Turnovers and penalties plagued each squad in Alabama’s 2013 Golden Flake A-Day game. The White team defeated the Crimson team 17-14 in front of 78,315 fans on Saturday.
Head coach Nick Saban said the miscues were unfamiliar from what he has seen from the Crimson Tide so far this spring.
“I thought there were a lot of undisciplined penalties today, which we haven’t had a lot during the spring,” Saban said. “Some of it’s organizational in terms of trying to play a lot of players.”
Both teams committed a combined seven penalties for a total of 40 yards. But the amount of turnovers was unsettling for Saban, who said big plays on defense are a result of mistakes by the offense.
“Obviously, when you play against each other, when one team gets a lot of turnovers, makes interceptions, gets fumbles, that’s a good thing,” Saban said. “But the other part of it is when you turn it over and you’re playing against yourself, that’s not such a good thing.”
The White and Crimson teams combined for a total nine turnovers, six of them interceptions. Quarterbacks AJ McCarron and Blake Sims each threw two interceptions, while Alec Morris and early enrollee Cooper Bateman were picked off once.
Saban said he wants to see more development from all of the quarterbacks on Alabama’s roster.
“They all need to improve,” Saban said. “Alec [Morris] probably played as well as any of them. Blake, who has had a really good spring and made really good progress, if you look at the spring as a whole, sort of went a little bit rat-trap out there today.”
Safety Nick Perry led the way in the secondary, as he intercepted two passes in the first quarter and made two tackles for the second-team defense. The rising senior said he hopes this performance will carry over into his last season at the Capstone.
“I’m trying to get a little momentum going into summer and fall camp,” Perry said. “And this is my last go-around, so I’m trying to make the best of it.”
Other players were impressed by Perry’s strong day on the defensive said of the ball. Safety Vinnie Sunseri praised the play of Perry and rising sophomore Landon Collins.
“Landon’s done a lot of good things,” Sunseri said. “He has learned a lot. He’s developed in a great way. He and Nick Perry have done a great job coming through spring and becoming great players.”
Collins led the White team with five tackles and got in on the interception festivities by picking off Morris in the second quarter.
Saban was also optimistic about the play of several of the Tide’s key contributors.
“I thought there were a lot of good things out there in terms of execution and some players making big plays,” he said.
T.J. Yeldon won the Dixie Howell Award as the most valuable player in Saturday’s spring game for the second consecutive year. He carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards and the game-winning touchdown. He also had a game-high seven receptions for 60 yards.
McCarron said Yeldon ran hard behind the offensive line and had himself another strong, spring performance. He praised Yeldon and the White squad’s effort for pulling off the victory over the Crimson team.
“It’s just fun because while you’re eating steak, you get to look over there and smile at them while they’re eating beans and weenies,” McCarron said.
