A-Day Postgame Quotes
4/21/2018 4:27:00 PM | Football
Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening Statement
"All in all, we made a lot of progress this spring. I'm pleased with the progress we have made in positions in terms of player improvement. I'm not necessarily satisfied where we are, and I don't think anyone on our team should be satisfied where we are. I hope every individual can point to something that can improve their performance. The biggest thing moving forward that we would like the players to focus on is the individual improvements the players need to make, so they have the best opportunity to out-perform the people they have to play against next year. That starts with our first game against Louisville, but we will have great competition all year long in our league, so whoever we have to play against should be about the players and what they are looking to do because the individual's ability to do so will determine how strong our team will be. The individuals on our team will make the team what it is.
"This next five or six weeks coming up in college football is the time where players are away from each other more than any other time of the year. We work out in the summer time. We have off-season program in the winter time. We have spring practice in the spring. We have the season in the fall, but finishing finals is the most important thing right now.
"It was difficult this spring with some of the players we had out that are really good leaders and guys that really impact other people, but that created an opportunity for other players to have to step up and do that, and I was pleased with the progress we made in those areas. All in all, we made a lot of progress this spring and I'm not completely satisfied where we are, but I'm certainly excited about the opportunities that we have to try and improve over the summer and the individuals over the next five weeks. We're looking to have a strong team coming into fall camp, with individuals that are looking to play winning football."
On assessment of the quarterbacks today
"I think the second offense was better than the second defense and when I say better, they were better all the way around. They were better in pass protection and production in performance, which is why they won the game. I was not disappointed in the way Jalen (Hurts) played. We have some guys that can rush, and even though we were rushing four guys most of the time, there was way too much pressure in the pocket for the quarterback to be able to operate like we would like. Jalen made some good plays and throws, and I'm sure if you were to talk to him he would say, 'I wish there were things I did better and can improve on.' We've been very pleased with the progress that Mac Jones has made, so that gives us more depth at that position."
On what you look for from a spring game perspective
"The big thing I look for is we obviously try and simplify the game for the players. We had five or six different calls they could have made on defense and most of them were basic calls. We limit the formations and plays that we can run on offense, so that we would get better execution. When I'm looking there, I'm looking at how well we executed fundamentally because in the end, that's what makes you play winning football. There were times when we executed very well, and obviously there were times we had negative plays and could have done better. All in all, I feel pretty good about what I saw out there today, but we obviously have some areas of our team that lack depth, so we are going to need to fix those with either players coming in or to improve the players we have. That's the only options that we have, and that's certainty what we're going to work on."
#14, Deionte Thompson, DB
On overall thoughts on A-Day performance
"We did a lot of things that were good, and we have some things that we have to work on. Overall, this was a good spring and we capped it off with a good spring game."
On progress the team has made
"We have made some progress, but there are things we have to work on in every position. We will work on that this summer and bring it into camp, and we will be ready in the fall when the season starts."
#34 Damien Harris, RB
On coming up short and going against the tough defense
"We have the best defense in the country, year-in-and-year-out. We made a lot of big plays, good runs and good passes, but they were a great defense and it's hard to finish in the red zone. That is just one thing that we have to continue to improve on. We thought last year that finishing in the red zone was one area where we needed to work. So that might be something that we need to continue to improve on."
On personal areas of improvement
"The first thing is my leadership. Now that I am the old guy on the team, I have to positively affect everyone on the team. I have to be that guy that brings a lot of energy and point people in the right direction. The biggest thing for me is how I positively affect people and how I can become a better leader."
