ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban speaks with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. The Alabama Crimson Tide won the game in overtime 26-23. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) After a bitter defeat in the National Championship, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide once again have to reload on the field and within the staff to make another playoff run. Last season ended in bitter disappointment for the Alabama Crimson Tide as they were beaten soundly by the Clemson Tigers in the national championship game. They’ve also lost another crop of players moving to the NFL and coaches continue to be plucked or let go from Nick Saban’s staff. Though despite that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Tide will be right in the thick of the college football playoff mix during the 2019 season. However, depth does appear to be somewhat of an issue at the moment so it will be interesting to see how Saban navigates this Saturday’s game. The reasons for optimism start with the return of Tua Tagovailoa. The junior is coming off a 2018 campaign where he finished second in the Heisman race throwing for 3966 yards and 43 touchdowns. Tua brought an entirely new feel to the Alabama offense that fans had not seen before as they became a prolific passing game. Alongside Tua is a receiving corps that is arguably the best in America with Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle. In the backfield, it is now time for former number two overall recruit Najee Harris to take over as the lead running back. He could be on the verge of a tremendous breakout season after rushing for over 700 yards in 2018 despite sharing time with Joshua Jacobs and Damien Harris who have both go on to the NFL. Though what is going to determine the success of this offensive is whether new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian can duplicate what Mike Locksley did in 2018. Saban has shown he’s willing to take risk within in coaching staff so perhaps Sarkisian coming back will be just another one of his genius gambles. Fans will certainly let them know if it does not work. On the defensive side of the ball, they once again find themselves having to replace great starters at each level of the defense. Starting with the trenches were they need to find a way to replicate the production of Quinnen Williams who dominated the SEC last season and Isaiah Buggs who too had a very productive year. Look for Raekown Davis to be the anchor up front as he looks to rebound from a disappointing 2018. Davis was at one point the player NFL scouts liked the most on the Alabama defense going into last season, so he needs to regain his stock. At linebacker, Mack Wilson has moved on, but Dylan Moses and Anfernee Jenning should be able to keep things running smooth. However, be on the lookout for Eyabi Anoma who has all the physical traits, but his improvements mentally and technically will be something to keep an eye on. The secondary seems to be mostly established with Trevon Diggs back from a foot injury to start opposite of Patrick Surtain ll. Behind them, Xavier McKinney is the leader at the safety position, but the spot to replace Deionte Thompson is a battle to watch closely. Watch Alabama spring game<doc-sep>Alabama had its spring game on Saturday, which was won, 31-17, by the team consisting of the Crimson Tide’s first-team defense and backup offense. Here are some takeaways from the game: Backup QB battle heating up It was similar for each of the main two quarterbacks competing for Alabama’s backup quarterback job, redshirt sophomore Mac Jones and freshman Taulia Tagovailoa. Both had early interceptions. Then, both settled in and did some good things. Jones was 19 of 23 for 271 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception. Tagovailoa was 6 of 9 for 93 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown was a nice play. While rolling to his left, Tagovailoa hit sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Waddle near the sideline in the end zone for a 29-yard score. “Taulia threw a (pick), but I thought he did some things well,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He’s sort of naturally instinctive and made some quick decisions.” Jones’ two touchdown passes were a 29-yarder to tight end Kedrick James and then a 22-yarder to reserve wide receiver Xavier Williams with nine seconds left in the first half. “I thought Mac did fine,” Saban said. “The good news is that’s one of the biggest things that Mac has to learn to overcome is when he has a bad play he kind of hangs on to it for a while and he doesn’t always go to the next play, but I think he did that well today.” Freshman wide receiver continues to shine John Metchie, the four-star freshman wide receiver, capped off a good spring by winning MVP of the spring game. The 6-foot, 195-pound Metchie, who had a few touchdowns in the first two spring scrimmages, finished the spring game with five catches for 133 yards. “Relative to what he had to do today, he did an outstanding job,” Saban said. “He made some good catches. He didn’t drop the ball. He plays fast. He’s got some strength. I think this guy’s going to help us next year and I think he’ll be a good player for us.” Underwhelming day for first-team offense It wasn’t a great day for Alabama’s first-team offense. Tua Tagovailoa finished 19 of 37 for 265 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Najee Harris was held to 23 yards on nine carries, an average of 2.6 yards per attempt. Kicking still an issue Last year’s kicker, Joseph Bulovas, was 1 for 3 on field goals. After making a 34-yard field goal early in the scrimmage, the redshirt sophomore then missed his final two