Alabama and Georgia held their first preseason scrimmages Saturday afternoon, a mere three weeks before their anticipated openers.
The Crimson Tide will begin their latest defense of a national championship during the Nick Saban era on the afternoon of Sept. 4 against Miami at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That evening, Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs will collide with Clemson in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Scrimmage one is in the books, and I was proud of the effort of our guys,” Smart said on a Zoom call. “It was really hot early out there, and then we got a lightning strike within a six-mile radius. Our staff did a tremendous job, and we jumped on the buses and were starting in our indoor facility within 12 minutes, which is important in terms of not having to warm up again.
“We have a long way to go, and we’re beat up a little bit at wideout and don’t have all our guys out there. We have a lot of injuries all the way around, but at this time everybody does.”
Among the notable players missing Georgia’s scrimmage were junior center Warren Ericson (hand), sophomore receiver Jermaine Burton (sprained ankle), junior receiver Kearis Jackson (knee scope) and redshirt freshman cornerback Jalen Kimber (shoulder). Also absent were senior cornerback and Clemson transfer Derion Kendrick, who was attending the funeral of a friend, and sophomore receiver and LSU transfer Arik Gilbert, who has taken a leave of absence.
“Arik has been dealing with some personal issues,” Smart said. “We love him, and we’re thinking about him and trying to help him. Our thoughts and prayers are with him right now as he deals with those personal issues, and we hope to get him back soon.”
Ericson, who started Georgia’s final two games last season at Missouri and against Cincinnati in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, broke his left hand in practice earlier this month.
“It’s his snapping hand that he has his cast on, but he actually has the ability to snap right or left, so he’s really working hard to be able to snap with his right,” Smart said. “He’s going to be cleared to get back in the next week or so, so it’s just going to be a matter of playing with a cast. We’ve had people play with that injury, but we’ve never had a center with his snapping hand play with that injury.
“If he doesn’t snap it really good with his right, then he won’t be a center, because it’s going to be hard for him to snap it with his left. He’s working really hard. The guy got surgery, and the next morning he’s snapping with his right hand. He’s got time to work on that.”
Saban, meanwhile, said on his Zoom call that he’s not disappointed with where his team stands, adding that he saw “a lot of good things and a lot of mistakes.” That assessment includes sophomore quarterback Bryce Young.
“I think Bryce did a good job today,” Saban said. “I think we have to play well around Bryce, and at times today we didn’t do as good a job of that as we need to. It’s all 11 guys. When he had opportunities today, he did a really good job.”
Muschamp’s new role
Smart was asked about former Florida and South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp taking over as special teams coordinator for Scott Cochran, who left the program last weekend to address some mental health issues. Muschamp was hired earlier this year as a senior defensive analyst.
“We’ve really never had just one special teams guy,” Smart said. “Cochran had the title, but that wasn’t the way it was anyway. (Tight ends coach) Todd Hartley did the punt team, and he continues to do that. He has helped out and stepped up more in the other phases, and it’s really a total team effort. It always is.
“Coach Muschamp is going to reside over the other units. He’s always been very involved with special teams, and he brings a lot of energy to the meetings.”
Punting down under
Competing for Alabama’s punting role this season is James Burnip, a 6-6, 215-pounder from Melbourne, Australia. With Burnip having never been in a college football game, Saban was asked what kind of an adjustment he has made to the sport.
“He has punted a football before, so he didn’t come from the rugby field to the rugby ball to the football,” Saban said. “He’s been punting footballs for quite a long time, and we’re not asking him to play football. We’re asking him to punt it, and he did a pretty good job of that today.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.