacks put any real distance between themselves, this spring nevertheless has to be considered a big success at tailback. Simply put, 'Bama has a legitimate four-deep rotation at the tailback position as we move into summer workouts, which is something even most top programs can only envy.

Rising redshirt junior AJ McCarron had a bit of an up and down day. He completed a high percentage of his passes for a lot of yards with several big plays mixed in, but on the downside he also threw three interceptions and was sacked twice, so the strong showing was balanced somewhat by numerous big, negative plays. In the grand scheme, though, McCarron's performance was more than sufficient and it remains clear that only injuries or off-field problems could cost him the starting job. Simply put, this is his offense at this point.

The surprise at quarterback, however, was Phillip Sims, who went 9-12 for 135 yards and two touchdowns on a day when most did not expect him to meaningfully participate due to bursitis in his throwing shoulder. His impressive performance in the face of injury largely just underscores how special of a player he could be in his own right, and how it has been bad circumstances, and not a lack of ability, that have kept him on the bench. On just about any other Alabama team of the post-Bryant era, Sims would be the unquestioned starter under center, but the rise of McCarron has simply removed that as a possibility.

Phillip Ely, on the other hand, left a good bit to be desired. He was a long-term developmental project when he arrived last year, and one year later that description still fits. His shortcoming yesterday was not the big mistake, but instead the lack of anything meaningfully positive, as when taken into account yardage lost due to sacks he generated a mere 73 yards of total offense on twenty passing plays. It's the death-by-a-thousand-cuts theory to the quarterback position, where one dies the painfully slow death littered with numerous three-and-outs with a lifeless passing game, and unfortunately it seems clear that if Sims transfers this offseason and McCarron misses any meaningful time, 'Bama figures to find itself in a world of hurt against quality competition.

The first team offensive line played at a high level throughout the afternoon, with D.J. Fluker and Cyrus Kouandjio having strong days at tackle, while Chance Warmack continues to state his claim for being the best offensive guard in the country. Barrett Jones had some problems early in the spring when lined up opposite nose guards playing zero technique, but as expected he quickly came around and even by this early state he looks like a standout player at yet another line position. The "weakness" of the offensive line, in relative terms, remains at right guard with Anthony Steen, but any criticism of him is really more of a testament of a prowess of the rest of the line simply because there is not another team in the conference that Steen would not win a starting job. Depth is a bit of a concern, but as we move into fall camp the first-team offensive line looks to be the strongest unit in the SEC.

And speaking of depth, the second team offensive line remains a work in progress. Run blocking was adequate yesterday, though T.J. Yeldon certainly helped matters, but pass blocking left much to be desired. Neither Ryan Kelly or Chad Lindsey could make any meaningful separation at center, the guards clearly have some development ahead of them, and Kellen Williams struggled at left tackle against Adrian Hubbard and others. Austin Shepherd had a solid showing at right tackle, but on the whole Jeff Stoutland has a project on his hands with the second team line.

The tight end and H-back positions are largely in the same situation. Michael Williams will be a strong player at tight end, but finding other players to complement him has been a struggle. Brian Vogler looked good yesterday as a receiver, and to be sure his 6'7 frame is enticing as both a physical target in the passing game and as a bookend to the aforementioned Williams, but he struggled as a run blocker and was badly abused on at least one occasion by Hubbard in pass protection. Meanwhile, Harrison Jones and Brent Calloway could also be assets as receivers, but can either be adequate as a blocker? Malcolm Faciane looked better as a run blocker, but he looks to be more of a true tight end as opposed to an H-back. To be clear, Vogler is likely the leader at the H-back position as we move into summer, but unless he can become more of a complete player by this fall, he'll learn the hard way that blocking is mandatory while playing time is optional. The lack of blocking ability largely kept Brad Smelley off the field for the better part of three years, and unless we can find someone who can be a multidimensional asset at the H-back position, the odds are good that we will de-emphasize the position come early September.

Kenny Bell led the wide receivers yesterday with five catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, and as has been expected all spring he along with Christion Jones, Kevin Norwood and DeAndrew White figure to be the top of the rotation for the time being. Saban had high praise of Amari Cooper all spring, and he and Chris Black will likely see the field this fall, but even so depth here is largely up in the air. 'Bama needs either Marvin Shinn or Danny Woodson, Jr. to step up, but unfortunately neither appears to have stood out this spring.