kicks — a 49-yarder and a 41-yarder. Freshman Will Reichard was successful on his only field goal attempt, a 43-yard kick. Other notes Sophomore cornerback Josh Jobe, who worked with the first-team defense throughout the spring, seemed to have a good day. Jobe recorded three pass deflections, including two on back-to-back plays during the third quarter. On the second, he broke up a pass in the end zone intended for All-American wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. ... Sophomore outside linebacker Eyabi Anoma, the former top-five recruit, worked with the first-team defense and had three tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, an additional quarterback hurry and two pass breakups. ... Cornerback Trevon Diggs, backup safety Eddie Smith and reserve inside linebackers Shane Lee and Jaylen Moody all had interceptions. Diggs picked off Tua late in the scrimmage. Moody had a pick-six, scoring on a 30-yard return after intercepting freshman QB Paul Tyson. Lee, a second-team inside linebacker, posted a game-high eight tackles and the interception... Redshirt freshman Cameron Latu, the former linebacker who continues to work at tight end, was in a lot with the first-team offense along with No. 1 tight end Miller Forristall. Latu had two catches for 37 yards, including a 31-yard catch on a pass from wide receiver Slade Bolden on a trick play. ... Antonio Alfano, the five-star freshman defensive lineman who worked mostly with the third-team defensive line during the spring, recorded two sacks. Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.<doc-sep>Alabama’s football program is holding its annual A-Day spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. this afternoon. While there are tens of thousands of fans in attendance, the crowd is a bit disappointing. Nick Saban said he was excited to play in front of a big crowd today. “A-Day is a special day around here. There’s a lot of great traditions in this game — a lot of these things are special & what make being at University of Alabama a very special place,” he said. The crowd didn’t end up being that big, though. Alabama appears to have roughly 30,000 fans in attendance. Maybe 30,000 here for A-Day. Sad Bama Fans, sad. We can do better. We have a saying in the LEO world that complacency kills. Very worrisome for the “Bama Dynasty”. pic.twitter.com/S5P0nV1y1t — Criss in MS (@hwyman_34) April 13, 2019 Here’s another look at the crowd: The A-Day crowd for today’s spring game … pic.twitter.com/E13Uz3q1QY — Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) April 13, 2019 There are plenty of college football programs that would love to have a crowd like that for a glorified scrimmage. Those programs are not Alabama, though, and the Crimson Tide used to fill the stadium for these days. Alabama’s spring game is being televised on ESPN2.<doc-sep>Brynn Anderson/Associated Press The White team defeated the Crimson team 31-17 in the Alabama A-Day spring game Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. By virtue of Crimson's victory, it will dine on steak Saturday, while White will be relegated to eating beans: Crimson was led by starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the first-team offense, while the first-team defense played for White. Tagovailoa had somewhat modest production aided by a late touchdown with 265 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 19-of-37 passing, and he was outperformed by backup Mac Jones on the White team. Jones had the benefit of facing the second-team defense, but he took advantage by throwing for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 19-of-23 passing. Tagovailoa's brother, Taulia Tagovailoa, also played for White and went 6-of-9 for 93 yards with one touchdown and one pick. Freshman wide receiver John Metchie thrived for White with five catches for 133 yards en route to being named A-Day MVP. Things didn't start out ideally for Jones, as he was intercepted by freshman linebacker Shane Lee in the opening quarter. Alex Byington of the Montgomery Advertiser suggested that Lee could be in the mix for a starting spot entering 2019: Video Play Button Videos you might like Crimson took advantage of the turnover, as running back Najee Harris rushed for a four-yard touchdown to give Crimson a 7-0 lead. Following field goals by both sides, Jones got White in the end zone for the first time late in the first quarter when he found tight end Kedrick James in the flat for a 29-yard touchdown. James did most of the work on the play with his run after the catch despite being viewed primarily as a blocking tight end, per Roll 'Bama Roll: With a chance to give White the lead in the closing seconds of the first half, Jones got aggressive by going for a touchdown rather than settling for a field goal. That decision paid dividends, as he found Xavier Williams for a 22-yard touchdown with nine seconds left off an impressive stop-and-go route by Williams. While Jones had the best numbers among the Alabama quarterbacks Saturday, Taulia Tagovailoa stood out and made his case to be named Tua's backup as well. Like Jones, Taulia stumbled out of the gates. One of his first passes was intercepted by safety Eddie Smith in the first half, which erased a strong play he made previous, according to John Mitchell of Saturday Blitz: After getting that mistake out of the way, the younger Tagovailoa brother looked much more comfortable in the second half. That was apparent on a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter that saw Taulia roll to his left and throw on the run to extend White's lead to 24-10. AL.com's Matt Scalici felt Taulia's touchdown pass looked quite familiar: Based on how well both Jones and Taulia Tagovailoa played, Byington