What Nick Saban Said After Alabama's First Spring Scrimmage

Everything the head coach said about the Crimson Tide's performance in Friday's scrimmage.

Courtesy of Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama was able to beat the storms in Tuscaloosa Friday afternoon and conduct its first scrimmage of the spring. 

The scrimmage was not open to the public or the media, but Alabama head coach Nick Saban will speak to the media after to give his thoughts on the Crimson Tide's performance. 

Full Transcript

Opening Statement

"I guess everything should start with the holiday and wish everybody a very good holiday weekend. We practiced today on Friday so players would have an opportunity to be with their family over the holiday if they choose to do that.“But from a scrimmage standpoint today, I thought there was a lot of good things out there. I thought the intensity was good. There was a lot of good hitting. Tried to play more physical on the line of scrimmage. Offensively, I thought we were pretty consistent in terms of what we did. We moved the ball effectively and with balance, run and pass. Both quarterbacks played equally well. Both of them got opportunities, and both of them, I thought, did a nice job out there managing the game.“Defensively, we gave up probably too many explosive plays, need to improve on tackling. We didn’t really do a very good job of getting turnovers, which has been a big emphasis for us this year. We’ve got a lot of veteran players on defense who aren’t playing. Justin (Eboigbe) just played on third down. Dallas (Turner) is out, (Chris) Braswell is out. Kool-Aid (McKinstry) wasn’t here today because of family circumstances. But it’s an opportunity for a lot of young players to get a lot of reps, a lot of opportunities for us to evaluate those guys’ progress.“I think the big thing is, especially for young players, is to stay focused on what they need to do to continue to develop. Don’t get frustrated about the success you’re having. Don’t get frustrated about where you are on the depth chart – because we really don’t even have a depth chart. But when you get an opportunity, go in there and take advantage of it so that every time we see you play, we say, ‘Wow, that guy’s doing a really good job,’ or ‘That guy’s not doing what he’s supposed to do.’“Today, we really wanted to evaluate how guys competed, what their effort was, what kind of mental and physical toughness did they play with, how accountable could they be to go out there and do their job. And I think first scrimmage, that’s something we really wanted to see. I like the progress the team is making. We’re not satisfied with where we are, but we’re not displeased with the progress that we’re making. I think the key is to look at this film and everybody learn and grow from the experience and improve so we do things a little more consistently in the next scrimmage.”

On the safety position, how it looked today

“OK. We played Malachi (Moore) at safety today. We’ve been playing some days at Star, some days at safety. Caleb Downs is doing well for a young guy, getting a lot of reps. We played Earl (Little) at Star, played several guys at corner since Kool-Aid wasn’t here. Terrion Arnold’s been doing a pretty good job, having a good spring. We played him at Star some, too. So a lot of guys getting a lot of reps, but that’s an area of our team we definitely need to develop some depth and get these guys experience so they’re more confident in terms of how they go out there and play and execute what we need them to do.”

On the running back position, depth there

“It’s been great. All guys have done well. All four guys have had really, really good springs. They’re all very productive players. All those guys can contribute to the team in some ways. They’re doing really, really well. As long as we can stay healthy at that position, I don’t think that’s an issue on our team.”

On the outside linebacker position with Turner, Braswell out

“They’re getting all the reps. I think they’re learning. I think they’re more confident. Whether it’s (Jeremiah Alexander), Keanu (Koht), Q (Quandarrius Robinson), they’re all getting lots of reps and doing a good job, a couple freshmen. Those guys are good players. They’re leaders on the team. We certainly miss their presence out there. I think that’s one of the biggest things right now is the guys that would be some of the best leaders are not guys that are being able to participate. But the good news is the other guys that play with them and behind them are getting a world of experience, which is gonna be very beneficial to them in their development.” 

Earlier this week Hugh Freeze from Auburn, he said about a model for a spring game that could potentially be a team in the state against them, maybe you guys another state, for charity, maybe help with, also, injuries. Is that a model for a spring game you’d be interested in?

"Um, I didn’t know anything about that. We’re always interested in helping people any way that we can. If that’s the purpose of what they’re doing, that’s certainly a good thing and we try to do a lot of things to create opportunities for people in our foundation and will continue to do that. If there’s something along those lines in the spring game that would be helpful to somebody, I think it’s a great idea."

How the inside linebackers have looked

"Yeah, it’s great. Trez Marshall is doing a really good job. He adds some maturity there. The other guys are coming along. They’re all getting better. They’re competing well. We’re moving them around. Shawn Murphy has done a pretty good job. Jihaad Campbell has done a pretty good job, and those guys are kind of rotating in and out of there. Lawson is out for the spring. He’s the one guy that has experience that would be a good player that would add leadership to that position. This is a good thing that those guys are getting all those reps, too."

Does Malik Benson help explosiveness?

"I think Burton made some big plays today. Ja’Corey Brooks made some big plays today. Benson’s had a really, really good spring and is capable of stretching the field and making big plays. Good all-around player. He certainly is going to help us. Isaiah Bond has had a really good spring and has done a really good job. So receiver corps has developed really nicely. Consistency in performance is what we need to continue to work on."

Roydell Williams back or limited?

"No, he’s back."

What do you see in scrimmages that help you evaluate better than practice?

"I think the big thing is, I’m always on the coaches to let the players play. I think there’s a time in practice even that you need to let them make the calls, let them do the things they need to do, because you can’t do it for them in the game. The next step of that is the coaches are off the field, there’s nobody standing behind them making the calls for them. Nobody telling them what to do. I think that’s sort of the next step in the progression of being able to play winning football is being able to go out there and have enough confidence in yourself and understand the system well enough that you can go apply it to whatever multiple sort of shows up. I think competing in the scrimmage is an opportunity for guys to say, ‘Hey, I can be accountable to do my job, I know what I’m supposed to do, when I’m supposed to slant and get a gap, I know what I’m supposed to do when it’s a certain protection as an offensive lineman or running back. But I got to figure it out. I got to understand the concepts and be able to go execute it, recognize what’s happening, have the right eye control and have the discipline to execute it on a consistent basis.’ Sometimes in practice when coaches are helping guys, trying to help them do the right things, they can actually depend on somebody telling them what to do. We’d like for them to know what to do, because sometimes you can’t always communicate that, even if it’s another player trying to help a player. I think those kinds of things in scrimmages are really beneficial to young guys that are developing."

Tommy Rees evaluation in scrimmage?

"Offense was great today. Tommy does a great job with the players. Players like him. He’s taken our system and pretty much used our system that we use, added some things to it. I think the offensive line has done a good job. We’ve got a few more multiples in terms of how we can run the ball. Does a really good job with formations and how to use formations to create advantages for us on offense. I’m really pleased with what we’ve been able to do on that side of the ball and how we’ve developed."

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