The Alabama Crimson Tide will hold their annual A-Day spring game on Saturday. Here are the five storylines to keep an eye on.
It’s spring football time down south and the Alabama Crimson Tide should have one of the better teams in the SEC once again in 2017. They have won three straight SEC Championships and are the only program to make it to all three College Football Playoffs to date.
However, Alabama’s regular season success in the SEC has only translated to one national title in the last four NCAA seasons. Alabama did win it all in 2015, but dropped the 2016 National Championship to the Clemson Tigers on the final second in January.
As it is annually, Alabama loses a ton of players to the NFL Draft. However, no program in the Power 5 recruits like the Crimson Tide does. They’ll be fine. With their annual A-Day spring game coming up on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET, let’s take a look at the five biggest storylines for Alabama heading into Saturday.
5. Nick Saban’s energy level
He’s not a kid any more. Nick Saban is one of the best head coaches in college football, but he’ll be 66 years of age on Halloween. Spooky! Anyway, Saban isn’t going to be coaching the Crimson Tide forever. Keep a close eye on his energy level in this spring game.
No, Saban’s not going to take a snooze in the middle of A-Day; that would be ridiculous. He’s not Bobby Bowden or the late Joe Paterno. However, if Saban’s coaching A-Day with an anxiety level on par with what we would see in Alabama vs. LSU, it may not be shocking if this is his last spring game with the Crimson Tide.
Saban will obviously want to go out on top. Should Alabama win another national title, expect Saban to ride off into the sunset. Maybe defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt replaces him? Who knows?
Either way, Saban will have to find a new coach to lash out at now that Lane Kiffin has retired relocated to Boca Raton to coach the Florida Atlantic Owls. We will inevitably see another patented Saban press conference bonanza or two this fall. Should we get a surprising one after A-Day of all things, yes, maybe the pressure is getting to Saban and it’s time for him to replace Lee Corso on ESPN’s College GameDay?