Practice Report: Alabama Heads Into Regular Season with Mac Jones as Starting Quarterback

Crimson Tide gets into regular-season mode as Alabama prepares to open 2020 college football season at Missouri

Christopher Walsh | Sep 21, 2020

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With the season opener at Missouri looming on Saturday, the Alabama football team got into regular-season mode, including a two-hour practice on the Thomas Drew practice fields.

Conditions were ideal, sunny and 76 degrees, although there was little humidity and the temperature was dropping Monday afternoon.

Tuscaloosa is expected to get a visit from Tropical Storm Beta later this week.

The forecast for Columbia, Mo., on Saturday is partly cloudy and 85 degrees. The temperature should drop below 80 by kickoff.

Early Monday the Crimson Tide released its Week 1 depth chart, which unsurprisingly had junior Mac Jones listed first at quarterback.

"Obviously the more knowledge and experience you get from playing, the mistakes that you make and the good plays that you make all sort of help you develop confidence and sort of increase your chances of playing with consistency by making better choices and decisions," Nick Saban said. "That shows in Mac’s play and we’re very confident that he can do a good job for us."

True freshman Bryce Young was second as an "or" option with redshirt freshman Paul Tyson. Although Alabama has numerous walk-ons including redshirt sophomore Braxton Barker (who is fourth-string), they're the only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this fall.

Of course, depth is considered absolutely crucial this year due to the coronavirus

Jones started four games last season led the offense through offseason drills. His status as the Crimson Tide's lone veteran quarterback was only magnified by spring practices being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But that doesn't Young hasn't improved during his brief time in Tuscaloosa.

“He’s come very far," senior wide receiver DeVonta Sith said. "I don’t think he’s had a problem with learning things, like it had all changed. It comes naturally for him. He’s been doing great. Just a few things the offense has to get better at, and we’re working on that. But he’s learning very well.”

Published Sep 21, 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.