Practice Report: Nick Saban Visits the 2021 Reese's Senior Bowl

The Crimson Tide head coach spoke with Najee Harris and Mac Jones before a meeting with Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores

Joey Blackwell | Jan 27, 2021

MOBILE, Ala. — As per tradition, Alabama football coach Nick Saban visited practice for the 2021 Reese's Senior Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Saban spoke with both Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris and quarterback Mac Jones during his brief time on the field. After speaking with both of his former players, Saban then made his way to midfield for a conversation with Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores.

Dolphins GM Chris Grier and HC Brian Flores having a lengthy postpractice conversation with Alabama coach Nick Saban after Senior Bowl practice. It’s going past 5 mins now.

Plenty of players they can can discuss. Dolphins love Bama players. pic.twitter.com/J3Aw3aR34a
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 27, 2021

With the Saban distraction out of the way, both Harris and Jones saw significant improvement over their performances on the field. For Harris, his was simply participating. Harris did not participate in Tuesday's practice outside of a few warmups and pass catches. On Wednesday, however, Harris was taking handoffs, making receptions and doing far more than expected. If he wants to gain ground on Travis Etienne as the nation's top running back prospect, today was a solid start.

While Jones was inconsistent on Tuesday, Wednesday was a dramatic improvement. Jones' passes were quick, clean and — most importantly — accurate. Jones made just as many bad passes on Tuesday as he did good ones, but Wednesday was a solid outing for the first-round hopeful.

.@AlabamaFTBL QB @MacJones_10 to @LSUfootball WR @ohrae17_ for a touchdown at the @seniorbowl. pic.twitter.com/J6eiilktVg
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 27, 2021

For offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood and Deonte Brown, both saw increased snap numbers compared to Tuesday — as did all other linemen. Brown was utilized at the right guard position while Leatherwood saw action at left tackle. Brown is so far seeing more action than anticipated — a good sign for the young guard.

Leatherwood being used at left tackle was also a good sign. Over the past couple of weeks, several NFL analysts have said that Leatherwood might be better utilized in the NFL as a guard rather than a tackle. However, Leatherwood was making solid blocks on Wednesday, doubling down on the position that he primarily played at Alabama.

Long snapper Thomas Fletcher practiced snapping, but was never used in game scenarios. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith and center Landon Dickerson were both in attendance on Monday, but spent their time speaking and studying with coaches rather than suiting up due to their respective injuries.

2021 Reese's Senior Bowl Practice - Day 2

Photos courtesy of the Reese's Senior Bowl

Published Jan 27, 2021

JOEY BLACKWELL

Joey Blackwell is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for BamaCentral and has covered the Crimson Tide since 2018. He primarily covers Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball, but also covers a wide variety of other sports. Joey earned his bachelor's degree in History from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2020 with a degree in News Media. He has also been featured in a variety of college football magazines, including Lindy's Sports and BamaTime.