Practice Report: Alabama Turns Attention to Regular Season

The Alabama Crimson Tide returned to the practice field on Tuesday after the final fall scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Christopher Walsh | Sep 15, 2020

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Fall camp, or Alabama's version of it as the preseason practice schedule was unlike anything Nick Saban's had before, is over.

Next up, take a deep breath and plunge into the 2020 college football season.

Tuesday afternoon the Crimson Tide returned to practice for the first time since Saturday's scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium. With Hurricane Sally looming, it might have been Alabama's only opportunity to work outside this week as rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days.

Saban traditionally uses this time to firm up some things that came up during the scrimmage, and get some advance work in on opponents down the line.

Alabama will likely start installing the game plan for Missouri, set for Sept. 26, by the end of the week.

"We now have to have a sense of urgency to get ready for the season," Saban said.

Conditions were mostly cloudy and 87 degrees with a heat index of 93.

After going through a grind the previous couple of weeks, coaches are now backing off the players, physically and emotionally, to sort of reset for the regular season. Alabama will play a unique 10-game SEC-only schedule, with home games played before 20 percent of capacity at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Saban is expected to announced the initial depth chart on Monday, when it gets into the rhythm of the schedule.

“We are still in camp mode, so it feels like camp," junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. "Camp is going to feel like camp, so we are still in camp mode. That’s what it feels like to me, but it is different, watching other teams and other colleges play and not being able to play.”

Published Sep 15, 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.