Alabama WRs working on improving hands, being 'complete' receiving corps
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama’s wide receivers ended what was a solid spring for the position group as a whole with a performance they are motivated to not repeat this coming season.
During the A-Day Game, there were quite a few dropped passes. According to Alabama’s stats from the April 22 scrimmage, offensive players caught 42 of their 82 targets, which is a 51.2 catch percentage. For the wide receivers, that number was 22-of-47 (46.8 percent).
To try to make that a one-time occurrence, the Crimson Tide wideouts got to work this summer.
“We all play receiver, so our first skill set is working on our hands, catching the ball,” junior Ja’Corey Brooks said Friday. “As a receiver, if you can’t catch the ball, you really can’t be on the field. That’s one thing we’ve focused on, getting on the jugs before practice, and another time we can really on the jugs is after practice. That’s how we really develop that skill set.”
Brooks is one of the most experienced receivers on Alabama’s team. He and Jermaine Burton, who is now a senior, led their position room in receptions (39, 40), receiving yards (674, 677) and receiving touchdowns (8, 7) a year ago and will look to lead the receiving corps this fall. It will be a year the Tide looks to bounce back at receiver after a historic run at the position, but Brooks is not worried about being the No. 1 option in the passing game this fall.
“To be honest, as a returner, I’m not really looking for a No. 1 receiver,” Brooks said. “I’m looking for a complete group because everybody might have a day, everybody might have a game they get their name called. You want everybody in our group to show up and play hard the best way they could.”
After it was announced that Thaiu Jones-Bell would not play this season after taking a medical redshirt, Alabama is down to 11 scholarship wide receivers for the 2023 campaign. Brooks and Burton are the veterans in the room, but eight of their teammates are either entering their first or second years of college. With players like Isaiah Bond, Kendrick Law and Kobe Prentice having a year in the program and more talent coming in, Brooks believes depth is better.
“I see every guy improved, even myself,” Brooks said. “Most of the young guys, as in the freshmen and even sophomores, developing their playbooks and skill set of how to run their routes and what they to see in the defense. We’re all developing.”
Brooks weighs in on individual Tide receivers
Speaking to local reporters prior to Friday’s preseason practice, Brooks was asked about a few of his teammates. Below is what he said about four receivers that will see the field this fall.
Bond, Law and Prentice: “There’s always more room for improvement, but I see them, they’re getting a lot of confidence. They’re starting to be more familiar with the playbook and just playing freely like they’ve been here a couple years.”
Malik Benson: “Malik has been a hard worker. He’s always been a hard worker since he got here. He’s not really talkative, but he’s just going to take the coaching, accept the coaching and work hard.”
Law: “K-Law is aggressive, but I like his whole play style. He’s a young kid, still developing as well. But he’s gonna have a unique type of play style. He’s going to bring his own type of game into the group. Everybody’s got their own type of skill set. That’s just help us at receiver, we all take from each other. K-Law’s got a lot to bring to the table.”
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