Alabama Football Wraps Up First Week of Fall Camp

The Crimson Tide is putting players through more reps that usual as it strives to make up for the loss of spring practices

Christopher Walsh | Aug 22, 2020

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama football team wrapped up its first week of fall camp on Saturday, with a two-hour on-field workout at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields.

It was the fourth of 25 practices in the extended camp, with Alabama's season opener at Missouri having been pushed back to Sept. 26.

Conditions were partly cloudy at 84 degrees, with a heat index of 89. With the delayed start of camp, the Crimson Tide has largely missed the trademark brutal heat that Alabama is known for in early August.

However, next week it might have a different weather issues with two tropical storms strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico.

While there's been plenty of drama on campus this past week, as new protocols for dealing with a coronavirus spike were announced Friday just two days after classes for the fall semester began, things appear to have been relatively calm with the team.

It hasn't even gotten into full camp mode yet, as Alabama is still trying to catch up from the loss of spring practices.

"Well, this minicamp, and this camp we are having right now, we have been getting a lot of reps," wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said on Saturday. "A lot more reps than usual. So, I think the chemistry is just continuing to get better over time.”

The approach has been the same with the defense, as Alabama won't be able to work in full pads until a five-practice acclimation period is completed. It worked for the first time in shells on Thursday.

"The secondary, we've been coming around, you know, well, we've been communicating out there, playing fast," cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. "We're getting more comfortable, as well, on the field."

The only significant injury that Alabama has announced is with reserve junior linebacker Ale Kaho (knee). Nick Saban isn't scheduled to meet with reporters again until Monday.

Published Aug 22, 2020

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.