Nick Saban describes ‘spotty’ 2nd spring scrimmage, discusses Alabama’s backup QBs

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide had their second scrimmage of the spring on Saturday afternoon.

Afterward, though, the head coach wasn’t too pleased with his team. The Tide will enter the 2022 season as favorites to win the title, and Saban clearly didn’t think his team looked title-ready on Saturday.

Saban said the offense had trouble running and throwing, which isn’t a great sign. He added that there were too many turnovers and penalties:

Saban: The offense was spotty both running the ball and throwing it in 2nd scrimmage.

— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) April 9, 2022

Saban said they had too many penalties and too many turnovers in today’s scrimmage.

— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) April 9, 2022

Going back to a complaint he had at the end of last year, Saban said some of Alabama’s players need to learn how to play well consistently. But, he added, he’s not exactly disappointed with where the team is at this point in the season:

Saban: "We have guys that play really, really well, and then we've got guys that need to learn how to play well on a consistent basis. I would say that probably sums up where we are. I don't wanna sound like I'm disappointed in any way."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) April 9, 2022

Nick Saban after Scrimmage 2: "I think some of the players, especially the younger players, gotta understand how you practice kind of becomes a reality for you."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) April 9, 2022

As for Alabama’s competition to back up QB Bryce Young, Saban had nice things to say about both Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe:

Saban: "Ty (Simpson)'s a young guy. He's really conscientious, really trying to learn but just needs to get more and more opportunities in practice."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) April 9, 2022

Nick Saban said Jalen Milroe threw a couple of interceptions today that weren't necessarily his fault. He said that Milroe has a much better command of the offense this spring.

— Tony Tsoukalas (@Tony_Tsoukalas) April 9, 2022

Obviously, Alabama doesn’t need to be playing great during the spring. This session is all about learning and implementing new players into the system.

Alabama will host its annual A-Day spring scrimmage on Saturday, April 16, at 3 p.m. ET. We’ll get our first look at the new Crimson Tide squad then.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.