On the defensive side of the ball, the rotation at defensive end was as strong as expected, holding up well at the point of attack and disrupting numerous plays against quality competition. Jesse Williams was very impressive at nose guard, but here too depth remains a legitimate question. Brandon Ivory looks to be taking a step in the right direction, as does Jeoffrey Pagan, but whether either of them could be called upon to anchor the line against top-flight SEC competition is unknown. Both need more time in the strength and conditioning program and better hand work.

The standout on defense yesterday was unquestionably Sam linebacker Adrian Hubbard, who may have had the best spring of any player on the roster. He was a consistently dominant force yesterday and could possibly be considered one of the defensive stars at this point. By putting him at Sam linebacker with Xzavier Dickson at Jack, Nick Saban and company effectively have two Jacks on the field, which largely makes for a true 5-2 base defense and provides countless alignment possibilities. With the strength and depth at inside linebacker -- C.J. Mosley, Nico Johnson, and Trey Depriest all played at a very high level yesterday -- complemented by dueling Jacks and a standout defensive line, the defensive front seven looks to be a very effective unit despite the losses of Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw. If this group can stay healthy this fall, it figures to take an impressive offense to legitimately challenge it.

The defensive backfield, too, figures to avoid the harsh growing pains that the group experienced in 2010. John Fulton likely had the best spring of any defender outside of Hubbard, and he seems to have a strong hold on a starting job as we enter the summer. DeMarcus Milliner also figures to be an every-down player, as he has been the past two seasons, and incoming JUCO transfer Deion Belue had another strong showing yesterday. Together those three look to be the front-line at cornerback this fall, with Travell Dixon, Bradley Sylve, and Jabriel Washington behind them.

Safety was expected to be a strength anyway, and nothing yesterday questioned that general assumption. Robert Lester grabbed an interception on the first play from scrimmage and he seemingly just gets better and better. Vinnie Sunseri continues to impress, as he looks to start opposite Lester, and Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix looks to see significant playing time in the dime package. Again, 2010 this is not, and this unit figures to weather the loss of Mark Barron quite well.

On special teams, the standout was Cody Mandell, who averaged more than 44 yards per boot over sixteen punts. Consistency has always been the rising junior's Achilles heel, but with year three on the horizon he looks to be turning into an asset in the kicking game. In terms of placekicking, neither Cade Foster or Jeremy Shelley got many opportunities yesterday, but throughout the spring neither really did anything to indicate that the problems of the kicking game would suddenly be rectified. For better or for worse, we are still waiting on Adam Griffith to report later this summer. Christion Jones continues to be the likely punt returner.

In other quick hitters, Jonathon Atchison made it through the spring healthy, but for now the back-up at Sam linebacker looks to be true freshman Dillon Lee. Anthony Orr and Chris Bonds also received some snaps at Sam, which only underscores how 'Bama figures to use dueling Jacks this fall. The moves by Brent Calloway and Alphonse Taylor to the offensive side of the ball apparently look to stick. Bradley Sylve could be ahead of Travell Dixon right now for the fourth corner spot, but given Dixon's size and athleticism I imagine that will change by the end of fall camp. Tana Patrick is playing his best football to date, and will see some meaningful time this season. Deion Belue looks like he could become a star player on short notice. Barrett Jones remains the de facto back-up at left tackle, though the strong showing by Austin Shepherd could lock down the back-up job behind D.J. Fluker.

The A-Day game typically yields a commitment or two on the recruiting trails for Nick Saban and company, and A-Day 2012 was no different, as defensive back Anthony Averett and athlete / wide receiver Deon Johnson have committed to the Crimson Tide. Per Matt Scalici:

[Anthony] Averett, a four-star safety from Woodbury, New Jersey, chose the Tide over offers from Penn State, Rutgers, Iowa and South Carolina. He is rated as the nation's No. 9 safety prospect by 247Sports.

[Deon] Johnson, a multi-talented, four-star player ranked among the top prospects in the state of Alabama for 2013, chose Alabama over Auburn and also held offers from LSU and Mississippi State.

Of the two commitments, Averett is easily the biggest surprise, as quite obviously small town, southwestern New Jersey isn't exactly a recruiting hotbed for the Tide. Offhand, not counting Keith Saunders back in 2003 -- who was really more of a late throwaway signee weeks before fall camp -- I believe this is the first Alabama commitment from the New York / New Jersey area since Derrick Lassic almost twenty-five years ago, so consider this one a definite sign of the national reach and appeal that the 'Bama football program now has. Averett himself largely summed it up best, "Nick Saban is a legend, so why not?"

