Game balls for Alabama: A-Day edition

Alabama played its annual A-Day Game on Saturday afternoon in front of over 72,000 fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide offense came out on top with a 34-28 win over the defense, but both sides of the football showed plenty of promise as spring practice comes to a close. Here, we hand out game balls to the best individual performances from the final scrimmage.

RB Jam Miller

Jam Miller and Justice Haynes have been working in tandem all spring. That was put on display on the first snap of the scrimmage when both were on the field together, but Miller saw a much more significant workload. The junior saw eight carries (which he turned into 83 yards and two touchdowns) on Saturday while Haynes only got three carries (10 yards, one score). I don’t think anyone should be concerned over the lack of production from Haynes, but at the very least, Miller is proving that he’s as capable as any back on this Alabama roster. The former top-100 recruit has always had the ability. Now he’s being given the opportunity.

WR Germie Bernard

Veteran wide receiver Germie Bernard has already been considered a heavy favorite to be Alabama’s top target in the passing game for this upcoming season. And following his performance on Saturday, that belief has only gotten stronger. The Washington transfer tied Cole Adams and Emmanuel Henderson for a game-leading three catches, but his receptions went for 122 yards with a long of 52 while the other two’s combined for 67 yards. Bernard is a physical receiver who can handle volume and win on the underneath stuff, but he’s also capable of winning through contact downfield.

LB Justin Okoronkwo

Well, this guy can play some football, folks. Yes, there are still things you want to see cleaned up, including finishing a couple of tackles with more authority, but Justin Okoronkwo is lightyears ahead of where I thought he’d be after his brief football career has been spent playing in Germany. There are times when you see a defender lead his team in tackles because the opposing offense was picking on him, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday. Okoronkwo finished A-Day with a game-leading 11 tackles while showing top-notch burst and surprising instincts (for someone who’s still so green). Alabama could use more depth at linebacker behind starters Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell. I was also impressed with the progress I saw from coverted edge Jeremiah Alexander, but Okoronkwo was easily the most pleasant surprise on defense.

OC Nick Sheridan

Considering this was a “vanilla spring game” type of setting, I thought Alabama got a quality performance out of new offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. He seemed to have a good feel for his personnel and how to utilize talents such as Kendrick Law, Cole Adams and others. You saw some guys create separation, but you also saw Sheridan scheme his guys open pretty consistently. The strain that combination is going to put on opposing defenses this fall should create a lot of opportunities for Alabama’s quarterbacks and passing game.

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