A-Day highlights & Coach Saban Press Conference (Video) and post game articles

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A-Day highlights and Coach Saban Press Conference (Video)

 

[silentsam74]

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Cool beans!!

 

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Grant carries Crimson team to victory

Although spring is often the time when something new bursts into bloom, it was the known commodities – for the most part – who dominated Alabama’s A-Day intrasquad game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

Senior quarterback John Parker Wilson found sophomore running back Terry Grant for two touchdown passes covering 14 and 75 yards, enough to power the Crimson team to a 24-14 victory before a crowd of 78,200 at the annual A-Day game.

Grant was awarded the Dixie Howell Most Valuable Player Award for his performance. He rushed for just 21 yards but had four catches for 87 yards and the two scores.

 

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Inside the article below:
Photo Gallery
Final Stats
Post Game Notes
Final Book

RollTide.com: Crimson Defeats White in A-Day Scrimmage, 24-14

In front of a Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd of 78,200, Alabama's Crimson squad defeated the White squad 24-14 Saturday in the school's annual Golden Flake A-Day Football Game.

The Crimson squad was comprised of Alabama's first-team offense and second team defense, while the White team featured the Tide's first-team defense and second-team offense.

Combined with last year's capacity crowd of 92,138, the total number of fans present at head coach Nick Saban's two spring scrimmages now totals more than 170,000.

 

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Saban Pleased With Progress Of Offense

Following Alabama’s A-Day Game, Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban said the offensive object of the game had not been to establish a running game. He said he wanted the receiving corps to develop some confidence and for the quarterbacks to have a good feeling.

You think?

Alabama had 81 pass attempts and 41 rushing attempts in the A-Day Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday as the Crimson (first offense and second defense) defeated the White (first defense and second offense), 24-14.

 

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Grant, McCullough A-Day Award Winners

Former Alabama Coach Paul Bryant started a tradition of spring football practice awards, some suspect as a motivational tool for Crimson Tide players in the drudgery of spring work. The tradition continues and the number of awards have been expanded.

Two Alabama football awards are selected by media attending the A-Day Game. This year the sportswriters selected Terry Grant and Alfred McCullough for game awards.

 

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Wilson Has Three TD Passes In A-Day Win

John Parker Wilson passed for three touchdowns to lead the Crimson to a 24-14 victory over the White in Alabama’s A-Day Football Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. The game is ordinarily the final day of spring practice, but this year the team has one day remaining Monday.

John Parker Wilson connected on touchdown passes of six yards to Earl Alexander in the second quarter and 14 yards to Terry Grant just seconds before halftime, then clinched the game when he connected with Grant on a short pass that the speedy tailback turned into a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

 

[T-Town BamaFan]

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Passing game dominates in Crimson team victory




RTR

 

[T-Town BamaFan]

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Crimson Tide quarterbacks throw for 604 yards





:BigA:

 

[specialkpntbl]

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We need some HUNTING DOGS!!--Saban

 

[Crimson Surfer]

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Low rushing totals part of game plan

The University of Alabama's running game was a 2-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust exercise at Saturday's A-Day Game.

The Crimson Tide's split squads gained a combined 83 yards on 41 carries in the spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but no one is worried Alabama won't be able to run the ball next season.

Head coach Nick Saban wanted the game plan to focus instead on breaking in a group of inexperienced receivers.

 

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The winners of the Spring awards are listed in the article below.

Grant, McCullough lead spring awards

Running back Terry Grant caught two touchdown passes and won the Dixie Howell Memorial Award for the most outstanding player in the A-Day Game.

Grant caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from John Parker Wilson in the second quarter, before connecting with Wilson again on a 75-yard scoring play in the fourth quarter.

Alfred McCullough earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman Award. He finished with six tackles, one sack and broke up two passes.

 

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Tide defense finds leadership

Saturday's A-Day Game provided a glimpse at the current state of the defense and its players who will suit up this fall, and the results were a mixed bag. Saban singled out leadership and how it has improved, while at the same time citing lack of depth as an area that continues to plaque the Tide.

