TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s depth chart day has been delayed. For the first time since taking over the Crimson Tide in 2007, Nick Saban elected not to share a depth chart on the first game-week Monday of the season.

"There's a lot of competition on the team," Saban explained of his decision not to release a depth chart. "When we put a depth chart out, you all think that's like final. This is etched in stone. It's going to be this way forevermore. Just because we come out of fall camp and that's where it is. It creates a lot of distractions on our team and guys thinking, 'Well this guy won the job now and I'm not going to play' or whatever. And quite frankly, we don't need that."

Alabama will open its season on Saturday when it takes on Middle Tennessee State at 6:30 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. While the Tide has several position battles still up for grabs, the biggest question surrounding the team still revolves around who will line up behind center.

Saban has maintained that his quarterback battle will extend past this weekend’s opener, stating that he is still looking for one of his passers to take the decision out of his hands.

At the moment, TideIllustrated understands that redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe and redshirt freshman Ty Simpson appear to be the two leaders in the competition while Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner and true freshman Dylan Lonergan could serve as options down the road.

When asked Monday, Saban said he had no expectation for if he would use multiple quarterbacks in the opener.

“We’re going one day at a time. We’re repping the players. Even regardless of what happens in this game, it’s the same thing I told you guys before. Just because who starts in the first game doesn't mean you don't have to continue to compete throughout the season because the competition doesn’t end at the first game — at any position, including quarterback.

“My expectation is ‘What can we do to get them better today so we can play better the next day and the next day?’”

Aside from the quarterback position, Alabama has lingering position battles at left tackle, wide receiver, inside linebacker, STAR and safety. Last week, a university official told reporters to expect a depth chart to be provided inside the press box prior to Saturday's opener.