Jumbo Package: QB competition rolls on after first fall scrimmage

Happy Monday, everyone. Depending on who you ask coming out of the first fall scrimmage, either Jalen Milroe was clearly a standout or Ty Simpson is gaining ground. About the only consensus seems to be that Tyler Buchner is very clearly behind those two at this stage.

Greg McElroy made an interesting point, and I wouldn’t mind seeing something like this.

McElroy said that the offense could revert more to the run game overall, calling the offensive line, “a remarkable strength,” and pointing to the talent in Alabama’s running back group.

“What I envision is there being a quarterback perhaps between the 20s and then you get in the red zone, the offense is going to change because you’re going to feature a little bit more quarterback run,” McElroy said. “Jalen Milroe might have a say in that. Tyler Buchner might have a say in that. And then Ty Simpson of course, being more of a pocket passer that can move, it’s not his strength, but he can move. I think he’s going to be the distributor between the 20s and then kind of a see how things go as they get closer to the goal line.”

Alabama struggled some near the goal line when Tua Tagovailoa was around, and that was one case where I often wondered aloud about the possibility of using Jalen Hurts inside the 5. Jalen had his issues moving the ball, but the goal line offense was nearly unstoppable with him in the game running zone reads. We saw Tim Tebow deployed this way as a freshman, and Oklahoma did something similar with Blake Bell some years ago. Milroe is a powerful runner who could be devastating in that type of role. No idea if the coaching staff is even considering such a thing, of course.

Gotta love this quote.

If the QB competition comes down to the best stare down, Milroe wins it hands down.

That man looks fearsome and fearless.

So, what did Nick Saban see out of the team on Saturday? Well, he didn’t seem thrilled with the offensive line.

Saban didn’t seem pleased with the overall performance of the big men up front Saturday. Here’s what he said when asked what he saw from the offensive line:

“Inconsistent,” Saban said. “Not enough depth. We had a couple explosive runs, but when you’re playing against each other, was the explosive run because of great execution or was it because of terrible execution on the other side?”

Saban said he feels the Crimson Tide has six to seven guys right now who can play on the offensive line “but we need a lot more than that to get through the season.”

That honestly sounds OK to me. If he’s getting on them for inconsistency, that means that he believes they can be great. And at this stage of camp, having more than five who are playable is actually a good thing. Hopefully it really is just a matter of building depth.

Nick does seem to like the secondary.

“We got a bunch (of versatility), I mean we’re playing guys all over the place. (Terrion Arnold) can play different spots, (Kool-Aid McKinstry) can play different spots. (Malachi Moore) can play just about everywhere. Jaylen Key can play multiple positions, trying to develop Tony Mitchell to be able to play multiple positions.

“We need to have a lot of guys that can do that. (DeVonta Smith) can play a couple different things. Kristian Story can play a couple of different things. That’s one of the things that we tried to do in camp, we got guys rolling all over the place. It does sort of sometimes affect the repetitions that a guy gets at a certain position, but I think it’s important that guys have a background and a basic knowledge of information so we get guys injured during the season we can move guys around and have a chance to get the best people in the field. Same thing on the offensive line. You know, guys you got to be able to play multiple positions.”

Great coverage would go a long way toward helping the pass rush as well.

As usual, feel free to check out all of Saban’s comments below.

Last, Nick bought himself yet another mansion.

Recently, Coach Saban decided to treat himself to a brand new $17.5 million beachfront home in Jupiter, Florida. Jupiter is the home to many great golfers and has one of the greatest golf scenes in the world, Saban is a known avid lover of the sport. He will now be neighbors with guys like Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Gary Player, which I am sure helped finalize his decision on the new home.

The beachfront property is gorgeous as it features six bedrooms and five bathrooms at over 6,200 square feet. It will also come with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, a private garden, a dock, a boat lift and so much more.

Maybe he will invite us all to visit someday, eh?

That’s about it for today. Have a great week.

Roll Tide.