Charlie Potter, senior writer for Bama OnLine & On3 Sports, tells McElroy & Cubelic how Jalen Milroe & Kaydn Procter have looked in fall camp, why the Tide's defense may be more rotational, and how they're preparing for 2024
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McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Going to talk to Charlie Potter about Alabama football practice here in just a moment. First, tell you about our friends at Wayne's. I was outside hitting some baseball with the kids yesterday. Didn't have to worry about the mosquitoes, though, because we got that Mosquito Plus program at our house today.

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Yeah, call them at 866-WAINS-1. Wains will take great care of you. 866-WAINS-1. You get that free fire ant treatment right now if you sign up with Wains. I have all four. They've been amazing. Go at 866-WAINS-1 or visit callwains.com and let Wains continue to create your happy place. All right, let's bring in Charlie Potter. He covers Alabama. And let's just start kind of with

availability, personnel, anything that took you off guard as far as where someone was lining up, somebody who was or wasn't at practice the last two days, Charlie? Yeah, there hasn't really been that many absences. Obviously, Jalen Hill's been out. He suffered a significant knee injury in the spring, but it's been pretty much status quo. We haven't seen LT Overton, the Texas A&M transfer, but it sounds like that's just something minor with him, and he'll be back pretty soon.

But I think the biggest thing, or at least where my eyes went on day one, was to the offensive line just because that's been a question mark for Alabama all offseason. You add Caden Proctor back to the mix, you get Parker Brailsford back after missing some of the spring. And just to kind of see where things were. And so far through the first two days, we've seen Elijah Pritchett at that left tackle spot with the ones. Will Conforby has been at right tackle.

uh, with the first team. Uh, so Caden Proctor has been with the twos right now. That's not completely a surprise because I mean, my man hasn't practiced since December leading into the Rose Bowl, but to see Elijah Bridget at that left tackle spot with the first group right now says that they have a lot of confidence in him. And it kind of sounds like they're using a bit of a rotation right now. And I think honestly, that's smart because yeah, you get Caden Proctor back, but there's not a lot of experience that, um,

right tackle so to kind of have a swing man that's been able to play both I think that's beneficial for Alabama and yeah I fully expect Caden Proctor to be the starter when game one rolls around but to continue to get some of these guys valuable reps while bringing Proctor along in this new offense I think that's been pretty interesting to see these first two days.

Yeah, it makes sense for sure. Jalen Milrow, we haven't really talked much about him all offseason, I don't feel like. It's kind of funny. I mean, we kind of know what we got there, right? We kind of know who he is. But I'm curious, I mean, is there signs of progress so far? I know it's early and I know it's limited viewing period, but does he look better than he did a year ago or more comfortable?

Yeah, I mean, it is different than this time last year because you're still kind of wondering what's going to happen at quarterback. But, I mean, you know, Greg, whenever there's not a quarterback competition, it's not as much of a newsy thing. But I think with Jalen, he does look good.

He looks confident out there. I think he has improved a bit. Like you said, it's tough to glean much from those 15 to 20 minutes we get out there at practice. But throwing with the receivers, throwing with the tight ends, you can tell he's worked on things. He's maybe tightened things up a little bit. But unless we're out there at a scrimmage or maybe the full fan day, you don't get a full taste of that. And to be honest, whenever

You are out there for 20 minutes per day. Knowing that the quarterback position is set, you don't really pay that much attention to it. You're looking around at the OI and the DBs and things like that. But just from the little bits that I did watch, especially working

of those wide outs on day one. Yeah, he looks crisp. I think he's a guy that put in a lot of work this offseason. And you're right, though. We don't probably talk enough about Jalen Milrow because I think it's going to be fascinating to see what he looks like in this Kalen DeBoer offense. And, yeah,

You know, he's someone that I'm sure, I think we'll probably talk to him tomorrow, actually after practice. So be interested to see, you know, what he said just from a summer standpoint, Charlie Potter joining us on the buyers, right? Hotline, follow him on Twitter at Charlie underscore Potter, uh, writes for Bama online, uh, find his work there. So, uh,