As a prospect, Averett's commitment has taken off in recent weeks. He picked up several early offers from a variety of Big East schools and other smaller programs, but in the past six weeks he gained offers from Penn State, Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina and then ultimately Alabama. Keeping his commitment until the fax arrives on National Signing Day could be an issue given the distance factor here, but for the moment he seems very high on 'Bama, and with him already foregoing the Penn State offer it's hard to see another program closer to home that would cause him to spurn the Tide. And furthermore, in all fairness, college football is largely an afterthought in the northeast, where nearly all of the sports enthusiasm is absorbed by MLB, the NFL, and basketball, so it is very common for top prospects from the region to attend colleges far away.

Either way, as an athlete and a prep player it is hard to deny Averett's ability and it is relatively obvious why he garnered the offers that he did. He plays a variety of roles in high school, including defensive back, kick returner, and tailback, and was generally a standout at all three. Furthermore, Averett won the New Jersey Indoor 55 meters this past season and took home the state long jump crown. With that athletic background to go along with a 6'1 and 180 pound frame, Averett would figure to make a relatively quick impact in Tuscaloosa, and the size makes him a combo prospect who could legitimately play either cornerback or safety.

Meanwhile, Deon Johnson, who was actually the first commitment of the day, is more of a conventional 'Bama target. Hailing from Spanish Fort, Johnson is a 6'1 and 175 pound prospect who was an in-state battle between Alabama and Auburn. In fact, more than a few observers actually believed that Auburn held the lead in recent weeks, though clearly that was either inaccurate or has since changed.

Johnson is considered by many as the top wide receiver in the state in the 2013 class, and given his quickness and prep production he certainly looks the part. He turned a sub-4.40 in the 40-yard dash recently at a Nike camp, and this comes on the heels of a junior season in which he caught 68 passes for 869 yards and 19 touchdowns against 5A competition in the state's most prolific recruiting hotbed. In all likelihood 'Bama would use him as a wide receiver out of the slot, but given his size and speed he could certainly project as a defensive back as well.

The concern with Johnson is largely academics. He's not necessarily a sign-and-place given how much time he has before he would matriculate, but even so it is well understood that he has work to get done in the classroom before he can make it through the NCAA Clearinghouse. Given the recent scholarship restrictions which have been imposed, programs no longer have the luxury of taken on risky academic cases, so if Johnson cannot take care of his academics in the next ten months, do not be surprised if he goes the way of Casey Gladney.

Johnson and Averett become the tenth and eleventh commits of the 2013 recruiting class.

Addendum: We'll have video on Johnson later, but in the meantime the obligatory YouTube highlight film for Averett:

Roll Tide, folks. January 9th may seem like last night, but time never made an exception for victory celebrations and the 2012 season makes its de facto debut this afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium with the annual A-Day game.

An absolutely gorgeous day is expected in Tuscaloosa with temperatures in the mid-to-high 70's and not a cloud in the sky. For those not lucky enough to be in T'town today, you can catch the game on CSS or ESPN. Kick-off is at 2:00 p.m. CST. Click here for the rosters for both squads.

We'll have our usual post-game analysis here at RBR, but until then keep your eye on a variety of key areas, including tailback, H-back, the back-up nose guards, Sam linebacker, the nickel formation, and the kicking game. Do note that the format today will pit the first team offense against the first team defense, so we should have a very lively scrimmage.

Chime in here with all of your thoughts and comments on the 2012 A-Day Game.

TideSports.com - Saban has taken A-Day to new levels

"They were supportive from the start and when we weren't so good. I think that was something that really contributed to recruiting," Saban said. "The first A-Day, when there were (92,000) people there or whatever, it was really heartfelt by the Sabans. It really made us feel welcome here. We had gone through some tough times in getting here, leaving Miami and all that. So we really appreciated that." The top five A-Day attendance figures ever have come the last five years since Saban took over the program, and 2012 is expected to crack the top five as well.

What to watch for at A-Day | Tidefans.com

After two national championships in three seasons, it’s almost inconceivable to think that Alabama might actually have a few positions of instability heading into a season. But it’s true. Thanks to injuries, position experimentation and plain ol’ graduation, there will be several areas of interest for patrons to watch Saturday. Here’s a brief rundown.

