Alabama's Offense Overwhelmed by Surging Crimson Tide Defense

While there were solid offensive performances for both the Crimson Team and the White Team at A-Day, both sides took a backseat to Alabama's dominating defense.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was a gloomy day at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Alabama football took to the field for its annual A-Day Game.

It was a day of defense for the Crimson Tide, as the White Team — which rostered Alabama's first-string defense — took down the Crimson Team — Alabama's first-string offense — by an impressive 25-7 margin of victory.

"I thought we had a good spring," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said after the game. "We had a lot of guys make a lot of progress. I think we know what we need to do. I think the important thing now is players can actually tell where they are, regardless of where they are, and do the things they need to do over the course of the summer and fall camp to make the improvements that they need to make. They’ve got to be committed to that.

"We have some things that can be distractions to that in this day and age in football, but player maturity, to be able to do that, is going to be very important in their development. We want to continue to focus on the development of our players personally, academically and athletically, so it's also important that they finish the semester strong academically.”

Over the course of the game, the Crimson Tide's first-string offense was proven to be relatively ineffective against the first-string defense, with the Crimson Team totaling 201 yards of offense on the day. 48 of those yards were on the ground, showing the effectiveness of Alabama's defense at the end of the spring practice season.

The White Team's offense was slightly better, totaling 295 offensive yards and passing the ball for 192 yards compared to 103 on the ground. In fact, the White Team possessed the best quarterback/wide receiver duo of the day as well — an interesting observation given that it was the Crimson Team with quarterback Bryce Young and the rest of the starting offense.

Here are some notes and observations from the 2022 A-Day Game concerning Alabama's offense for both the Crimson Team and the White Team:

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Transfer Contributions

Heading into Saturday's scrimmage, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Jermaine Burton were two transfers that Crimson Tide fans were most eager to see in-person for the first time. Both players joined Alabama this past offseason, with Gibbs arriving from Georgia Tech and Burton from Georgia.

For Gibbs, a quiet first half was drowned out in the third quarter when the junior broke through the line for a 75-yard touchdown rush. The run was the first touchdown scored for the Crimson Team on the day.

Gibbs finished the game with nine carries for exactly 100 yards and the lone touchdown. While the 75-yard rush swayed his average yards per rush, he regardless finished with 11.1 per carry.

Also on the Crimson Team with the rest of the first-string offense, Burton had a much quieter game than his rushing teammate. Targeted by quarterback Bryce Young eight times, Burton only brought in three receptions for 36 yards. However, those 12 yards per catch were definitely something worth noticing despite the lack of receptions.

Saban also noted after the game that Burton had been the most consistent receiver for the Crimson Tide this spring, but the wet weather conditions likely played a factor in the game.

Gibbs will be under serious consideration for the starting job this fall, despite Trey Sanders edging him out as the first running back on the field at A-Day. Burton will also start at wide receiver and still has the entirety of the summer to become a more consistent target of Young.

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Backup Quarterback Battle?

While Young's status as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback is set in stone for 2022 considering his wining of the Heisman Trophy last season, he was outshined by a younger signal caller on the opposite sideline on Saturday afternoon.

Young finished the game with 14 completions on 29 passes for 153 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. However, redshirt-freshman Jalen Milroe had a performance that surpassed his more experienced counterpart.

Milroe led the duo for the White Team in passing, completing 11 of 23 passes for 149 yards, a touchdown and an interception. On the ground, he also rushed the football eight times for 32 yards.

True freshman Ty Simpson also completed 5-of-12 passes for 43 yards but didn't record a touchdown. He was, however, the only quarterback of the day that didn't throw an interception.

Milroe's outshining of Young had much to do with Young's lack of pass protection, that much is certain. Between the two quarterbacks, Young was sacked a total of 10 times compared to Milroe's two. While Young had the first-string offensive line protecting him, he also had the first-string defense rushing him — including outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr.

