What Nick Saban said after Saturday's A-Day Game
Alabama held its annual A-Day spring game Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in front of 74,326 fans.
All eyes were on quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, and neither disappointed. Hurts connected on 16-of-25 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns, while the freshman Tagovailoa completed 17-of-29 for 313 yards and three touchdowns. The competition between these two will make each better.
Obviously, Hurts is the Tide’s starting quarterback, but Tagovailoa can’t be overlooked. And he may be simply too good to keep on the sideline.
Nick Saban spoke to the media following the spring game, and he had much to say about the quarterbacks.
Saban: "All of our quarterbacks are better passers than they were a year ago. So that's encouraging."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) April 22, 2017
Saban: Tua played well in all the scrimmages.
He had 2 series with the 1s and went 3-and-out. That's not what we'd like to see.— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) April 22, 2017
Saban on Hurts' passing: "I think it was much better. I thought his ability to stand in the pocket & be a pocket passer was much improved."
— Alex Byington (@abyingtonTD) April 22, 2017
#Bama CNS: We're looking for ownership, standard, how a guy responds when things don't go well. Those are 3 intangibles I look at most.
— Ken Rogers (@DEBamabeat) April 22, 2017
Saban: "It was good we threw the ball with more efficiency and we had more big plays (in the passing game)."
— Alex Byington (@abyingtonTD) April 22, 2017
Early enrollee freshman Jerry Jeudy looks like he’ll help Alabama this season.
Saban: We need some young players like Jerry Jeudy to come through at WR for us. It's not a position where we have a lot of depth.
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) April 22, 2017
Saban: We have to do a better job on defense (secondary) with the 50-50 ball or that's going to be an issue for us going forward.
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) April 22, 2017
Saban: "I think it was good we made some big plays on offense, but I think it's of some concern playing against (your own defense)."
— Alex Byington (@abyingtonTD) April 22, 2017
Although Alabama has the most complete collection of talent in college football, Saban doesn’t think the Tide are an elite team yet.
Nick Saban described #Alabama not "elite" but "kind of an adequate team." He said previous Tide teams have been that way.
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 22, 2017
#Bama CNS: We're going to play an elite team in the first game. How each player commits himself will determine what kind of team we have.
— Ken Rogers (@DEBamabeat) April 22, 2017
Saban on OL: Competition is healthy for your team. It really isn't significant that (media/fans) know who the first team is.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) April 22, 2017
