Alabama Football: 5 things to watch during 2019 A-Day game

Alabama Football’s annual A-Day game concludes the 2019 spring practice schedule. Here’s five things to watch for during Saturday’s game.

Alabama Football is back! Sort of. The annual A-Day game on Saturday will give us one last reprieve before the long night of the college football offseason fully sets in. We’ll get live football. Ugly, messy, mistake-filled football, but football nonetheless.

For most fans, it will be the first glimpse at the 2019 Crimson Tide, which will allow the page to finally be turned from the disastrous night in Santa Clara three months ago.

A flawed team took the field with the national championship on the line. Have those issues been addressed? Can the defense take enough strides to match what could be an even more dynamic and explosive offense next season?

Those looking for all the answers on Saturday will likely be left disappointed. The A-Day game traditionally shows very little, with Saban and company playing everything as close to the vest as they can for what has now become a nationally televised event.

The offense will be vanilla, with generic play-calls designed to not tip the hand. The defense will be of more interest, but at this point the basics are still being worked on and there won’t be a lot of complex coverages dialed up by Saban and new defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

The most eye-opening part of the A-Day experience is typically seeing the new contributors. We all know what guys like Tua Tagovailoa, Najee Harris, and Jerry Jeudy can do. But what about some of the incoming freshmen or returning players who will finally get their opportunity? For most of them, this will be their first moment in the sun.

That is, of course, if the sun actually shines on Saturday to allow the game to be played. Those making the pilgrimage to Tuscaloosa for A-Day should be prepared for inclement weather to delay, or outright cancel, Saturday’s festivities. There’s currently an 80 percent chance of rain on Saturday with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day.

Weather permitting, here’s five things to watch on Saturday as the 2019 Alabama Crimson Tide make their debut.