TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After eight preseason workouts on the practice field, Alabama held its first scrimmage of camp on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide participated in 102 plays, experiencing game scenarios three weeks before their season opener against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31.
This included practicing with new technology that will be available on the sidelines this fall.
Alabama is already working on new coach-player communications that would allow a coach to communicate with one player on the field through a helmet speaker. The NCAA plans to allow such communication this season, but it would turn off when there are 15 seconds left on the play clock or the ball is snapped, whichever comes first. That's something Alabama has been able to simulate in each practice this month.
Saturday's practice saw the introduction of new technological aids, with players operating iPad tablets on the sidelines during scrimmages.
According to NCAA rules, teams will be allowed to use tablets to watch in-game video this season, including broadcast feeds and camera angles from the coach's sideline and coach's endzone. Teams will be limited to 18 active tablets in the coaching booth, on the sidelines and in the locker room.
While the tablets cannot be used to incorporate data or communications into the video, they do provide a convenient way for players to review plays during a game. On Saturday, Alabama coaches and players took some time to familiarize themselves with the new technology before utilizing it in an actual game.
“We took a couple of six-minute breaks to just stand on the sideline and understand what it was like,” DeBoer said, “because right now we're not able to really practice that in our facility during a normal practice. We took advantage of that and really understood the benefits of taking advantage of the review and learning opportunities that could happen in between drives during the break today, but also trying to not think too much about how it would affect our mindset and where our poise and confidence would be heading into the next drive.”
Saturday's scrimmage marked Alabama's ninth of 20 preseason practices leading up to game week for its season-opening matchup against Western Kentucky. The Crimson Tide return to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sunday for an open fan day practice.
