Five observations from Alabama football's only open practice of fall camp

Tuscaloosa News
Two things we know with certainty about Nick Saban: he's not going to show his hand in a public preseason setting, and he's not going to waste one of the NCAA's allotted preseason practices on subterfuge. Those conditions generated a low-ceiling, high-floor opportunity to peer into the state of 2023 Alabama football on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, in the form of the Crimson Tide's first Fan Day open practice since 2019.
Here are five observations from Saturday's practice, the Crimson Tide's third since fall camp opened:
∎ If the quarterback battle is nearing a conclusion, nothing about Saturday's practice lent much of a hint. The early part of team drills were devoted to the run game, and much of the quarterback action came in skeleton drills without a pass rush. Both Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson delivered some impressive downfield strikes, and both had their share of misfires as well. If the Crimson Tide's offensive line proves to be more adept at run blocking than pass blocking, the threat Milroe poses as a runner could be an X-factor as the quarterback competition unfolds.
∎ Dropped passes, which plagued the Crimson Tide with regularity last season, were prevalent again Saturday. It's just one practice, and not necessarily indicative of a camp trend. At the same time, we're not talking about contested catches in traffic here, which would be more understandable. Receivers old and young, from Ja'Corey Brooks to Isaiah Bond, and those two weren't alone, had at least one drop of an accurate pass delivered in fairly open space. One bright spot: sophomore Emmanuel Henderson, who pulled in a nice catch from Simpson on a crossing route, and looks like he's taken well to last year's switch from running back to receiver.
∎ Freshman safety Caleb Downs looks poised to be an immediate-impact player for the Alabama defense, and the infrequency with which Crimson Tide safeties do so as freshmen is worth noting. Some of the best safeties to come through Saban's program — Landon Collins and HaHa Clinton-Dix being two examples — began their careers as special teams contributors before they took over a commanding role in the secondary. Downs looks like ready-made help for a secondary in transition, and the list of UA safeties to do so under Saban isn't much longer than Minkah Fitzpatrick.
∎ WR Isaiah Bond flashed some promise as a freshman wide receiver last season, and his continued development at that spot is no small factor among a receiving corps that needs improvement on the whole. On Saturday, Bond also handled punt returns, along with CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, and did so with a readily-apparent comfort level in what is a demanding, high-pressure role. McKinstry wasn't Alabama's primary punt returner to begin last season, but took it over well enough to be named the preseason All-SEC return specialist at SEC Media Days.
∎ Veteran Deontae Lawson, sophomore Jihaad Campbell and Georgia transfer Trezmen Marshall commanded plenty of snaps with the first defense at inside linebacker, although competition at that position runs deep. It's also a unit where Saban has been known to rotate three players through two spots, platoon-style, to give the defense a better skill set to match a given situation. Also of importance at ILB: developing a signal-caller who can alertly make calls and checks pre-snap, which was a strength for former UA linebacker Henry To'o To'o.