The 2021 Alabama football season is here as the Crimson Tide took to the practice field for the first time Friday afternoon.

As new COVID-19 protocols were handed down from the NCAA earlier in the week, the Crimson TIde is taking even further safety precautions with new white padded tops over their helmets. Though the added safety precautions, likely implemented by Dr. Matt Rhae and David Ballou, were slightly jarring, players went through light position drills in shorts and helmets.

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Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics
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It's worth noting wide receiver Xavier Williams was not seen in his number three jersey on the practice field. In July, Williams was briefly removed from the official roster and quickly added back. His status is not available, nor is the reason for his absence.

As for the rest of the receivers, we were impressed by the speed on display from Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams. Williams took reps alongside Traeshon Holden behind John Metchie and sophomore Javon Baker. Behind Nos. 1 and 11 were freshman Agiye Hall and sophomore Thaiu Jones-Bell.

The edge rushers were fortunately directly in front of the media viewing area, giving us a great view of Will Anderson and Christopher Allen. Displaying senior leadership, Allen led the way in individual drills, while the two bookends took reps with each other in position drills. Chris Braswell and Drew Sanders worked together near Nos. 31 and 4. Junior linebacker King Mwikuta was on the field as well, taking reps with 5-star freshman Dallas Turner.

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On the offensive line, the vantage point didn't serve itself well to the media viewing space, but it did appear Kendall Randolph was splitting reps with Damieon George before George had his hand wrapped just before the viewing session ended. He did not leave the drill and it didn't look at all serious.

The quarterbacks worked alone during the session and were placed very far away from the media. However, presumptive sophomore starter Bryce Young and his fellow signal-callers could be seen working on mechanics early in practice, as well as some throws on the run. There was no true indication of the pecking order behind him as far as Paul Tyson and Jalen Milroe.

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