A-Day press conference, etc.

Video from A-Day:

Part 2 of Saban video:

University of Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
A-Day Post Game Quotes From UA

Opening Comments:
“First off, I would like to thank the fans for coming out today. We had a really good turnout. I’ve been involved with a lot of things at a lot of places, but this is a really positive family experience that we have here for A-Day. To have over 78,000 people to show up for the game and to honor our captains today at Denny Chimes is a tradition like no other that I have seen relative to giving someone the opportunity to become a part of the legacy of all the people who have been captains on this team.”

“From a game standpoint I was pleased by the way we played. I don’t think our effort and energy defensively was exactly what we wanted it to be, but we had a pretty simple game plan. I was pleased that the offense was able to execute plays a little bit better. We made some big plays, and I was just pleased that we were able to score the points that we scored. Also John Parker [ Wilson ] did a good job putting together the two-minute offense before the half to score.”

“I was pleased by the performance of our receivers even though we had a few drops today, but (they) made big plays. Darius Hanks made some big plays; Mike McCoy made some plays, and Terry Grant made some plays.”

“I was pleased with our offensive performance. We do have some issues with depth on offense. Nikita Stover is our most experienced receiver, and he has provided some leadership qualities to the younger guys. I think that once we get our new guys in, it will allow us to fill in some of those gaps where we lack depth.”

“Cory Reamer has made a tremendous amount of improvement since we got here. His size and strength was a concern that we had coming into the spring. He has since improved, and we moved him into inside linebacker. His athleticism enables him to fit into that position. Hopefully he will continue to get strong and be able to play at the position better.”

University of Alabama Player Quotes
A-Day Post Game Quotes

MIKE MCCOY:
On the offensive’s performance today:
“I think we did pretty well. We started off kind of slow. There were a lot of big opportunities that we let slip out, but overall we had a pretty good day.”

On his performance:
“I was just having fun. I didn’t know I had over a hundred yards, but we were just having fun. Me and JP (John Parker Wilson) were just talking on the side line.”
“Earl (Alexander) had a pretty good day. On the other side, our younger guys like (Darius) Hanks had an outstanding day as well. (Marquis) Maze stepped up big, so we’ve got some play makers.”

On the crowd:
“It’s amazing. We’ve got fans like no other. They treat us like rock stars around here.”

ROY UPCHURCH:
On his running game:
“I just paced myself today. It really wasn’t about me. I was just trying to get the younger offensive linemen to get a better intensity and make the game progress. I just went behind them and got what I could, and they did a pretty good job, a real good job. I’m proud of them.”

On the crowd:
“It was amazing. I always love playing here. Like Mike (McCoy) said, we’ve got fans like no other. I’m happy with it. ”

JOHN PARKER WILSON :
On his rhythm in the second quarter:
“Yeah we started just picking away at them, hitting little bitty short passes. When you get the ball to a playmaker like Terry Grant, and he takes it 75 yards that makes it easy.”

On the offense’s performance:
“I think we did well. I think we did a lot of good things, and we’re playing pretty well right now for it just being the spring. We obviously have some things to work on still, but I thought we played pretty well today.”

CORY REAMER:
On the pressure from the defensive front:
“Yeah, the defense, the front, played really well on both sides. We were kind of shallow at offensive line, so it’s kind of hard to fill in positions, but they did great. We got out here and we said we weren’t going to bring a lot of pressures from our linebackers, so a big goal was for the line to get back there and put pressure on the quarterbacks.”

RASHAD JOHNSON:
On the leadership on defense:
“It means a lot when a fellow teammate tells you something, you know, because I mean it’s the coaches’ job to do it. And when you get a teammate that is disappointed in the way you’re performing and who tells you that you need to step it up, it just means a lot more coming from a teammate than your coach because you get it from them all the time.”

On the comfort level on defense:
“After a year in Coach (Nick) Saban’s system, a lot more guys are a lot more confident and you can just see it out on the field. Sometimes I don’t even have to look back to get the check when a receiver goes and slides up into the boundary, and they know what they need to do. It just makes my job a whole lot easier since Coach Saban came.”

On the performance today:
“The way first half, we didn’t tackle well; we didn’t play well. And in the second half we came out with a little more intensity and tried to finish the game and the offense made a play that just kind of put the game away.”