Drenched in sun with a few more fans than last fall, the transition to normalcy was in the air for Saturday’s A-Day Game in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Packed in for the Walk of Champions, the crowd announced at 47,218 filtered inside for what was your traditional spring game both in form and function. Missing a handful of injured starters – a few more than who had missed the previous spring practices – there some jagged edges with a hint of the offense to come.
Sophomore quarterback Bryce Young was the star attraction and he lived up to the billing. He completed 25 of 44 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown as the only scholarship passer on the White team.
Young showed his mobility on the first drive, putting a move on a defender in the open field before spotting a wide open Roydell Williams for a 47-yard gain. Then in the second quarter, he stepped up in the pocket to hit tight end Cameron Latu across the middle. The converted linebacker put an open-field move on defensive back Jalyn Armor-Davis en route to a 59-yard touchdown.
He led the White team on an 11-play, 58-yard drive in the closing moments – a march capped by Will Reichard’s game-winning 19-yard field goal. The White team won, 13-10.
There were some rough moments within the highlight moments. A number of well-thrown Young passes were dropped by receivers and there was the sack-fumble that put seven points on the board for the first-team defense.
With Will Anderson out for A-Day, Chris Braswell came off the edge for the Crimson team, beat the block by Kendall Randolph, and knocked the ball from Young’s hand. Linebacker Jaylen Moody recovered in the end zone for the score.
And the kicking game was strangely inconsistent after Reichard made all 14 field goals and 84 extra points last year. He was 2-for-5 with three straight misses from 52, 48 and 33 yards. Chase Allen nailed a 48 yarder to tie the game at 10 in the third quarter.
There was also an interception that almost got Saban trucked on a play that also included a fumble. The teams traded fumbles on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter
A few young players had highlight moments in their Bryant-Denny debut. Freshman receiver Agiye Hall had an acrobatic catch of Braxton Barker’s first throw that went for 37. Traeshon Holden appeared in five games with making a catch last year before hauling in nine passes for 89 yards Saturday.
Five-star freshman Ga’Quincy McKinstry of Pinson Valley picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and had the game-sealing pass breakup in the closing seconds.
One newcomer not on the field was quarterback Jalen Milroe. He was listed on the roster but was not present Saturday so Paul Tyson was the second-team quarterback. The Hewitt-Trussville product was 18-for-34 with 171 yards.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.