Nick Saban was hoping to see some separation in the ongoing quarterback competition during Saturday’s first fall scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

No luck.

“From a quarterback standpoint, I can’t really say one guy was better than another,” a noticeably frustrated Saban said. “I think all did good things and I think all did things not so well. I think that I would love to see one of these guys take the bull by the horns and play with a sense of urgency that affects everyone else and shows leadership.

“I don’t think we need to have a quarterback that has to win the game. I think if we have someone who can play well enough and make good decisions and not make major errors, that would probably keep us in the game. And with the level of the players we have everywhere else, we’ll have a good chance.”

Pressed to go into more detail and asked what happens if a player doesn’t “take the bull by the horns” under center, Saban went off.

“The way I see it happening is, you know, as soon as we start gaining confidence in a guy and put him in the situation, then they have to take the ball and run with it. We’ve seen that a couple times. I’m just waiting on somebody to just break out and really take it after having a couple good days.

“Somebody’s got to make it happen. As bad I like to make it happen, I can’t make it happen.”

Saban then went on a playful rant, saying he would get an earful from his wife about the quarterback situation later tonight:

Saban on injuries:

“Kenyan Drake did not scrimmage because he strained his hamstring which shouldn’t be a big issue. I think most everybody else was out there participating. I think Robert Foster sprained his knee toward the end of scrimmage. I can’t give you any medical information. I don’t think we have anybody else other than bumps and bruises. Chris Black didn’t go today, he’s still recovering from an ankle.”

Saban on Saturday’s scrimmage overall:

“The defense is probably a little bit ahead of the offense, which is not unusual in terms of their ability to execute and do their job. Offensively, I think we got better as the day went on in terms of how we competed. A lot of the success came toward the end of the scrimmage.”

Saban on team outlook through two weeks of camp:

“We’ve had a really productive 10 or 11 practices here so far. We’re not disappointed at all in the attitude and work ethic they have, but we’re not really satisfied at all with where we are. We’ll just keep working and coaching and get it done.”