Senior safety Rashad Johnson, who was honored as a permanent team captain earlier in the day at a ceremony at Denny Chimes, proved why he is looked to as a leader of the defense with his two interceptions that thwarted Crimson drives.

Johnson said the defense is much more comfortable in its second season under Saban.

 

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Tide coach nearly gets tackled at end of the first half

Although Nick Saban wore a jacket and tie again for Saturday's A-Day Game, the second-year Alabama head coach needed a no-contact, black jersey in the final minutes of the first half.

Saban observed the scrimmage from his on-the-field position behind the quarterback. But when the pocket collapsed on John Parker Wilson with less than 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Saban got trapped in the pass rush.

 

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CECIL HURT: Deciphering numbers is tricky business

The A-Day Game on Saturday, it seemed, was all about numbers, and what the numbers “really” meant. Some of the numbers were football statistics. There was also an attendance estimate. And as soon as those numbers came into existence, there was an attempt to use them to as tools, data that supported whatever interpretation someone wanted to make with them.

First, there was the attendance estimate of 78,200. It is a mathematical fact that 78,200 is less than 92,000, last year’s record-smashing A-Day attendance. So someone wanting to leap to the conclusion that interest is somehow waning among Alabama fans could use simple subtraction to support that. But the real point is that 78,200 is a tremendous crowd for an inconclusive exercise in spring football. It’s as large a crowd as any college in the country will draw for its spring exhibition, probably larger than anyone else gets. Lots of variables affect spring-game attendance from year to year, but the last thing a college that draws close to 80,000 people for an intrasquad game needs to worry about is “lack of interest.”

 

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John Parker Wilson shows progress in Alabama A-Day Game

John Parker Wilson can be emotional. The University of Alabama quarterback can allow his competitive side to take over.

As a senior leader, the attributes have helped Wilson win the support of his team. But when choosing where to throw the ball, Wilson has been asked to dial it down. To throttle it.

"You're always making business decisions for the team," coach Nick Saban said.

 

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No fullback for Alabama offense

On first review, Alabama's new offense looked a great deal like its old offense Saturday, with one notable subtraction.

The Tide appears to have all but eliminated the fullback from its offense. Converted fullback Baron Huber remained at linebacker for the Crimson team during Saturday's A-Day game, while Huber's old backup, Jeramie Griffin, carried the ball three times as a tailback for the same squad.

A decreasing role for fullbacks led to a larger one for Alabama's tight ends, which lined up at fullback in short-yardage situations. Former UMS-Wright standout Preston Dial played such a role Saturday for the White team.

 

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A for effort

The typical goal for a spring football game is balance, for the offense to make plays -- but not too many -- and the defense to occasionally stand out but not dominate.

It helps if a lot of fans show up, too.

Along those lines, Alabama got precisely what it sought from Saturday's A-Day game.

 

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SI: 'Bama shows off new passing attack

Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson scrambled away from defensive lineman Brandon Fanney, buying a little extra time by leading him right smack into coach Nick Saban.

Wilson was having a good enough day in the Crimson Tide's new offense, he could get away with nearly getting his coach clobbered.

Wilson passed for 265 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Crimson to a 24-14 win over the White Saturday before an announced crowd of 78,200 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, believed to be the second most to attend a spring game nationally behind last year's full house.

 

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Crimson Tide develops passing fancy at A-Day game

The head coach wasn't interested in how his running backs could perform so the A-Day playbook was crafted to give the quarterbacks and receivers a chance to shine in front of a crowd estimated at 78,200, the second largest to ever watch a spring game.

"It wasn't one of our goals going out there today, to try to establish and run the ball a lot," said Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban. "I think the most important thing to come out of this scrimmage is to develop some confidence in the receiving corps and have the quarterbacks coming out of the scrimmage feeling good where they are and where we are in the passing game. That was the goal going in and that's why we probably didn't run very much."