re: 2013 Alabama Football Recruiting Thread - DH Decommited from UGA

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*** An estimated 1,400 high school coaches descended upon the Capstone for the Nick Saban Coaches Clinic this weekend. Most high schools in the state appeared to be represented along with quite a few from out of state. Speakers for the event include Bill Parcells and Lou Holtz, among others.

*** Looked as though sophomore-to-be Trey DePriest was working in the first group at the Mike (middle) linebacker position Friday, with Nico Johnson at the Will. Johnson recently told us that he, DePriest and veteran C.J. Mosley should all get some action this spring at both the Mike and Will (inside) linebacker spots. Mosley seems undersized for the Mike, but if the three of them develop some interchangeability at the two inside spots, UA will have some nice options for its various packages when fall camp arrives.

*** Third-year sophomore cornerback Jonathan Fulton got a look with the first secondary Friday along with Vinnie Sunseri and veterans Dee Milliner and Robert Lester. In a previous practice report, we noted that Fulton looked like he has put some weight on as well. The South Carolina native looked very quick in individual drills and shouldn't be counted out of the cornerback race just because a pair of heralded JuCo transfers are on hand.

*** Following the first group in the secondary was a second group including Jabriel Washington and Bradley Sylve at corner, with Hasean Clinton-Dix and Prattville native Nick Perry at safety.

*** Linebackers Adrian Hubbard and Xzavier Dickson worked with the first group at outside linebacker, with Hubbard at the Sam (strongside) and Dickson at the Jack. Competitions at both outside linebacker spots are wide open this spring with two departed seniors vacating those spots.

*** Running backs Eddie Lacy and Blake Sims as well as offensive lineman Arie Kouandjio continue to be withheld from contact while recovering from injuries.

*** Suspended wide receivers Duron Carter, Ronald Carswell, and Michael Bowman continue to miss practice.

*** Offensive lineman Ryan Kelly continues working with the second group at offensive guard, while Kellen Williams continues his transition to the left tackle spot as a backup to Cyrus Kouandjio.

*** Jesse Williams continues to work at the nose position after emerging as a starting end last year. Although it may be later in the spring before the picture at nose guard is clear, look for Alphonse Taylor and Brandon Ivory to potentially be the primary competitors for the backup job as long as Williams remains inside. ... Nose guards and ends split up Friday with Jeoffrey Pagan and D.J. Pettway grouping with the ends.

*** Among the coaches spotted observing practice was former UA defensive lineman Shannon Brown. ... Former UA fullback Baron Huber was also on hand.

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Laura McKeeman ? @LauraMcKeeman Just spoke w/ 5-star CB Vernon Hargreaves at IMG 7v7. Interesting top 3 now. #UF #USC & #Bama. Still wouldn't count out #USF or #FSU...

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*** Once again, we'll start with the basics... RBs Eddie Lacy and Blake Sims were unavailable again while recovering from injuries. Same with backup offensive lineman Arie Kouandjio. ... Suspended receivers Michael Bowman, Duron Carter and Ronald Carswell were absent from practice once again. ... Barrett Jones and Cyrus Kouandjio remained at their spring-long spots at center and left tackle, respectively. ... The coaching clinic continued Saturday with hundreds of prep coaches on hand for practice, though the crowd was thinner than it was Friday. Lou Holtz highlights Saturday's scheduled clinic speakers.

*** Can't help but notice how impressive D.J. Fluker has looked this spring. The Crimson Tide's two-year starter at right tackle is in good physical condition and practices with as much enthusiasm as anyone on the line. The junior-to-be has drawn regular praise from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Saw a few one-on-one drills among the linemen, and Fluker was completely dominant. He pancaked Quinton Dial on one play, and not five minutes later he did the same to Jeoffrey Pagan . A stalemate was the best anyone could do against him while I was watching.

*** UA coach Nick Saban had some personal instruction for JuCo transfer cornerback Deion Belue during recognition drills. Sometimes, a one-on-one with Saban on the practice field means a raised and unhappy voice from the head man, but in this case, it was even-keeled communication for a guy who is still learning the system.

*** Sophomore-to-be WR Christion Jones made an outstanding catch on a ball thrown above his head during individual drills. The quarterbacks were a bit wild during drillwork today, particularly new walk-ons Ty Reed and Dustin Ellison. Reed is a left-hander, so the spin on his ball is probably taking some getting used to for the receivers.

*** A bit more from one-on-one line drills: Redshirt freshman guard Isaac Luatua got the better of linebacker Trey DePriest once or twice, drawing praise from coaches for his efforts. A few battles that probably ended in a draw included Austin Shepherd vs. D.J. Pettway, LaMichael Fanning vs. Shepherd, Kouandjio vs. Ed Stinson and guard Chance Warmack vs. Tana Patrick.

*** Speaking of Patrick, the time is now for the junior from North Jackson who hasn't cracked the lineup in three years on campus, but now has much more of an open window in front of him with the loss of Dont'a Hightower. Patrick got involved in some action late in games last season and seems to have come around more from a knowledge/assignment standpoint.

*** If there is one young linebacker who resembles Courtney Upshaw from a physical standpoint on the spring roster, it's got to be sophomore-to-be Xzavier Dickson. The Griffin (Ga.) native is simply huge, and is listed at 262 pounds on the spring roster. As big as Upshaw was even as a young player, he wasn't that big just nine months after he stepped on campus, which is all the time Dickson has logged. It will be interesting to see how the outside linebacker positions develop this spring, but right now, the combination of Dickson at the Jack and Adrian Hubbard at the Sam could be hard to beat. Hubbard has practiced at both outside spots, which makes for nice flexibility when UA goes to some of its third-down packages.

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