Around him, you just mentioned looking crisp. There's a lot of buzz about Ryan Williams. I think people are wondering if he's going to be able to fit into the rotation. We saw a lot of Jeremy Bernard in the spring game. Felt pretty good about him. But collectively, what you've seen, what you've heard about this receiver core, what are your expectations? What have you been able to learn early on? Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of eyes went to number two on that first day, and rightfully so. I mean, he's a little...

skinny, but I think people kind of gravitate towards that Devontae Smith comparison. Right or wrong, he looks the part. I think Ryan Williams is someone that's going to come in and contribute. I think they view him as a dynamic playmaker. He made a lot of plays this summer. If he can continue just to gain confidence and be consistent, I think he's someone that

that you know I'll be shocked if he's not a contributor in the first game of the season but I think the wide receiver position as a whole is maybe overlooked a little bit just because of what they lost with Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond moving on adding Jeremy Bernard to that group is huge I think Kendrick Law and Kobe Prentice coming back those guys are going to be big parts of this offense and then you know you've got some guys that have been in the program for a little bit like

And Emmanuel Henderson, I think he's going to take a big step. Cole Adams is someone that I heard a little bit of positive buzz about over the summer. And then a guy like Caleb Odom, making that transition from tight end to give you kind of a bigger frame. This wide receiver core could be six, seven, maybe eight players deep. And I think since they have talent, it's a little green just in terms of what those guys have done in games. But I think they're pretty excited about this group right now.

I know that the secondary is going to be a point of contention pretty much all season. They're just thin, and in some cases they're real young. I know that after the spring game, if they had to tee it up, they would have started two true freshmen. But I feel like the staff, that's not what they want to do. It just might be what they have to do. So how are the veterans performing in the back end defensively, specifically at corner and nickel?

Yeah, I mean, well, corner veteran is kind of a loose term, right? Because you have Devontae Jackson, who's played a couple seasons at USC. He's the most experienced guy in that group, at least from experience.

an Alabama standpoint. Deshaun Jones coming in, he does have experience in the weight force too, but he's learning the system having come in in the summer. So I think the cornerback group, that's the most fascinating position to me just because, you know, I think safety, they're in pretty good hands with Malachi Moore and Keon Saab. Those two can be, you know, the best corner or the best safety duo in the country this fall, in my opinion. But I think at corner, you know, they're still trying to develop those guys. I think

So, you know, Cain Womack and Mo Ling was hearing from them yesterday talking about how this is kind of their third go at things because they had the spring, they had the player run practices in the summer. Now this information is not new to them, talking specifically about the new guys. But I think it's very telling when you hear from Cain Womack. And, you know, he's just asked Point Blake what cornerbacks are standing out to him.

and he doesn't hesitate when he mentions Damani Jackson and Zabian Brown, the latter being a true freshman. Like you mentioned, that's the group we saw to end the spring. I think if they were to play a game on Saturday, that's who we see out there first. But I think for me, maybe the most interesting thing we heard yesterday when talking to the defensive guys was Montee

Mo Ling was talking about it being a rotation and then playing multiple guys during the season, kind of treating it like an offensive line of sorts. And so I think guys like Jalen Mbakwe and Zay Mincy and Deshaun Jones coming over from Wake Forest, they're all going to have a say in this thing and might end up getting playing time and not because of a detriment of the guys in front of them because they need to get depth of that position and they want to see what they've got and to rotate those guys in this fall.

Charlie Potter, Bama Online, joining us on the Bioshock Hotline. You mentioned Kane Womack talking about some of the secondary. He was asked about the past rushers, plural, yesterday and pretty much gave the entire depth chart. Have you seen any separation of an individual or two that maybe you have a little more confidence in is going to be able to help Alabama in that situation?

