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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban spoke to the media Thursday for the final time before Alabama concludes its spring camp with its annual A-Day game on Saturday inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium.
As usual, Saturday’s scrimmage will be between the Crimson Team (first-team offense/second-team defense) and the White Team (first-team defense/second-team offense). Here are five things we learned from Nick Saban’s news conference leading up to A-Day.
Don't Miss: What to watch at A-Day | Weekend Visitors
Injury report
As many as four players could sit out A-Day due to injury. Thursday, Saban ruled out offensive lineman Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle), outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (ACL) and inside linebacker Ben Davis (shin) while listing tight end Major Tennison as questionable as he goes through concussion protocol.
Lewis has been held out for most of the spring as he continues to rehab from an ACL injury that sidelined him all of last season. Saban said the redshirt junior was “getting really, really better, but there’s no sense making him play right now.” Davis has been out all spring after having shin-splint surgeries earlier this year. Both he and Lewis were seen wearing black, no-contact jerseys during practice Thursday.
Wills missed his second straight practice Thursday after spraining his ankle during Alabama’s second scrimmage over the weekend. While the offensive lineman won’t participate in A-Day, his injury did not need surgery.
Saban also commented on defensive back Shyheim Carter, who has worked with the secondary in a no-contact jersey this spring after undergoing a sports hernia surgery.
“Shyheim, coming back from the injury is not 100 percent,” Saban said. “He's still not 100 percent speed-wise. I think he's cleared to play but I don't think he can run quite as fast as he used to. He'll eventually get there.”
Counting Stars
With Carter limited, Alabama has experimented with several options at the Star position. Thursday, Saban said that four players — Trevon Diggs, Patrick Surtain II, Jared Mayden and Jalyn Armour-Davis — have worked in the role at various times this spring.
“I think the key thing right now is, get these guys trained to play these positions that aren't normal corner and safety positions so when we have to play nickel and dime, you've got people trained to do it,” Saban said. “If one guy goes down, you're not in bad shape when you can't get the right guys on the field. So what we've done so far is to create flexibility in how we can play in the secondary relative to trying to get the best players on the field in the best position. But I don't think it's critical to make a decision on what the best fit is right yet."
Carter started 12 games at Star last season leading all Alabama defensive backs with an 88.4 defensive grade according to Pro Football Focus. This spring the senior has also spent time with the safeties alongside Xavier McKinney.
“Shy is a smart dude. You could put Shy anymore, and he’ll get it like that,” McKinney said earlier this month. “Since I’ve got here, he’s known the defense all the way around like the back of his hand. For him, he picks up on stuff pretty fast. You don’t really have to tell him a whole bunch of stuff. He’s pretty much a fast learner.”
Center of attention
Alabama’s offensive line will likely continue to shift due to a combination of injuries, suspensions and experiments. Perhaps the most vital position to the unit comes up the middle where the team will look to find a replacement for departing center Ross Pierschbacher.
Earlier this spring, Saban mentioned center as an area he was looking to develop. Thursday, he provided an update on how that progress was coming along.
“Chris Owens has done a really good job there,” Saban said. “He has done a really good job when he’s job when he’s had to play there. (Darrian) Dalcourt looks like he’s a young guy that could be a good center somewhere down the road, at some point in time. We’ve got a lot of guys that can play the position, and I’m pleased with the progress they’ve made.
“Chris Owens has really shown a lot of leadership and really worked hard this spring. I think his teammates have a lot of confidence in him, but we’re going to keep on trying to get those guys to play better and better and better as we go.
Saban stated that he was pleased with the players he has in the offensive line unit and is now focused on figuring out the best combination for next year. Whatever, the head coach decides on for the fall could end up switching again once starting left guard Deonte Brown serves out the remainder of his four-game suspension.
Tight (end) competition
One area where Alabama does not have much depth is at the tight end position as the Crimson Tide lost both its starters from last year in Irv Smith Jr. and Hale Hentges. No tight end on Alabama’s roster recorded a reception last season. However, Saban remains optimistic with what he’s seen from the unit.
“Miller Forristall had a good spring. Really shown a lot of leadership in what he does,” Saban said. “Cameron Latu has made a lot of progress at the position and I certainly think could develop into being a pretty good player there. Major Tennison was having a good spring before he had an injury. Kedrick James has been out there practicing and he’s got a chance to make a contribution. Everybody’s developing. Everybody’s working hard. So we just keep on keeping on, trying to make those guys better.
Forristall is the most experienced member of the unit. The redshirt junior was previously regarded as one of the team’s most promising prospects before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in 2017.
Latu made the switch from outside linebacker to tight end this spring, while Tennison redshirted last year. James will be suspended for the first four games of the season but is viewed as a possible impact player at the position. Walk-on Giles Amos has also had a productive spring.
Special treatment
One of the biggest points of interest Saturday will be special teams as Alabama has open competitions for both its kicker and punter positions. The Crimson Tide returns sophomore punter Skyler DeLong and redshirt sophomore kicker Joseph Bulovas and brings in freshman Will Reichard, who has the ability to handle both kicking and punting duties. Thursday, Saban revealed how he plans to approach the kicking game on Saturday.
"I think the goal is to make sure that we have a couple of guys punt,” Saban said. "And I think we want to make sure we have a couple of guys get opportunities to kick field goals. I’m not as concerned about what team they’re on. We’ve had it in the past where when we have an established player at those positions, he just does all the punting and all the kicking. That’s not how we’re going to handle it in this scrimmage. I think there’ll be two punters that punt and there’ll be at least two field goal kickers that get opportunities to kick.”
Last season, Alabama missed an SEC-worst nine extra-point attempts. The Crimson Tide was just as inept in the punting game where it ranked 128 of 130 NCAA Division I teams, averaging 35.76 yards per attempt.
