FAYETTEVILLE, AR - OCTOBER 6: Head Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide jogs off the field before a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium on October 6, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabamai. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) Alabama Basketball: Tide B-Ball fans should be happy about one thing by Ronald Evans Alabama football hit the practice field for the first time Friday and based on who did and did not take part, and at what position, there is interesting news. On Friday, the revamped Alabama football staff put the 2019 Alabama Crimson Tide through practice session No. 1 of the spring season. Due to the school’s Spring Break calendar, the Tide will not practice again until Mar. 18. Typical for the first day, the Crimson Tide was in shorts and helmets but no pads. It was a warm, overcast afternoon in Tuscaloosa as the team worked outside. Notably not observed on day 1 was Ale Kaho. Suspended players not seen were Elliot Baker and Kedrick James. Alabama football insiders have predicted Baker will not be a member of the 85-man roster at some point this spring or fall. James is expected to be suspended for early season games. Another player, in a similar situation to James, Deonte Brown, did participate on Friday. Also absent was Ben Davis who is recouping from two recent surgeries. At least for Friday, one Tide linebacker, Cameron Latu was working with the tight ends. No other significant position changes were noted. Another slight surprise was Tyrell Shavers working in the first four group of wide receivers. Shavers has been working with the Alabama baseball team, who had a game Friday afternoon. Anfernee Jennings and Chris Allen worked with knee braces and both appeared to be nearing 100 percent recovery. Josh McMillon worked with Dylan Moses as the first group of inside linebackers. Shyheim Carter was in a black jersey and working with the safeties instead of the corners. Previously injured players, Trevon Diggs, Jaylin Armour-Davis and Daniel Wright appeared to be fully recovered. Some Alabama football fans will be surprised freshman Antonio Alfano was working with the third of three defensive line trios. Ahead of Alfano were Christian Barmore, Tevita Musika and another true freshman, Justin Eboigbe. The first three were Kwon Davis, LaBryan Ray and Phidarian Mathis. On the offensive line, Alex Leatherwood was at left tackle with the first group, with Emil Ekiyor next to him at left guard. Chris Owens was at center, with Matt Womack at right guard and Jedrick Wills at right tackle. it should be remembered the pecking order seen at practice represents what Nick Saban calls organization groupings and not an actual depth chart. Alabama football fans will be excited to know freshman kicker, Will Reichard was doing punter drills on Friday. Reichard was a placekicker and a punter in high school. Nick Saban will have his first 2019 season, media review early Friday night. Bama Hammer will provide the highlights.<doc-sep>Football is back at the University of Alabama. The defending SEC champions and national runner-up opened spring practice on Friday, the first step in getting back to the College Football Playoff and avenging January's disappointing loss to Clemson in the title game. Alabama's official social media account posted a video of the action on Twitter with several players prominently featured in the 46-second clip, notably Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle. It also marked the first opportunity for early enrollees to make a splash on the field in front of teammates and coaches. "We’ve got a lot of new faces around here. It was good for them to become part of the team," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "The No. 1 goal and objective for the spring is we have to re-establish the Alabama factor, to me. We’ve always been a team that plays with a tremendous amount of discipline, had a lot of responsible and accountable guys who could go out there and do their job and be dependable. And everybody’s always put the team first. "The result of that has been we’ve been able to win a lot of games, guys have got a lot of individual accolades, got a lot of opportunities to play at the next level, and we’ve been able to win a few championships. I think it’s important to re-establish that. To do that, people have to have humility and understand that regardless of how much success you have, you still have to pay attention to detail and do things right in preparation and in practice so you don’t develop bad habits." Sophomore inside linebacker Ale Kaho was not spotted during Alabama's first practice at Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. Kaho, the nation’s No. 1 inside linebacker and No. 21 overall prospect in 2018 according to 247Sports, is dealing with personal issues, per Saban.<doc-sep>Alabama released its 15-day spring football practice schedule Friday, and spring ball will be back in Tuscaloosa in one week. The Crimson Tide will return to the field Friday, March 8, for its inaugural spring practice prior to the university's week-long spring break (March 11-15). It will be the team's first time back on the practice field since the end of the 2018-19 season on Monday, Jan. 11. March 8 will also be the first practice for Alabama's seven new assistant coaches -- as well as the first practice as coordinator for Pete Golding -- and 15 early enrollees. Coach Nick Saban will hold eight press conferences, including one after March 8's first practice. All practices are closed to the public, other than the A-Day Game on April 13. The final, only open scrimmage of the spring will take place at Bryant-Denny Stadium and will air on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. CT. Alabama's 2019 Spring Football Practice Schedule: Friday, March 8 -- 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 18 -- 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 -- 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 22 -- 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23 -- TBD Tuesday, March 26 -- 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28 -- 3:30 p.m. **Saturday, March 30 -- TBD Monday, April 1 -- 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 -- 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 5 -- 3:30 p.m. **Saturday, April 6 -- TBD Tuesday, April 9 -- 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11 -- 3:30 p.m. **Saturday, April 13 -- 1 p.m. ** indicate scrimmage dates at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter). *** Don't miss a VIP update with our FREE trial of BamaOnLine. Sign up HERE ***<doc-sep>The Georgia Bulldogs enter spring practice having been knocking at the door under coach Kirby Smart in each of the past two seasons. And each time, Alabama has been the one to turn them away. First, it was in overtime of the College Football Playoff National Championship. Then it was last season's SEC championship game. Each time, Georgia squandered leads. So, yes, there might be a mental hurdle left for this program to clear, but there's nothing in the way of a talent gap. Despite significant changes to the roster and the coaching staff, the Bulldogs are expected to be right back in title contention next season. 