1. Is Jalston Fowler the real deal?

No shortage of incentives for Alabama at today's A-Day game | al.com

The incentive for players to perform as if Michigan, the Crimson Tide's first real opponent in 2012, is on the opposing sidelines remains unchanged. Winning team eats steak for dinner. The loser settles for beans. The game could be played behind closed doors, and that'd be enough for sophomore safety Vinnie Sunseri. "Everybody wants to eat steak at the end of the day," Sunseri said. "You always want to be better than your brother," sophomore linebacker Adrian Hubbard said. "You're just trying to beat them."

Notebook: Saban excited for A-Day - Alabama Crimson Tide Blog - ESPN

Another near-capacity crowd is expected to pile into Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday for the University of Alabama’s A-Day game, which will be Nick Saban’s sixth spring game since taking over as head coach for the Crimson Tide. In his five previous seasons, Saban has compiled 55 victories and won two national championships, and he knows that his team’s success each year hinges on spring practice and the annual spring game. "A lot of the success that we have had here is attributed to that great tradition, and every one of those individuals contributed to that," Saban said."We want this to be a great weekend for them, as well. I'm really looking forward to the game."

O-line progressed through spring - Alabama Crimson Tide Blog - ESPN

When Alabama entered the spring, Saban was in a half-glass-full kind of mood. Even the offensive line -- arguably the Tide’s greatest strength heading into the fall -- had a harsh dose of reality to temper any compliments. After the first scrimmage of the spring, he harped on the need for more depth to back up the first line that features four returning starters and all five with significant playing experience. "When I say we need more guys to learn what it takes to play winning football, that would be one of the positions that I’m talking about," Saban said two weeks ago of the line. Fast-forward to Thursday and the sixth-year head coach couldn’t help himself again. "I think the offensive line really had a good spring and played very well," Saban said. "We've got a lot of experience. We've got a lot of games started by those guys, a lot of competitive character in that group, a lot of physical. We don't have a lot of depth but I think that that's going to be the real focus as we continue to try to create depth at that position."

Alabama notebook: Allegiances don't keep Sunseris apart | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com

Vinnie Sunseri doesn’t wear the same colors as his dad anymore, but that doesn’t change their relationship. Well, not too much. Sal Sunseri is now the defensive coordinator at Tennessee after coaching Tide linebackers for three seasons. They still talk all the time, but the younger Sunseri misses seeing his father on the practice field in Tuscaloosa. When they talk, football comes up. "He asks how practice goes," said Vinnie Sunseri, a safety and rising sophomore with the Tide. "I ask how practice goes. I’m still his son and he’s still my dad. I just try to talk to him like that." So there’s no trash talking? "No, we joke around," Vinnie Sunseri said. "I’ll say he doesn’t look good in that orange, and he’ll say I don’t look good in that crimson, just little jokes like that."

Sunseri stepping up for Crimson Tide | Dothan Eagle

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said Sunseri, converted from a linebacker, improved dramatically last season. "Vinnie wore lots of hats last year. He lined up and played special teams. He was an all-type role in the secondary," Saban said. "For a guy who hadn’t been a defensive back, he did a marvelous job to be able to evolve and do those things. "This year he’s playing more safety and just not playing those roles. He played at star, money and safety – and that’s a lot on anybody’s plate – but he’s making good progress and continuing to improve."

Alabama football: More attention paid to the Tide | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com

With fewer homes receiving the live telecast and nice weather forecasted, crowds could near the record 92,310 who saw last season’s scrimmage. Those who watch on television can expect a more relaxed broadcast compared to a regular season game. "You’re talking even more than usual about players than you are about the game itself," said Stewart, also the radio voice of the Alabama men’s basketball team. "The outcome is something very few people outside of the players themselves will remember for a couple weeks after they get the winners’ meal and bragging rights."

What about college exhibition games in August? It's a Nick Saban thought | al.com

"I always thought, coaching in the NFL for eight years and being used to playing exhibition games, if we were going to play a game that would get you more ready for the season, maybe you'd play an exhibition game before the season started if somebody wanted to talk about that. I've never mentioned that. I don't think it's necessary. I think we have a good game the way it is." Why change? "There's a lot of competitive games out there," Saban said. "The league is great. The fact that we play in a competitive venue every year is great for our fans, somewhere outside of our league."

TideSports.com - Tide heading to White House

The University of Alabama football team will travel to Washington, D.C., next Thursday to meet with President Obama in the White House. Alabama will be honored for the 2011 Bowl Championship Series national title. President Obama will also recognize the UA team for giving back to the Tuscaloosa community after the April 27 tornado. Alabama's reception is set for 1:20 p.m. CT.

