What Nick Saban said about Alabama football quarterback battle at beginning of practices
Alabama football coach Nick Saban decided to get the quarterback question out of the way early in his press conference. He didn't even wait to be asked. Saban addressed the biggest question on the team in his opening statement, speaking after the first preseason practice Thursday.
"You're going to ask about the quarterbacks, and I'm going to tell you the same thing," Saban said. "Everybody is getting reps at the position. Somebody is going to take the bull by the horns. Somebody is going to separate themselves. When that happens, we'll tell you."
Ty Simpson, Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner are the three primary quarterbacks competing for the opening at the position, left vacant with Bryce Young heading to the NFL. Simpson and Milroe practiced in the spring and are both returners; Buchner was added after the A-Day game via the transfer portal from Notre Dame.
"When we're going to take the cake out of the oven, we'll tell you when it's the time," Saban said. "Until then, there's really nothing to talk about. There's nothing to say. There's not a whole lot of sense in asking about it."
Saban was continuing the cake metaphor he used in Nashville at SEC Media Days when he compared the quarterback competition to baking a cake. The Alabama head coach told the story of his grandmother, Anna Saban, baking cakes and how a young Saban used to stand by the oven as a kid and repeatedly ask his grandmother when the cake would be done. She would remind him to be patient, not to take the cake out of the oven too soon.
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"I think we’ve got to let this sort of develop," Saban said in Nashville. "Let the cake bake until somebody separates themselves. All the players are working hard. They all have a good attitude. They’re all competing well.”
He stressed Thursday he wants the quarterbacks to be process oriented, not outcome oriented.
"We want all the guys, when they're in there, you play the position like it's yours," Saban said. "Like it belongs to you. You're out there competing. You're not looking over your shoulder. You're not worried about what somebody else does. You're playing like you're the man. That's what we want each guy to do and see who can do that with the most consistency.""
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nick Saban: When Alabama football starting QB emerges, 'we'll tell you'
