Alabama Crimson Tide Football Coach Nick Saban explained something every fans should keep in mind when evaluating spring stats: “The whole goal of spring practice is to get the right guys on the bus, get them in the right seats and get the wrong guys off the bus,” Saban said. “I am talking about character, attitude and competitive spirit, guys that can be responsible and accountable to do their jobs. We have a lot of guys working hard, and we’ve made a lot of progress as a team.”

In other words, you can’t get too excited or too depressed with stats or opinions of how players looked.

Saban offered this analysis of the football team’s first scrimmage of Spring Practice: “I thought this first scrimmage was better, maybe, than I anticipated in some ways,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Saturday. “I thought the overall intensity and tempo of the offense is something we need to pick up a bit past the first team. The rest was a little sloppy at times in terms of communication, but as I said before, a lot of guys have a lot of opportunities.”

In case you missed the Alabama Football Scrimmage stats from Saturday, here they are:

ALABAMA FOOTBALL – Spring SCRIMMAGE #1 (March 31, 2012)
*Stats include 11-on-11, situational drills, red area, goalline, 2-minute
PASSING LEADERS
A.J. McCarron – 25 for 43, 290 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

RUSHING LEADERS
Dee Hart – 13 rushes, 32 yards, 1 TD
Ben Howell – 8 rushes, 31 yards
Jalston Fowler – 10 rushes, 27 yards, 1 TD
T.J. Yeldon – 7 rushes, 27 yards

RECEIVING LEADERS
Christion Jones – 7 rec., 83 yards, 2 TD
Kenny Bell – 3 rec., 68 yards, 1 TD
Kevin Norwood – 4 rec., 50 yards
Nathan McAlister – 5 rec., 51 yards
Marvin Shinn – 5 rec., 40 yards, 1 TD
Amari Cooper – 2 rec., 40 yards
Michael Williams – 3 rec., 37 yards

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Vinnie Sunseri – 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT (TD), 1 PBU
Adrian Hubbard – 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 PBU
Dee Milliner – 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT
C.J. Mosley – 3 tackles, 1 PBU
Nico Johnson – 3 tackles, 1 block
Deion Belue – 3 tackles, 1 INT (TD)
Trey DePriest – 2 tackles, 1 INT
Robert Lester – 2 tackles, 3 PBU

PUNTING
Cody Mandell – 9 punts, 383 yards, 42.6 avg., Long 51

FIELD GOALS
Jeremy Shelley – 4 for 4, Long 38 yards (Made: 38, 38, 33, 18)
Cade Foster – 3 for 4, Long 44 (Made: 44, 27, 17; Missed: 54)

SCORING
Passing Touchdowns (4): A.J. McCarron – 3 (44 yards, 8 yards, 22 yards); Phillip Ely 1 (11 yards)
Rushing Touchdowns (2): Dee Hart – 1 ((4-yards); Jalston Fowler – 1 (1 yard)
Defensive Touchdowns (2): Deion Belue (93-yard INT return); Vinnie Sunseri (38-yard INT return)

Baseball continues tailspin
Alabama lost to Tennessee in baseball. Tennessee improved to Tennessee 18-10, 5-4 SEC and Alabama fell to 9-19, 1-8 SEC. The Sunday victory resulted in a series sweep for the Volunteers. This was the first time the Vols swept Alabama since 1994.

Softball sweeps Mississippi State
Alabama’s softball team swept Mississippi State Sunday. The team is now 35-1 and 12-1 in SEC play. That deserves a wow. The team has been dominating this season. The team is ranked second in the nation and will face LSU in a game on ESPNU Friday at 7 p.m.

Women’s Golf on a roll
The Alabama women’s golf team won the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic by 12 shots Sunday at the University of Georgia Golf Course. The team set a tournament record in the process.
“We set the tournament scoring record at 10-under par and won by 12 shots, so you have to be happy,” Alabama head coach Mic Potter said following Sunday’s final round. “We played well the better part of the time, but still had some issues early in the round – especially in the short game.

“I’m excited about Jennifer’s (Kirby) win and it was great to get both Stephanie (Meadow) and Brooke (Pancake) in the top 10. Hannah (Collier) played well for us today and Johanna (Tillström) gave of two 73s this weekend. It was a great team win, and we have a few things to work on when we get back, so you can’t ask for anything more as a coach.”

Next up for Alabama women’s golf is a trip to the SEC Championships in Arkansas.