Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) throws in passing drills during an NCAA college football spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 13, 2013, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.AJ McCarron completed 23 of 28 passes for 319 yards and five touchdowns Saturday as the offense whipped the defense in Alabama's second spring scrimmage.
The senior quarterback connected with sophomore receiver Amari Cooper six times for 108 yards and four touchdowns, while redshirt freshman receiver Chris Black had 10 catches for 113 yards. The Crimson Tide's running game wasn't hurting, either, as sophomore T.J. Yeldon had 14 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
"I thought we did a really good job offensively," coach Nick Saban said. "AJ had a really good day, and we ran the ball effectively. I thought the offensive line played pretty well, and we had some receivers step up and make some plays and didn't have a lot of dropped balls."
Saban said the offense did not suffer a turnover in the scrimmage, which consisted of roughly 140 plays and was closed to the media.
McCarron, the first starting quarterback to guide the Tide to two national championships, has thrown for 610 yards and nine touchdowns in two scrimmages. Cooper has 228 receiving yards and five scores.
Junior safety HaHa Clinton-Dix, sophomore linebacker Denzel Devall and redshirt freshman linebacker Ryan Anderson made six tackles apiece Saturday to lead the defense, while junior safety Vinnie Sunseri had five stops. Devall and senior cornerback Deion Belue recorded sacks.
"Defensively, we've got quite a few guys banged up, so we had a lot of new guys in a lot of places," Saban said. "I don't think we tackled real well, and I don't think we played the kind of responsibility football that we need to, so we definitely have a lot of things that we can correct on that side of the ball."
Sitting out were linebackers Xzavier Dickson (knee bruise), C.J. Mosley (shoulder) and Trey DePriest (foot), as well as cornerback John Fulton (toe).
Last season's national championship will be recognized Monday when Crimson Tide players visit the White House. Saban said the team has a trip scheduled to the Smithsonian after it meets with President Barack Obama.
Alabama will return to practice Tuesday and will work out again Thursday before Saturday's A-Day game, which will start at 3 p.m. EDT and be televised by ESPN2.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.