Alabama football: Nick Saban was big mad after Crimson Tide scrimmage
By John Buhler
Alabama football coach Nick Saban needs to see improvement out of his team this spring.
Even though the Alabama football program is among the very best in the country, head coach Nick Saban was not all that pleased after what he saw out of his team in their first scrimmage of the spring on Friday.
Alabama loses a ton of skill position players to the NFL Draft, as well as major decimation to the offensive line. While the Crimson Tide should be in great shape defensively, Saban understands that his team has to put in the work on the offensive side of the ball if they want to repeat as College Football Playoff National Champions. Here is what he had to say after practice on Friday.
“I think we’ve got a long way to go,” said Saban. “We’ve got a lot of young guys. I think they’ve got a lot of ability. I think their heads are swimming, probably, a little bit right now with all the different things that they have to learn on offense, but you’re also seeing probably a lot more things than you’re used to seeing out of the defense, so that creates a lot of multiples for a young guy.”
“So we just want to get those guys to where they have confidence in what they need to do to be able to go out there and execute and do their job on a consistent basis. . .We’re not there yet and we’re making progress, and I think that every one of those guys will see what they need to improve on and we’ll go to work on it on Monday.”
The Alabama football team must battle attrition and complacency to repeat
2021 will be the first season Bryce Young will start under center at quarterback. While he has shown progress in his two years at Alabama, Saban’s comments on him lead us to believe he will enter this fall as a game manager of sorts under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. The only returning starting receiver he retains is John Metchie. However, Slade Bolden is really coming on.
The good news for Alabama is the Crimson Tide are always dripping with talent. Iron sharpens iron annually for the reigning champions of the Iron Bowl. As long as Young stays healthy and he can develop a rapport with Bolden while Metchie works his way back from an ankle injury, Alabama should be in fantastic shape to repeat as SEC champions and make the College Football Playoff.
Alabama has plenty of time to get things right, but Saban knows they have a way to go this spring.
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