The big names are expected for Thursday’s ‘other’ Alabama pro day

The satellite trucks arrived today for tomorrow’s main event.

Live television cameras will capture all the action from the second Alabama football pro day. This time, the headliners will perform.

Running back Trent Richardson, a projected top-10 pick, is expected to run his first 40-yard dash of the pre-draft season tomorrow. Minor knee surgery kept him from participating in the NFL scouting combine, so the league’s big names are expected to observe the action in person.

Injuries also kept safety Mark Barron and linebacker Courtney Upshaw from the first Alabama pro day held earlier this month. They’re both on Thursday’s lineup and were spotted taking in Wednesday’s Tide spring practice from the sidelines.

A few others will participate including some who took part in the March 7 audition. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower said he’d be involved in today’s tryout and he was in town yesterday afternoon.

Follow the Daily Bama Blog for real time results and video from the workouts.

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Video of a different Alabama defensive line drill

And now, for the second installment of Wednesday practice footage, take a look at a defensive line drill I can’t remember seeing before. There’s always entertainment value in Chris Rumph’s coaching.

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Up-close video of Lance Thompson working with Alabama linebackers in practice

Lance Thompson, now in his third term as an Alabama assistant, took the linebackers to the sled today. Take a look at his work with the outside linebackers on a postcard Tuscaloosa afternoon.

 

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A look at who could be the top target for AJ McCarron this fall

Alabama heads back to the practice field this afternoon for another spring workout. That means more competition at the wide receiver position. Here’s a look at that …

TUSCALOOSA — In the not-so distant past, Kenny Bell hinted at his future.

Once buried on the receiver depth chart at Alabama, the sophomore broke a few big ones late in last season’s national championship run, showing that his time was near.

Now that 64 percent of the Tide’s 2011 receiving yardage and the top four targets have departed, Bell figures to be at the forefront of the evolving 2012 offense. He was No. 5 on the receiving list a year ago. Two late-season catches stood out. Bell was on the receiving end of a perfectly executed flea flicker, resulting in a 41-yard touchdown that kick-started a 42-14 pounding of Auburn. A few weeks later in a 21-0 win over LSU for the national title, he took a quick screen 26 yards up the sideline on a fast-break drive that opened the second half.

“The momentum I had last year from being in the championship game,” Bell said, “I carried it into this year.”

And that figures to be a whole new world for the Alabama offense.

New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and shifting personnel mean spring practice requires “learning a new offense,” Bell said.

Though early in the process with just a few practices in the books, this new approach appears to include added sizzle.

“It’s more down the field and more explosive for the receivers,” Bell said.

Click here to read the full story in today’s newspaper.

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