I think defensive line, that's probably the deepest position on the roster. And you've got guys like Tim Keenan and Tim Smith in the middle. I'd be interested to see what they can do from a pass rush standpoint. I think that bandit position, which is Marion Latham, LT Overton, is going to be interesting just to see it kind

Kind of a different look in that defense, but those are a couple guys that have played a lot of football. But for me, I think that Wolf position is the most intriguing just because you lose Dallas Turner, you lose Chris Braswell, you've got a couple of guys in Quandarius Robinson and Keanu Coote who have

been in the program, waited their turn. It sounds like they've kind of been leaders in that room throughout the summer and starting fall camp. You can kind of see that, just those quick media viewing periods. But I think that with Cain Womack and even Christian Robinson, the outside linebackers coach, they've talked a lot about Quay Roussall. And I think, yeah, I'm intrigued to see how many

of those wolves we actually see on the field, like what type of rotations there, but, you know, I wouldn't be surprised to see him going into his second year and making a contribution, Roussel. So, um, I think there to hear that, uh, to hear that trio we brought up kind of consistently, uh,

I think it's good news for Alabama fans whenever you have to replace the players you do. But I think along the front, there's confidence there. They're just kind of harping on forcing turnovers, creating pressure leads to that. And I think if those guys can kind of take that next step, and that's along every position, I think this front can be really positive and can be really disruptive this fall.

Yeah, I would definitely circle Kwe Rousaw. Unsolicited, his name comes up every time I talk to someone down there.

But then again, when you have a single-digit jersey, that's usually a pretty good giveaway as to what the team feels about you as a possible contributor. Lastly, for me, the running back's kind of a position that's been taken for granted a little like Milrow. Like, Justice is going to be good. Jam's going to be good. We know that. That's to be expected. The other guy, though, that I continue to hear great things about is Richard Young. Just because of how physical he is, he had a nice spring. I think he's been a bit of a surprise player.

So how many touches do you think he's going to get throughout the season? And with Jam and Justice both being good, solid perimeter guys, is he going to be kind of a hammer that can get downhill?

I think that's going to be one of the most fascinating things to see how it plays out because I think they have a very good one-two punch in Justice Haynes and Jan Miller. And I'll be fascinated to see how DeBoer kind of attacks this and the approach he takes with the run game. So I think with Richard Young, he has taken that next step. I think he's much more confident.

confident than he was a year ago. It's amazing what wonders will do for a player having one year in a program. I think Richard Young is a great example of that, but it's going to be tough to take Justin to Jamoff Field. It really is. And I think with all the

the playmakers they have at wide receiver. They have three or more tight ends that I think can contribute. Just sharing the wealth is going to be interesting to see how DeBoer and company kind of break that down. But yeah, I think Richard Young has had a great offseason. I think that he brings something a little different than the other two who are kind of similar. But

To see what he can do just from taking carries away from them will be intriguing because I think those top two guys are going to be – I think it's going to be tough to find better roadbacks in the SEC than what Justice and Jam bring to Alabama. Charlie, great stuff, man. Appreciate the time. Always good catching up, and we'll do it again soon.

Yeah, no problem, guys. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Charlie Potter at Charlie underscore Potter joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline for all your insurance needs. Look to Buyer's Right Insurance, a member of the WRM group where relationships matter. Find his work at Bama Online, a part of the On3 Sports Network. So some interesting, I guess, comments, Greg, about depth and how strong Charlie thinks it is running back defensive line. Even the wide receiver core, he's saying that he thinks he could see it going pretty deep, maybe deeper than a lot of people believe.

Yeah, and I think the receivers are probably one of the most underappreciated positions because they're not really well-known in name, but...

but it doesn't mean they're not good players. Like Jeremy Bernard's going to be a difference maker, a big time difference maker, I think. And I've looked at what Kendrick Law is physically, and I'm super optimistic. Now, I would like to see a little more consistency from the group the last couple of years, but the attention to detail wasn't what it once was the last couple of years. But I don't know if that's necessarily because of the players. I really just,

I think the offense, too, will open up some things for these guys, and they're going to get Jeremy a lot of touches. Kendrick Law is a beast with the ball in his hands. Kobe Prentice is rock solid, and so is Emmanuel Henderson. The only thing that concerns me about the receiver group is just size. That's it. In the event in which you need to win a jump ball or you need some length,

Um, they just don't have a ridiculous amount of length with the exception of Caleb Odom. And I think Caleb Odom is going to have a role in the offense as a result of his length, but, um,

They're all just a little bit undersized, but that's part of it. They can run and they can be really, really athletic, but the size is something that I'll be watching closely against really physical defensive backs. The size of your home may be something you need to change. Gusty Gould's group can help. Call 205-542-1996 or visit gustygouldsgroup.com. You can do

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