No. 2 Softball Races Past South Carolina, 9-1 - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - University of Alabama Official Athletic Site

The second ranked Alabama softball team bounced back from a first inning deficit to score nine unanswered runs to knock off South Carolina, 9-1, in five innings in front of 3,265 fans at Rhoads Stadium Friday night. With the win, Alabama improves to 38-2 overall and 15-2 in Southeastern Conference play and earns its 800th victory in program history. South Carolina drops to 23-21 overall and 3-14 in SEC action. After giving up a leadoff home run to open the game, Jackie Traina shut down South Carolina the rest of the way, giving up just three hits and striking out seven batters to win her 26th straight decision dating back to last season, and improved to 24-0 on the year.

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The details of the Bobby Petrino scandal became more sordid as the days passed by, but with his termination now official it seems relatively clear in hindsight that it was the botched attempt at a cover-up, and not so much the crime itself, that was ultimate culprit in his demise. The money quote from Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, per ESPN:

"He made the decision to mislead the public, (and it) adversely affected the university and the football program," Long said, choking up at one point as he discussed telling players that their coach was gone. There was a "pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior to deceive me."

Had Petrino simply came clean regarding the affair in the immediate aftermath of the motorcycle accident, the odds seem relatively high that he would have survived this fiasco, embarrassing and as detrimental as it would have been (though the $20,000 he gave to Dorrell could have certainly compelled a different result). However, after it came to light that Petrino failed to disclose the "inappropriate relationship" and may have in fact conspired with a police officer to gloss over the damning circumstances of the accident, Arkansas was left with little recourse. Exceedingly tough decision, but give Long credit for doing what he had to do.

In any event, the repercussions of this could be felt for years in Fayetteville. We'll have a better understanding once we have a more clear succession plan, but losing a coach of Petrino's caliber is a big blow regardless, and especially so for a program that has had such poor defenses and running games in recent years. Their success the past two years has been powered by Petrino's spread passing attack, and with him no longer at the helm it is reasonable to think this could be a major setback for their program, both short-term and long-term.

Some have suggested that the Hogs should go the Urban Meyer route by installing a de facto lame duck from the current staff as an interim head coach for the 2012 season before making a splash hire later this December. That may be the strategy employed by the Arkansas administration, but they face three fundamental problems with the execution: (1) a head coach as good as Urban Meyer is not likely to be available this winter, (2) Arkansas is by no means Ohio State, and (3) whatever goofy-named Big Ten division Ohio State competes in pales in comparison to the SEC West. Arkansas might make a solid hire, but legitimately replacing Petrino will likely prove a bridge too far.

For Petrino this is an obvious career-changer. Even though he is a relatively young coach, an NFL head coaching job seems to be out of the question even in the intermediate future and the same can likely be said of a head coaching job at any quality college football program. He was fired for cause -- which means he won't be getting paid -- and obviously due to his history you won't be seeing him as a television commentator any time soon, so he'll need a paycheck and accordingly he'll return to the coaching ranks somewhere, likely in 2013. In terms of being a head coach at a big-time football program, though, his four year tenure at Arkansas may be as close as he gets.

Throughout the rest of the conference, LSU and Auburn are probably the biggest winners in the wake of Petrino's termination. Petrino has been a consistent thorn in Les Miles' side, last year's thumping notwithstanding, and with Arkansas likely in for a bit of a decline that figures to make it easier for Auburn to at least consistently secure the number three spot in the SEC West behind Alabama and LSU.

Alabama doesn't expect to be quite the winner, given that Alabama has gone 4-0 against Petrino with three blowout victories to boot, and realistically Arkansas was not going to be a serious long-term threat to 'Bama so long as the Tide keeps operating as a powerhouse program under Nick Saban. Even so, though, in the short-term, that road trip to Fayetteville in late September with all of our inexperienced defensive backs looks far less daunting knowing that Bobby Petrino won't be standing on the opposing sideline.

Alabama took to Bryant-Denny Stadium yesterday afternoon for the second scrimmage of spring practice, and after a pass-happy scrimmage a week ago, the running game was more prominently featured in round two. Rising junior Jalston Fowler led the way on the ground, picking up 151 yards and three touchdowns off of 22 carries, though 68 of those yards came on one play in situational work.

