A-DAY NOTEBOOK: Record crowd gathers to see Saban's Tide

TUSCALOOSA | The first open practice of the Nick Saban era quickly became home to the largest crowd in spring game history.

More than 92,138 fans piled into Bryant-Denny Stadium for the annual A-Day game, breaking Ohio State’s record of 75,000, which was also set on Saturday.

The state fire marshal ordered the gates closed during the second quarter, and UA officials said that thousands of fans had been turned away from the gates by halftime.

“It shows what great passion and support we have at the University of Alabama, and it certainly make me feel great about being here as the coach, and I hope we can continue to channel all that energy in a positive way, so we can get where we want to go, so we can build this program into something special.”

Before Saturday, Tennessee is believed to have had the largest crowd for a spring game with a crowd of 73,000 at Neyland Stadium in 1986.

“The fan support today was amazing,” sophomore center Antoine Caldwell said. “I have always thought there are no other fans like that of Alabama. That’s why I love playing here. That is why I wanted to come here. They are always behind us no matter what we do, both home and away.”

Saturday’s record crowd shattered the stadium and Alabama records for attendance at the A-Day game. In 1994, 46,700 fans filed into Bryant-Denny Stadium for the record, while 51,117 fans observed the 1988 spring game at Legion Field in Birmingham.

The previous largest crowd of the 2007 spring was Florida’s crowd of 47,500 at Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium.

South Carolina drew 35,153 for its spring game. Auburn had 31,757 on hand for its spring game, while Georgia had 21,407 fans for its game.

“It was awesome,” junior receiver Matt Caddell said. “I walked out and I was like, ‘Is it September?’ 92,000, man. I just want to thank the fans.”

Injury Report

Alabama made it through spring drills without any major injuries, but Saban said the Tide had a couple of shoulder injuries during the A-Day game.

Sophomore running back Glen Coffee and sophomore tight end Charles Hoke sustained shoulder injuries during the game, but Saban said he didn’t think it was serious.

“They are not bad as we see I right now, we’ll give another report later on,” he said. “We don’t think it’s anything serious.”

As expected, B.J. Stabler, Charlie Kirschman, Travis McCall, Lorenzo Washington, Aaron McDaniel, Will Oakley, Tyrone Prothro, Jake Jones, Chris Capps and Eric Gray did not participate in the A-Day game.

Freshman defensive tackle Byron Walton, who was limited during the first 13 practices, was working with the second unit Saturday. Freshman safety Justin Woodall, who has been slowed by a sprained ankle, played with the second team defense and special teams throughout the scrimmage.

Enterprise represented

The Enterprise High School football team was in attendance for the A-Day game. Representatives from the United Way of West Alabama were at the entry gates of the stadium collecting donations for the Enterprise Tornado Relief Fund for the deadly tornado that struck Enterprise on March 1.

By halftime, the United Way had collected approximately $38,000. A complete count should be announced next week.

Spring practice awards

With five receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown, junior wide receiver DJ Hall became only the second player in UA history to win the Dixie Howell Memorial Award, which goes to the A-Day game’s most vauable player, twice in his career.

Ahmad Galloway was the only other player to accomplish the feat, when he won the award in 2000 and 2002.

Antoine Caldwell also became the second player in UA history to receive two Dwight Stephenson Awards, which goes to the most valuable lineman in the A-Day game.

Reggie Grimes also did that in 1997 and 1999.

At the conclusion of the A-Day game, Saban distributed the 14 other spring practice awards. Here are the recipients:

The Lee Roy Jordan Headhunter Award – Zeke Knight

The Jerry Duncan “I Like to Practice” Award – Jimmy Johns

The Billy Neighbors Defensive Lineman Award – Keith Saunders

The Bobby Johns Defensive Back Award – Rashad Johnson

The Paul Crane Offensive Lineman Award – Andre Smith

The Ray Perkins Receiver Award – DJ Hall

The Johnny Musso Offensive Back Award – John Parker Wilson

The Woodrow Lowe Linebacker Award – Prince Hall

The Ozzie Newsome Most Improved Freshman Award – Terry Grant and Kareem Jackson

The Paul “Bear” Bryant Outstanding Non-Scholarship Player Award – Darren Mustin

The Derrick Thomas Community Service Award – Baron Huber and Byron Walton

The Mal Moore Leadership Award - Antoine Caldwell and Simeon Castille

The Bart Starr Most Improved Player Award - Brian Motley and Mike Johnson

The Sylvester Croom Commitment to Excellence Award - Bobby Greenwood and Travis McCall