What Nick Saban saw from Alabama football quarterbacks, other positions in first scrimmage
Alabama football completed its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday, and Nick Saban kept emphasizing two themes: Play winning football, and be consistent.
That message filled the discussion about multiple positions.
"We have a ton of things to work on, but in all honesty, if we didn’t have a ton of things to work on, why would we have 20 more practices or whatever it is before the first game?" Saban said. "I think it’s the attitude you approach each and every one of those practices."
The Crimson Tide will hold one more scrimmage next Saturday. The first game sits three weeks away; Alabama will face Middle Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sept. 2 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Here's what Saban saw from the quarterbacks, offensive line, receivers and defensive line in the scrimmage.
ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Remembering trustee Jim Wilson, an integral builder of the Alabama football dynasty
QUARTERBACKS: What we saw from Ty Simpson, Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner at Alabama football practice
Quarterbacks
Saban didn't provide much substance about the quarterbacks, and he continued to speak generally about the group instead of getting much into specifics about Ty Simpson, Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner.
Saban said everyone got reps Saturday and that he wasn't interested in what their statistics were.
"We are going to be interested when we watch the film," Saban said. "How did they execute? Did they throw the ball to the right place at the right time? Were they active in what they did? Did they take care of the ball so we have a chance to play winning football at that position? That’s what we will be evaluating."
Later in his press conference, Saban noted the quarterbacks "made some really good throws at times."
Offensive line
Saban didn't seem pleased with the overall performance of the big men up front Saturday. Here's what he said when asked what he saw from the offensive line:
"Inconsistent," Saban said. "Not enough depth. We had a couple explosive runs, but when you’re playing against each other, was the explosive run because of great execution or was it because of terrible execution on the other side?"
Saban said he feels the Crimson Tide has six to seven guys right now who can play on the offensive line "but we need a lot more than that to get through the season."
"I just think we need more guys on the offensive line to be able to play winning football," Saban said.
Receivers
Before he was even asked about the receivers, Saban noted drops from the receivers in his opening to the press conference.
"(The receivers) made some good plays today too," Saban said when asked about the position. "We had some guys make some really good catches."
There seems to be overall inconsistency, though. He brought that up when discussing the receivers, too.
Defensive line
Saban said there are five or six guys playing pretty well. But he wants more depth there, similar to the offensive line.
"We need more people to be able to go out there and play consistently the way you need to play to play winning football," Saban said. "That’s probably not enough."
He mentioned Tim Smith has been "a little up and down" and needs to be more consistent.
Defensive tackle Jaheim Oatis, however, receiver significant praise.
"Oatis had a really, really good camp," Saban said.
Defensive end Justin Eboigbe also "has had a really good camp so far," Saban added.
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: Alabama football scrimmage: What Nick Saban saw from quarterbacks, others