Neither Dee Hart or true freshman T.J. Yeldon had any reported statistics for the scrimmage, which typically indicates that the player(s) in question either did not see many touches or did not do anything overly impressive with the opportunities that he did receive. As such, even if based solely on the number of carries received, at this point Fowler has to be considered the frontrunner to be second in the tailback rotation behind Eddie Lacy. Additionally, Saban has praised Fowler in his recent press conferences, which likely on further points to his standing in the rotation. Fowler will never be the overly explosive threat an outside runner, but he is a strong receiver out of the backfield and is likely the best pass blocker of any tailback on campus. Combined with his abilities as an interior runner, he figures to have a prominent role this fall.

In the passing game, A.J. McCarron had a somewhat more pedestrian day in the second scrimmage of the spring, going just 14-29 for 160 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. The four touchdowns were all relatively short tosses (16 yards and 11 yards, and two more in goal line situations), and despite the scoring plays the passing game as a whole with McCarron didn't appear to stand out in any significant way, completing only 48.2% of his passes while averaging only 5.5 yards per attempt. It's nothing to be particularly concerned about, mind you, but even so not as strong of a day for the passing game as was the case in the first scrimmage.

Phillip Sims was once again withheld from any meaningful throwing in the scrimmage due to a sore right shoulder, and while there has been no official change in his medical diagnosis (bursitis), the fact remains that this spring has largely been a bit of a bust for him due to the injury. In all likelihood he will be shelved for the rest of the spring, and for better or for worse at this point we can only stand idly by and hope he does not transfer later this summer.

Phillip Ely has been getting the second-team reps in Sims' place, though the lack of any reported statistics for him likely indicates he hasn't done anything overly special in either scrimmage. No disrespect intended to Ely, but I think it goes without saying that if Sims transfers then A.J. McCarron absolutely must stay healthy.

DeAndrew White bounced back from his hamstring strain to lead the receivers on the day, catching five passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Christion Jones and Kevin Norwood combined for nine catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and together with White and Kenny Bell these four players are the mainstays of the wide receiver rotation at this point. Chris Black also added two catches today, however, and freshmen Amari Cooper, Marvin Shinn, and Danny Woodson, Jr. could legitimately factor into the rotation by the time fall camp concludes this August. Until someone in the above group shows they can consistently produce on the field this fall, this will largely remain an open competition.

Alphonse Taylor and Brent Calloway have both changed positions in the past week, with Taylor moving from nose tackle to offensive guard and Calloway moving from Sam linebacker to H-back. Taylor is the bigger surprise here, as he looked solid manning the nose and given the apparent lack of depth at the position. Calloway likely became more replaceable due to the strong performance this spring at the Sam position by Adrian Hubbard, and admittedly 'Bama could use another body at the H-back position. Even so, though, Calloway would probably still need to bulk up before he can be considered a legitimate possibility on the offensive side of the ball, and frankly what does anyone know about him as a receiver? Only time will tell. Either way, experiments with position changes are typically a spring fixture under Saban, and it would be of no great surprise if these players moved back to the original positions in the days ahead.

With respect to special teams, Cody Mandell had one of his best scrimmages to date at punter, averaging 42.0 yards per boot on twelve punts. Slowly but surely, Mandell is gaining consistency and becoming an asset on special teams. Placekicking, though, remains a glaring weakness. Cade Foster converted only three of six field goal tries, hitting a long kick to go along with two glorified extra points while missing from 46, 35, and 32. While a sudden revelation by Foster would be certainly welcomed, the harsh truth remains that 'Bama does not currently have any viable kicking game from any real distance, and likely will not have one this fall unless incoming freshman Adam Griffith can contribute immediately.

As expected, injuries are slowly starting to pile up as the contact sessions continue. Jesse Williams suffered an ankle sprain in yesterday's scrimmage, as did Vinny Sunseri, and senior safety Robert Lester sprained a knee. None of those injuries are thought to be serious, however, and fortunately there has been a noticeable absent of long-term injuries this spring. Just hope that holds up for the next week.

In other quick hitters, Christion Jones and DeMarcus Milliner look to be the favorites at kick returner, though Saban mentioned true freshman Amari Cooper as a possibility. At punt returner, the aforementioned Jones will likely nab that spot come September, though Dee Hart and Deion Belue have also gotten reps. Tana Patrick continues to have a solid spring. No word yet on whether or not Chad Lindsay participated yesterday, after having sat out the first scrimmage with an apparent concussion. Blake Sims remains out with a hip injury and is expected to miss the remainder of spring practice. Despite the injury late in the scrimmage, Vinny Sunseri had another impressive showing at safety yesterdayday, as did Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix.

Alabama will return to the practice fields on Tuesday for the thirteenth practice session of the spring. The A-Day game is one week from today.