What Nick Saban said following Alabama's first scrimmage of the spring
The Alabama Crimson Tide held their first scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, and it was coach Nick Saban’s first chance to see this team in live action.
Naturally, there were some positives and some negatives from the first scrimmage, and Saban met with the media afterward to discuss it all.
He had a lot to say about where the Tide can improve and where they’re off to a good start. Here’s what he said in his press conference:
On Henry Ruggs’ absence:
Nick Saban confirmed what we reported earlier that WR Henry Ruggs III missed today's scrimmage while attending a funeral back home in Montgomery.
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) March 30, 2019
On depth issues:
Nick Saban after first scrimmage: "The first time you have a scrimmage, you kind of see where you're at. I think we have some really good players, we have some guys that can play winning football, but to me we don't have enough."
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) March 30, 2019
On the defensive line:
Saban on the D-line: "The first group played fairly well. The second group was not that great. I didn't watch the film yet. I'm sure we'll find some good things they did and a lot of things that need to be fixed and corrected."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) March 30, 2019
On the kicking game:
Nick Saban on kicking game: “We are ahead of the game this year versus last season. We have a lot of guys that are buying into special teams.”
We have a freshman kicker (Will Reichard) who kicked and punted well today.
Reichard on point so far.
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) March 30, 2019
Oh, and don’t worry. He named a starter at quarterback, too:
Nick Saban said Tua Tagovailoa is the starter at QB.
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) March 30, 2019
On the QB rotation:
Nick Saban: "Tua is obviously the starter. Mac is the guy that has the most experience, got some playing time last year. … He's the guy that can execute the next as the next player."
Taulia Tagovailoa played some with the 2s. Paul Tyson also played in the scrimmage.
— TideSports.com (@TideSports) March 30, 2019
