Dipped in the sun with a few more fans than last fall, the transition to normal was in the air for Saturday’s A-day game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Packed for the Walk of Champions, the crowd announced at 47,218 that was filtered inward for what your traditional spring game was, both in form and function. A handful of injured beginners miss – a few more than the previous spring drills missed – there come a few jagged edges with a hint of offense.
Sophomore fullback Bryce Young was the star attraction and he complied with the bill. He completed 25 of 44 passes for 333 yards and an attack as the only bursary goer in the White team.
Young showed his agility on the first ride by placing a defender in the open field before noticing a wide open Roydell Williams for a 47-yard gain. In the second quarter, he stepped into the pocket to hit tight end Cameron Latu across the middle. The converted lineout ball put Jalyn Armor-Davis on the defensive back on the field on her way to a 59-yard drop.
He led the White team in the final moments on a 58-yard 11-yard run – a march concluded from Will Reichard’s 19th field goal that won the game. The White team won 13-10.
There were some rough moments within the highlight. A number of well-thrown passes from Young were dropped by receivers, and there was a pocket noise that put seven points on the board for the defense of the first team.
With Will Anderson for A-Day, Chris Braswell came off the edge for the Crimson team, beating the block by Kendall Randolph and hitting the ball out of Young’s hand. Lineout player Jaylen Moody recovered in the end zone for the score.
And the kicking game was strangely contradictory after Reichard scored all 14 field goals and 84 extra points last year. He was 2-for-5 with three straight misses of 52, 48 and 33 yards. Chase Allen nailed a 48-year-old team to level the game at 10 in the third quarter.
There was also an interception that Saban almost transported on a play that also included a whisper. The teams traded consecutive plays in the fourth quarter
A few young players experienced highlights in their Bryant-Denny debut. First-year receiver Agiye Hall got an acrobatic catch from Braxton Barker’s first throw that was for 37. Traeshon Holden appeared in five games last year and made a catch shot before hitting nine times for 89 yards on Saturday.
Five-star rookie Ga’Quincy McKinstry of Pinson Valley picked a pass in the fourth quarter and had the split of the game in the final seconds.
One newcomer who was not on the field was fullback Jalen Milroe. He was in the rankings but was not present on Saturday, so Paul Tyson was the second team’s fullback. The Hewitt-Trussville product was 18-for-34 by 171 yards.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or to Facebook.