Alabama football reveals Student-Athletes of the Week for April 21
On Thursday morning, the official Twitter account for Alabama football revealed three Student-Athletes of the Week. The three names include five-star true freshman quarterback Ty Simpson, senior defensive lineman DJ Dale and redshirt junior offensive lineman Tanner Bowles.
Simpson is a work in progress, but he’s shown Alabama coach Nick Saban enough that there’s encouragement. Really, the former Martin (Tenn.) Westview standout just needs to continue getting as many reps and as much experience as possible.
“Ty’s a young guy,” Saban said this spring. “He’s really conscientious, really trying to learn, but just needs to continue to get more and more opportunities in practice so that he can gain the confidence that he needs to be able to go out there and play. I’m encouraged by the progress both of those guys [Simpson and Jalen Milroe] have made.”
Simpson only completed 43% of his 12 pass attempts for 43 yards during Alabama’s A-Day Game this past Saturday, but a lot of that can be attributed to the rough weather conditions. The young signal-caller did put his mobility to good use, however, as he also rushed for 18 yards.
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Dale is in a completely different place in his Alabama career.
The fourth-year starter has almost as much experience in the Crimson Tide program as anyone. Not only has he been around, but he’s also played — a lot. In his three seasons in Tuscaloosa, he’s played in 1,092 snaps. He’s started 34 of the 36 games he’s played in, accumulating 57 tackles, 19.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.
Dale has made plenty of strides on the field, but it’s his role off of it that’s made the biggest difference. Saban told said earlier this spring that Dale had been “added to the leadership group because he’s emerged as a leader in the offseason program.”
“I’ve always done the right things on and off the field,” Dale told reporters back in March. “I’ve been consistent with who I am as a person. Just being more outspoken and just reaching out to different guys who aren’t just in my group, I feel like that’s been the biggest thing. I’ve kind of always had the impact on my group, now I’m trying to touch other guys in different positions and on the other side of the ball.”
As for Bowles, he continues to be a well-respected depth piece along Alabama’s offensive line.
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