Alabama Football Practice: A Look at the Tight Ends

Former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had plenty of great receivers to choose from last season. He often threw to Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, or Jalen McMillan. All three were standout players and were picked in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.

These three players combined for 206 catches, 3,358 yards, and 27 touchdowns, making them Penix’s top targets.

Despite these top receivers getting most of the attention, Washington's tight end Jack Westover still had a productive season. He caught 46 passes for 433 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Alabama’s tight ends can be optimistic about their chances this season. With former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer now leading the Crimson Tide, Westover's success shows that there could be plenty of opportunities for Alabama's tight ends, even with the many talented receivers on the team like Germie Bernard, Kendrick Law, Ryan Williams, and Cole Adams.

On Tuesday, Alabama football held its final preseason practice that was open to reporters. During the 15 minutes of viewing time, news reporters focused on the tight ends. Here’s what they saw.

Observations from Alabama Football Practice: Tight Ends

The practice session was mostly about the tight ends working on their positions, with some drills involving the quarterbacks. However, there were no drills where the tight ends went up against a defense. Instead, they worked against dummies or in open space.

The drills included a mix of blocking and pass-catching.

Blocking Drills:
In the first drill, the tight ends ran about five yards, squared up, chopped their feet, and pushed against a pad held by a coach. Then, they drove a few feet forward, simulating open-field blocking. The coach sometimes moved the pad left or right, requiring the tight ends to adjust their blocking.

Passing Drills:
Next, the tight ends practiced with the quarterbacks. They started with short 5-yard routes, then moved to more complex routes involving double moves, ending with them catching passes about 15 yards downfield along the sideline.

Jalen Milroe connected with CJ Dippre, and Ty Simpson hit Robbie Ouzts with a pass. However, Austin Mack's pass to Josh Cuevas was a bit too high.

The quarterbacks had two more drills where they threw passes within 10 yards. Then, they did a drill where two quarterbacks threw at the same time to different tight ends running across each other.

After these passing drills, the tight ends did another blocking drill. This one required more agility, as they had to change direction quickly before squaring up against a coach holding a pad, simulating a moving defender.

The final drill during the media viewing period had tight ends catching passes in the flat from a coach.

Pecking Order:
CJ Dippre led most of the drills, showing he’s likely the leader of the tight end group. Dippre is expected to have a bigger role in the passing game this season, after mainly being used as a blocker last year under coach Tommy Rees.

Robbie Ouzts was usually next after Dippre. He is also one of the most experienced tight ends and is expected to share significant playing time with Dippre.

Behind Dippre and Ouzts, there was a mix of players including Josh Cuevas, Danny Lewis Jr., Jay Lindsey, and Ty Lockwood. Cuevas, who transferred from Washington, often came in third behind Dippre and Ouzts during drills.

Practice order can sometimes give hints about the depth chart, like with the running backs. However, in other cases, like with the cornerbacks, it might not mean much.