2018 record: 11-3 Spring practice start date: TBD Spring game date: April 20 Biggest offseason position battle: Pass-catchers. It was bad enough that the always reliable Terry Godwin was graduating. Then the NFL draft deadline arrived and claimed Jake Fromm's top three targets: wideouts Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardman; and tight end Isaac Nauta. That leaves running back D'Andre Swift and receivers Jeremiah Holloman and Charlie Woerner as the only returning players with double-digit receptions last season. The good news is a pair of graduate transfers are on the way: former Tennessee tight end Eli Wolf and former Miami receiver Lawrence Cager, who led the Hurricanes with six touchdown catches last season. Strength heading into spring: It's not going to be easy to replace All-SEC center Lamont Gaillard, who started every game over the past three seasons. But on the whole, Georgia's offensive line appears to be in pretty good shape. Left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was named first team All-SEC last season and who is likely to be on a few preseason All-America lists, will be the anchor of the unit, which also returns right tackle Isaiah Wilson. The two guard spots might be up for grabs, but there's plenty of experience to pull from in Ben Cleveland, Cade Mays and Solomon Kindley. Question mark heading into spring: This is going to be a new-look Georgia defense, that much is clear. Defensive linemen Jonathan Ledbetter and Jay Hayes are gone. So are cornerback Deandre Baker and linebackers D'Andre Walker and Juwan Taylor. So is coordinator Mel Tucker, for that matter. While there are some nice pieces at safety (J.R. Reed, Richard LeCounte) and linebacker (Monty Rice, Tae Crowder), there's a lot of work to be done to sort out a starting 11. Instant impact addition: Did we mention Georgia needs some help on defense? Well, look no further than freshman Nolan Smith to provide assistance. With so much movement at outside linebacker and defensive end, the five-star prospect (No. 2 in the ESPN 300) could find himself in position to play right away. He has the size at 6-foot-3 and 234 pounds to play either position. And with a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, he certainly has the speed to wreak havoc as a pass-rusher. 2019 game to get excited about now: If you're a fan of college football, you have to love quality nonconference games that aren't crammed into the first couple of weeks of the season. Well, Sept. 21 -- also known as Week 4 -- is just for you. Not only will you get a head-to-head battle of potential top-five teams in Georgia and Notre Dame, you'll also get to see them play on campus in Athens, rather than stuck on a neutral site like so many of these types of games. The last time these two teams met, it was a thriller in South Bend, Indiana, that the Bulldogs won on a late field goal. Spring storyline to watch: Coaching turnover isn't easy. Smart can ask his former boss, Nick Saban, all about that. Alabama had to make a change at both coordinator positions last season, and it appeared to catch up with the Crimson Tide in the national title game. Now, it is Georgia's turn, with Tucker leaving to become the head coach at Colorado and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney leaving for the same position at Tennessee. There will be some measure of continuity with James Coley getting the promotion from quarterbacks coach to OC, and Smart expected to promote from within on the defensive side of the ball, as well. But adjusting to new roles and more responsibility isn't easy, and it's a situation worth keeping an eye on.<doc-sep>
ABOUT: Today we provide a 3-2-1 following Alabama’s first practice of the 2019 season. We’ll provide three things we learned, ask two questions and make one prediction. Please note: You can find more of our spring football content by looking for the Spring Football Headquarters thread on the message boards or by clicking here . UPDATE: Kaho expected back at practice 1. Ale Kaho was not seen at practice Heading into the 2019 spring season, there was set to be a position battle at the inside linebacker position between sophomore Ale Kaho, RS-Sophomore Markail Benton, and true freshman Shane Lee. However, during Alabama’s first practice on Friday, March 8 Kaho was nowhere to be found on the practice field. “He’s got some issues that he’s dealing with, and we’re trying to be supportive of him every way that we can,” Saban said. “I think we’re just going to continue to try and help him every way that we can, and I don’t know if they’ll be some point in time when he’ll be ready to come back and play football or not.” Kaho who had originally committed to Washington, then transferred to the Crimson Tide just before the start of the 2018 season played mostly special teams last season totaling 11 tackles and earning special teams player of the week honors from the coaches twice last season. As Saban said, there is no time table on Kaho’s return. Who else was gone during spring practice? Inside linebacker Ben Davis who is dealing with shin splits will most likely be out of spring ball, defensive back Shyheim Carter is dealing with a sports hernia, and tight end Kedrick James who will be suspended for the first four games of the season was not seen at practice during day one. Who’s back from injuries? Back at practice for the Crimson Tide were corners, Trevon Diggs who suffered a foot injury last season, Jalyn Armour-Davis who suffered an ACL was back, and same for outside linebackers Chris Allen and Terrell Lewis each who suffered an ACL injury during the 2018 season.