Tuesday practice report

Rain poured down on Tuscaloosa for much of Monday night into Tuesday morning, but the skies were relatively clear as the Crimson Tide returned to the practice field to continue its preparations for Florida Atlantic. The Tide practiced under mostly cloudy skies and 79-degree conditions.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban indicated on Monday that there were no major injuries lingering as a result of the Tide’s conference opener against Arkansas. On Tuesday, that statement was clear again as no Tide players wore black jerseys during the media observation period.

Senior defensive lineman Quinton Dial continues to have his left elbow heavily taped and appeared to have a brace on it during the media observation period. He was wearing a sleeve over the brace, but his performance did not seem to be impacted much as he was still able to continue running throughdrills at full speed.

The order of lineman going through drills has changed throughout the fall. During Tuesday’s practice, the first three defensive lineman leading the group through drills were Damion Square and Jesse Williams and Ed Stinson. The group working behind the first unit consisted of Quinton Dial, Brandon Ivory and Jeoffrey Pagan.

Junior cornerback Dee Milliner still had his right wrist taped a little heavier than usual during drills, but he did not appear to be hampered.

Much of the talk towards the end of the Tide’s 52-0 beatdown of Arkansas on Saturday was directed towards speculation about AJ McCarron’s taped hand. It was later revealed that was nothing more than a mere hand bruise. On Tuesday, McCarron wasn’t showing any signs of being troubled by the bruise as he went through drills as he normally does with the quarterbacks.

The Tide will return to the practice field on Wednesday to continue preparing for Florida Atlantic. Coach Saban will hold his final press conference of the week tomorrow following the Tide’s practice.