Alabama Completes Fourth Spring Practice
TUSCALOOSA,
Ala. - The University of Alabama football team completed its fourth
workout of spring practice on Friday with a two-hour session in full
pads inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.
New Alabama athletics director Bill Battle also stopped by prior to the start of practice to be introduced to the team.
The
Crimson Tide will take next week off for spring break (March 25-29)
before resuming spring practice with the fifth of 15 spring practices
on Monday, April 1.
One important aspect of spring practice for
Alabama is to begin to develop depth and continuity along an offensive
line that lost three starters off of the 2012 BCS National Championship
team.
Junior left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio returns to protect AJ
McCarron's blindside while senior guard Anthony Steen anchors the right
side in his third year as a starter. There are several players battling
for an expanded role along the line and the spring gives UA coaches a
chance to look at all aspects and possibilities along the offensive
line.
"What is important right now is that we have a lot of
practices before the first game," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said.
"We need to help the younger players improve, number one. Number two is
to try to get the best five guys in the best spots where we give
ourselves a chance to be successful. I think there is a lot of
competition there (along the offensive line) right now.
"We have
to very good starters coming back and some other guys that have played
some and have some experience, there are six or seven guys probably
competing for those three spots right now. We move them around; they
play guard one day and tackle the next. We are finding out what they
can do, and how well they can do it and what the best combination of
people is going to be for us to have the best possible offensive line.
Then move the next guys to the best situation where they can provide us
the most depth. That is a process that takes time."
Alabama's
2013 A-Day Game is scheduled for Saturday, April 20, at 2 p.m. (CDT)
inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The A-Day Game is once again free to the
public and will be televised live on ESPN2.
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