Alabama coach Nick Saban spoke the media following the team’s fifth spring practice on Monday.
Here are the highlights from what he had to say, which was a lot in regards to a couple of his quarterbacks. Meanwhile, he also had some things to say about his youngsters and the play of his offensive line.
First off, he had some news.
Saban announces team's first scrimmage which set for Saturday, April 2.
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) March 28, 2016
Saban didn’t have anything surprising to say about junior Cooper Bateman, but he did have some praise for sophomore David Cornwell.
Saban on QB Cooper Bateman: "He certainly has the most knowledge of the offense. He has gotten the most reps with the ones."
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) March 28, 2016
#Bama CNS: QB David Cornwell's having a good spring so far. As good of an arm as anybody we've got. I think he's made a lot of progress.
— Ken Rogers (@DEBamabeat) March 28, 2016
Saban on QB David Cornwell: "He's having a good spring. He's bright and has a great arm. His accuracy is good."
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) March 28, 2016
Saban mentioned that the veterans came back after the weekend and “didn’t skip a beat,” but that wasn’t the case with the youngsters.
Saban is pretty critical of his younger players in their first practice post-Easter. Guess practice didn't go well.
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) March 28, 2016
Saban asked the players to “be honest with themselves on what we need to do to get where we want to go.” Right now, the problems seem to be in the fundamentals, but that’s to be expected.
Saban: "Right now, we have too many penalties and too many mental errors."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) March 28, 2016
Saban had some praise for the offensive front, including sophomores Lester Cotton and Ross Pierschbacher, who’s playing at center after playing guard last season. He also likes what left tackle Cam Robinson is bringing from a leadership standpoint.
#Bama CNS: A lot of O-lineman have potential to play. Lester Cotton has had a good spring. Ross has done a good job moving to center.
— Ken Rogers (@DEBamabeat) March 28, 2016
Saban said left tackle Cam Robinson (shoulder) has that alpha dog mentality you want to see in a leader.
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) March 28, 2016
Junior Da’Shawn Hand and senior Dalvin Tomlinson are filling in for senior Jonathan Allen on the other side of the ball as Allen recovers from shoulder surgery. Hand has caught Saban’s attention so far in the spring.
Saban: "With Jonathan Allen out, Hand and Dalvin Tomlinson are getting all the reps with the ones."
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) March 28, 2016
Saban on Da'Shawn Hand: "He's done a nice job. He's made a tremendous amount of progress. He's gotten bigger and strong."
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) March 28, 2016
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
