TUSCALOOSA — Alabama football coach Nick Saban suspended redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jeremy Elder indefinitely for an alleged incident that occurred Saturday.

A native of College Park, Ga., Elder was arrested and charged Sunday with two counts of first-degree armed robbery.

According to The University of Alabama Police Department Web site, on Saturday night Elder approached two students in the Small Group Housing Parking Lot shortly after 11. He then “presented a hand gun” and took cash from one of the students. Elder was arrested Sunday. He is in Tuscaloosa County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bond, reduced from $120,000.

“He is indefinitely suspended from all football-related activities. I won’t have an announcement on his future status until I have had a chance to review all of the information,” Saban said in a statement released by Alabama. “The university and football program have strict guidelines regarding legal issues of this magnitude.”

In Alabama, a Class A felony involving armed robbery carries a sentence ranging between 10 years and life imprisonment. A trial date has not been set.

Elder redshirted during the 2006-07 season, his first at Alabama. Before Elder enrolled at Alabama, Scout.com rated him as a three-star prospect, and the 50th best defensive tackle in the country. Rivals.com listed Elder as a two-star prospect.

Elder is the seventh player arrested player since Saban took over as Alabama’s coach Jan. 4, 2007.

Steele improving: Ronald Steele sprinted down the court, ran up to the 3-point line and buried a trey. This sequence has occurred with Alabama basketball several times in the heat of game competition during the past three seasons. The fact that it happened Monday in practice is almost as significant.

After several operations to repair cartilage defects on both of his knees, Steele — who decided to redshirt the 2007-08 season — finally appears close to full strength.

“I haven’t felt this good since my sophomore summer. It has been a long time,” Steele said.

“(The knees) feel good, no problems so far, except for normal soreness.”

Since early January, Steele has practiced in drills with the team, but only recently has he looked like the All-American point guard from the 2005-06 season, when he averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 assists per game.

Steele’s improved health has had a residual effect on several Alabama basketball players, including freshman point guard Rico Pickett of Decatur.

While Pickett has seen his minutes and numbers decline in recent games — he has scored two points in the past five games — going against Steele in practice has helped his game. Steele tries some veteran tricks on Pickett, forcing him to “run behind screens” which is something most freshmen never deal with in high school, but happens all the time in college.

“It’s tough every practice, because he is back being Ron, he is just slower. It’s tough every day, but it’s a good experience,” Pickett said. “He is always trying to do different moves on me, but it’s good because it gets me ready for a game.”

Bentley has high hopes: Alabama fifth-year senior first baseman Matt Bentley proudly displayed his 2006 SEC championship ring at the Alabama Sports Writers Association baseball media day Monday.

“This is my pride and joy,” a beaming Bentley said. And if things go the way he sees it this year, Bentley will be sporting another ring.

“This is the best team I have been on,” Bentley said. “I’ve been around a while, I’ve seen a lot of teams, and I feel the most confident about this one.”

Southeastern Conference coaches recently picked Alabama to finish last in the SEC West. That designation upset Bentley, a senior who hit .299 last year with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs.

“A number is just a number,” Bentley said. “It’s what you do on the field that counts. The year we won the SEC championship, we were picked to finish close to last.”

Last season, Alabama went 31-26 overall and missed out on playing in an NCAA regional. It was the second time since 1995 that Alabama did not make a regional. But Bentley said Alabama, which starts its season Friday against Cal-Poly, has corrected those issues from a year ago.

“I am just chomping at the bit for Friday night,” Bentley said.

Softball dominates tournament: Alabama softball went 4-0 in the Hampton Inn Crimson Classic last weekend, and the All-Tournament team, announced Monday, had four Alabama players on it. Georgia Tech had three players on the team, New Mexico put two on it and Middle Tennessee State had one.

Alabama outfielder Brittany Rogers was named Tournament MVP, going 16-for-23 in the four games and also stealing 10 bases. She had four RBIs during the weekend.

Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the most recent ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.