re: Spring Practice News/Discussion Thread

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama returned to the practice field Tuesday for its first practice of its 2017 spring football season. And four Crimson Tide players were limited by injuries.

Running backs Bo Scarbrough (leg) and B.J. Emmons (foot), linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton (knee) and defensive back Jared Mayen (hip) all sported black, no-contact jerseys during the media viewing portion of Tuesday’s practice. And Nick Saban explained why after the inaugural spring practice.

“Jared Mayden had a hip injury from last season that required surgery, so he’s going to be limited throughout the spring and probably will be able to participate very little but should have a full recovery,” Saban said during a post-practice press conference.

“Shaun Dion Hamilton had an ACL in the SEC Championship Game, so he’s doing some things … running but probably will also be limited throughout the spring. But we also anticipate a full recovery (for him).

“B.J. Emmons and Bo Scarbrough are both guys that are doing individual drills, are able to do some things and probably will make progress throughout the spring and probably be able to go in a short period of time.”

Scarbrough sustained a broken fibula in the Tide’s loss to Clemson in the national title game in January, while Hamilton tore his ACL in Alabama’s SEC Championship win over Florida.

Emmons sprained his foot prior to the LSU game and missed the rest of his true freshman season. The rising sophomore tailback has had two surgeries on his injured foot since then, with the most recent occurring in early February of this year.

Scarbrough and Emmons’ limitations create opportunities for Alabama’s freshman duo at the running back position this spring in five-star Najee Harris and four-star Brian Robinson.

Mayden’s injury was also sustained last season. The rising sophomore defensive back spent his first year in crimson as a reserve. But Saban said all four players will be able to bounce back.

“They’re all doing very well,” Saban said, “and I don’t think we have any issues with that.”

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Reviewing some comments and an attempt at reading between the lines following Alabama head coach Nick Saban's Tuesday press conference.

Saban on injuries: "Four players that I know you’re probably interested in: Jared Mayden had a hip injury from last season that required surgery, so he’s going to be limited throughout the spring and probably will be able to participate very little but should have a full recovery. Shaun Dion Hamilton had an ACL in the SEC Championship Game, so he’s doing some things -- running but probably will also be limited throughout the spring. But we also anticipate a full recovery. B.J. Emmons and Bo Scarbrough are both guys that are doing individual drills, are able to do some things and probably will make progress throughout the spring and probably be able to go in a short period of time. They’re all doing very well, and I don’t think we have any issues with that."

What we think it means: With the exception of Mayden, nothing particularly surprising about Saban's injury update. The expectation for the rest of the players he mentioned was either limited or out altogether for the start of spring ball. