Why Jeff Allen thinks A-Day practice will be better for fans than spring game

Alabama will head to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, April 12, for its 15th and final practice of the spring. But A-Day will only be an hour-and-a-half practice rather than a spring game.

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer revealed to On3 in late February that Alabama’s spring game would be “modified,” and two weeks ago, the school officially announced A-Day would be just a practice that will also feature an autograph session for Yea Alabama members.

It will not be televised, but admission is still free for Tide fans. Longtime athletic trainer Jeff Allen believes this year’s new A-Day format will be a better fan experience than the typical game.

“It may look different, but I think just me – I think it’s going to be something really interesting for the fans to see,” Allen said on Hey Coach.

Allen is entering his 19th season at Alabama and has been a part of 17 past A-Days. A different spring game approach this year will give Tide fans a different – and unique – perspective.

“Look, when you go in the past, you go to A-Day and it’s a game,” Allen said. “Well, everybody’s seen games all the time. I know people enjoy watching players play, but what you’re going to get a chance to see Saturday is something that you don’t get a chance to see at all, and that’s how do we practice? What do we go through? Because it’s going to be a real practice.

“We’ve had open practices before, but I don’t know if we’ve ever had one like this where it’s going to be a get-after-it kind of practice and you’re going to see some competition and probably see some things that you wouldn’t see in the game.

“Sometimes the A-Day Games, here or at other places, their spring games are very scripted, very, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ This is going to be — I mean, they’ll be doing one-on-one drills, they’ll be doing 7-on-7, you get a chance to watch the quarterbacks. I think, as from a fan’s perspective, they’ll see more out of this than they would in a game.”

Allen sees ‘more comfortable’ Tide this spring

Allen stayed at Alabama following Nick Saban’s retirement and was a key cog in DeBoer’s first season in Tuscaloosa. The Tide is looking to bounce back after finishing the 2024 campaign at 9-4 overall and outside of the 12-team playoff, and Allen has noticed a “big difference” around the facility this spring now that DeBoer has had a full year at the helm.

“Not that last spring was bad, but there’s a learning curve to a new staff and a new coach for everyone in the building,” Allen said. “I don’t care who you are, what you do. We have to change how we do things for what (DeBoer) wants, and same with the players. They were learning a new offense, they were learning a new defense. Most of them had new position coaches. They clearly had a new head coach.

“So I would say that this year, the difference is everybody seems more comfortable. Sometimes in sports, we don’t like that word, comfortable. But in this situation, that’s a good thing. Our players are comfortable. They want to be here. They know they want to be here, and you can sense a different demeanor. Again, I think there wasn’t bad at all last spring, there was just a little anxiety and a little nervousness, and that’s a hard thing to overcome.”

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