Alabama Football spring practicePhoto by UA Media Relations

Spring practice is moving toward conclusion, and some players are impressing. The windy conditions could explain some of the rough offensive stats. (View Alabama scrimmage #2 stats here.) Below are some comments from Nick Saban about today’s practice.

On the defense
“I think some of the defensive players (stood out),” said Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban. “Rolando McClain has had a really good spring. He’s really embraced the leadership role that he has. He played very well today. I think he had the most tackles. He’s done a really good job. The guys up front, I think, we’ve really done a good job improving our pass rush. Dont’a Hightower has had a good spring. We’ve used him in more roles. He’s filling the gaps and all that and done a pretty good job.”

On the offense:
“Offensively, (Darius) Hanks had like eight catches today,” Saban said. “He’s been a pretty steady performer all spring. I think Julio only had three, but had a big play in a critical situation. So I think we need to keep developing. I think we need to keep improving, relative to how we throw the ball. And it’s not just the quarterback. The quarterback has probably done a really good job; it’s pass-protection, it’s running routes, it’s timing, it’s people getting away from man-to-man. We’ve got a lot of work to do in that area, and we’ve emphasized that this spring and we’ll continue to emphasize it.”

According to the Rap Sheet, Saban said the windy conditions hindered the offense today. According to the Rap Sheet Saban said, “It was just tough to throw the ball, because of the wind. We started out very slow offensively, but as things wore on, we did a better job … We need to keep improving, relative to how we throw the ball. And it’s not just the quarterback.”

Photographs by UA Media Relations