Stats certainly aren't the end-all and be-all, but there's no skipping around the fact that Milroe certainly had an impressive game on Saturday. Young will still be the starter come Sept. 3, that much is certain. However, Milroe likely solidified his status as the second-string quarterback on the wet grass of Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

O-Line Ineffectiveness

The offensive lines on both the Crimson Team and the White Team will certainly be a matter of discussion this summer. Combined, the two lines surrendered 15 sacks of Young, Milroe and Simpson — a stat that will certainly garner attention from head coach Nick Saban.

The Crimson Team's starting offensive line consisted, from left to right, as follows: Kendall Randolph, Javion Cohen, Seth McLaughlin, Damieon George and JC Latham. For the White Team, the starting lineup was Amari Kight, Terrence Ferguson II, Tanner Bowles, Jaeden Roberts and Tyler Booker.

The Crimson Team surrendered 10 sacks of Young, but as previously stated had to deal with the pressure of the first-string defense. It should also be noted that Vanderbilt transfer Tyler Steen will be joining the team this summer and will likely immediately compete for a starting job in the trenches. The White Team's defensive line should also receive a good amount of credit, but the ineffectiveness of Alabama's starting offensive line should be slightly concerning as we head into the summer.

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State of the Stable

Gibbs was the star of the running backs at A-Day leading all rushers on both teams with his 100 yards and a touchdown. While Trey Sanders was the starter for the Crimson Team, he was quickly replaced by Gibbs on the second drive of the game.

In total, Sanders rushed the football just four times for a total of 14 yards on the day.

Outside of the two quarterbacks for the White Team, no running backs really created any separation for themselves. True freshman Jamarion Miller was the workhorse for the White Team, carrying the ball 15 times for 44 yards and his longest rush of the day being a nine-yard gain. Junior running back Jonathan Bennett was the backup running back, rushing just once for nine yards.

No questions were clearly answered on Saturday as to who will start at running back this fall. However, Gibbs certainly made his case known. Gibbs also had a nine-yard reception on three targets. While he didn't bring in as many catches as he did over the first two scrimmages of spring, he established himself as a fairly dependable target for Young — a factor that will likely contribute to his case as the starting back this fall.

Sanders clearly brings more Alabama experience to the table, a point that can't be ignored. However, Gibbs now has an entire summer to finish learning the playbook and will be a factor heading into this fall.

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Receivers Galore

Both the Crimson Team and the White Team utilized a plethora of receivers, with each size using six over the course of the game.

Sophomore wide receiver Christian Leary outshined everyone on the White Team with his 106 receiving yards on five receptions as well as the game's lone touchdown reception. The closest receiver to Leary was fellow sophomore JoJo Earle, who caught four of seven targets for 51 yards for the Crimson Team.

Behind Leary on the White Team was Kendrick Law with four receptions for 30 yards. While Law won't impress on a stats sheet, he had several solid receptions in tight windows hit by Milroe. While Leary might have had the better overall day, Law raised the eyebrows of onlookers with a couple of diving catches. When the slippery footballs due to the weather are taken into account, that makes his day even more impressive.

Other notables were Thaiu Jones-Bell for the White Team with his three receptions for 32 yards. For the Crimson Team, both Burton and Traeshon Holden made three receptions, with Burton just barely edging out Holden in receiving yards with 36 compared to Holden's 34.

Comparing tight ends, Cameron Latu got the start for the first-string Crimson Team, making two catches off three targets for 17 yards. For the White Team, Robbie Ouzts snagged two receptions off four targets for 13 yards.

Leary and Burton are likely the two receivers who will be remembered by fans heading into the fall. Ja'Corey Brooks was missing from the game as he is still recovering from an injury, but will likely be considered for a starting job this fall as he is expected to return healthy for fall camp. Law also impressed with his pass-catching skills, but the job for the top three receivers appears to still be open if one were to solely base the position off of A-Day performances.

Fortunately for the receivers, that likely won't be the case.