Alabama football wrapped up its first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday, just three weeks away from the season opener against Western Kentucky.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer got a good look at his team in what he considered the "biggest scrimmage" of the fall in regards to the amount of plays run.
“Ran I think it was 102 plays, maybe give-or-take one or two— 81 with the 1s and 2s," DeBoer said. "Pretty balanced there, I think it was 40 to 41 plays. And then 21 plays, if I’m doing my math right, with the 3s.”
Over the past few seasons, Alabama has been near the top of the SEC in penalties, but Saturday could indicate that things are trending in the right direction.
"One thing I’ve seen over the last few practices, we’ve had the officials there, you know, it’s always going to be that way early in camp, some penalties and things like that," DeBoer said. "I thought we did a lot better job today, really did a really good job actually when I think about it. I don’t know the number, but very few.”
DeBoer is satisfied with the team's progress so far in the offseason, but team health is his biggest concern going into the season.
"Probably just staying healthy, you know? Again, I feel good about where we’re at," he stated. "This will be our biggest scrimmage. This will be the most plays that we run. Next week we’ll have a scrimmage too, but it won’t be quite as many, it’ll be solid. But just being healthy. We need all the reps. We have some veterans, there’s no doubt about it, but we certainly have a lot of young guys that need to continue to develop and that are important. If they’re not in the ones, they’re definitely in the two rotation, so those reps are invaluable for those guys, not just for them but also the trust that it takes as a whole unit.”
DeBoer continued, “So I think that’s the biggest thing, just because our youth is there around different position groups. Guys are doing great jobs with their bodies. Anytime they have a chance there, extra time, they’re in the training room doing a good job. And Just before practice, after practice, doing what they should. Being a pro. And those championship habits, you can see them really take them and place an importance on them."
Alabama hosts Western Kentucky to open up the season on Saturday, August 31 at 6 p.m. CT.
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