While Mark Edwards made his way to South Florida today, Daily Bama Blog contributor Brett Hudson covered Alabama’s practice today. Here is his report:
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — The Crimson Tide stepped into the indoor facility today to avoid rain for the second straight practice (and prepare in the 70-degree temperature expected in Miami), for its first practice of 2013.
The new year is making for a new Barrett Jones, as Alabama’s starting center went through limited drills with the first team. He wore his typical white practice jersey with the black No. 75 on it, rather than the black non-contact jersey he has had since hurting his foot in the SEC Championship Game.
Jones skipped some footwork drills, but he did line up next to a guard and snap the football before carrying out blocking assignments in pads. We have practice video at the bottom of this post, which includes footage of Jones.
Wide receiver Kenny Bell (broken leg) remained in a black non-contact jersey while jogging outside of wide receiver drills. Bell is still sporting a noticeable hobble in his step, but does seem to be making progress. Bell has not come close to full speed as far as we have seen, however.
Also in the black jerseys were linebacker Denzel Devall (knee) and defensive back Jarrick Williams (preseason knee surgery).
Wide receiver Kevin Norwood seemed to favor his right ankle very
slightly in drills today, especially after making cuts. Norwood
practiced fully, and Tide head coach Nick Saban has not disclosed any injuries to him in his reports to the media. Norwood’s ankle did appear to have extra tape on it.
From a schematic side, the wide receivers were practicing shorter
double-move routes, with offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier acting as the cornerback. The receivers would fake a slant route, which Nussmeier would bite on as his receivers would run behind him in a diagonal route towards the sideline.
Also find and follow The Daily Bama Blog on:
Twitter: @DailyEdwards
Facebook: Facebook.com/dailybamablog