expressed his belief that head coach Nick Saban could have a difficult decision on his hands when it comes to choosing Tua's backup: The biggest beneficiary of the quality quarterback play for the White team was Metchie, who stood out among a strong group of wideouts. Metchie made several big plays in the game, including a 49-yard reception on an underthrown ball by Jones in the first half. Both Ben Jones of the Tuscaloosa News and Birmingham Iron reporter Marq Burnett were impressed by Metchie's showing: After linebacker Jaylen Moody intercepted freshman quarterback Paul Tyson in the third quarter and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to put White on top 31-10, Crimson's fate was essentially sealed. Even so, Saban gave Tua Tagovailoa a chance to work out some kinks by continuing to play him in the fourth quarter. That worked to Tua's advantage, as he finally broke through with a touchdown when he hit wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who ran 54 yards for the score with 2:10 remaining in the game. That touchdown made Tua's day look a bit better than it was, but Brad Crawford of 247Sports noted that he wasn't going against the easiest opponent: Also, Tagovailoa dealt with a knee injury late last season, and Saturday marked his first significant action since the national championship game loss to Clemson. Alabama's first-team offense was not in rhythm, although it is difficult to envision the Crimson Tide's offense being anything less than explosive in 2019 given the wide array of weapons Tagovailoa will have at his disposal. Saban still has plenty of time to fine-tune things on the offensive side of the ball before Alabama opens up the regular season against Duke on Aug. 31.<doc-sep>
Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images The Alabama Crimson Tide will be back in the college football spotlight Saturday for the first time since they were blown out by Clemson in the national championship. Nick Saban's side has more motivation than ever to get back to the sport's biggest stage, and it is more than capable of doing so with the plethora of five-star talent on its roster. Entering Saturday's spring game, the Crimson Tide are +250 (bet $100 to win $250) to win the title, per Oddschecker. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy at +400, but he'll have plenty of work to do to beat out Clemson's Trevor Lawrence for the honor. Tagovailoa will be tasked with leading the Crimson Tide under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, whose system receives the spotlight for the first time Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. 2019 Alabama Spring Game Information Video Play Button Videos you might like Date: Saturday, April 13 Start Time: 2 p.m. ET TV: ESPN 2 Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app Although there is a new offensive coordinator in place, the Crimson Tide won't be overhauling their system after reaching the final of the College Football Playoff in January. Nick Saban detailed the continuity of the offensive system to The Athletic's Aaron Suttles. "We kind of do what we do," the head coach said. "I think the new coordinator brings new energy, new enthusiasm, new ideas. Sometimes we make tweaks and adaptations to what we do. But we're pretty successful on offense, especially last year. So why would we change it a lot?" Tagovailoa comes into his junior season off a campaign in which he threw for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns. As the Crimson Tide gain more chemistry with Sarkisian as a play-caller, they have to replace some players on offense, most notably at running back. Najee Harris will step into the role of feature back, with Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs gone from the program. John Bazemore/Associated Press While there is plenty of production to replace in the backfield, Alabama returns Henry Ruggs, Jaylen Waddle, Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith from its receiving corps. As Tagovailoa noted after a recent scrimmage, the chemistry between the returning players has helped the offense stand out ahead of the defense in spring practice, per Suttles. "We have a lot of guys that played on the team last year, so the accountability is there," the quarterback said. "For us to just gel with one another, it's a lot easier. It's very smooth. Whereas the defense, we've got a lot of new faces out there, and just the leadership is different on both sides." Not every defensive position is a work in progress for the Crimson Tide, but there are a few glaring holes that need to be plugged up. With Quinnen Williams and Isaiah Buggs gone, Alabama needs a few defensive linemen to step up alongside Raekwon Davis to continue to put offenses under pressure from the time they snap the ball. Freshman D.J. Dale has established himself as a player to watch on the defensive line, and he's received praise from the experienced Davis, per Charlie Potter of 247Sports: "For a young guy, he plays like he's been here for a while. He's great. He's a great learner. You can teach him quick. I mean, he came in good, like good with his technique. ... (His maturity) shows a lot. It shows that if a hard game's on the line, I would trust him on my side. It tells me a lot about him. He's just a hard-working kid. He came in just grinding." Linebacker Dylan Moses and safety Xavier McKinney are some of the other top defensive returners, but which players line up alongside them in Week 1 remains to be seen. Since we know what the Alabama offense is capable of, Saturday's spring game should be more about the defense and what the next crop of potential stars can bring to the gridiron. Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90