Good morning, Tide fans! Welcome to our Monday edition of Alabama Morning Drive. I hope each of you had a fantastic weekend as we continue to inch closer and closer to the start of the 2022 college football season.
On Saturday, head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama football team went inside Bryant Denny Stadium to participate in the first scrimmage of fall camp.
As is customary, coach Saban addressed members of the media following the scrimmage to provide some quick commentary on the events of the day.
Let’s take a few moments this morning to quickly recap what coach Saban had to say about the scrimmage and the progress he has seen so far through fall camp.
On the offensive line
Offensive lineman JC Latham (65) works against offensive lineman Kendall Randolph (60) as Crimson Tide players work on drills in practice Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]
Alabama Practice
“Well, it’s really hard to evaluate, but I thought the first offensive line was improved. I thought the second offensive line struggled. Struggled in protection, struggled to run the ball. But I was encouraged by the running backs and some of the plays that they were able to make, some of the runs that they were able to run. So I would say all in all I thought the first line made some improvement. I thought the second line struggled a little bit at times, but I think every unit had its ups and downs. And I think that’s what I’m talking about when I talk about maintaining consistency.”
On what situational drills they worked on during the scrimmage
White team quarterback Bryce Young (9) rolls away from pressure during Alabama’s spring NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Saturday, April 17, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Gary Cosby/The Tuscaloosa News via AP)
“Well, we did move the field like a game probably for 25 plays for the first offense, 25 plays for the second offense, same thing for the defensive guys. We did a third down period. We did a red zone period. We did a goal line period. We did a coming-out period. We actually did a fastball period and two-minute period. So those are all the situations we covered. But the first 50-something plays, the threes also got an opportunity in move the field-type situations. So I think those are things that give you more of the flow of the game. And I think in the next scrimmage, we’ll want the scrimmage to be more game-like.”
On the struggles in short-yardage situations last season
Jan 10, 2022;…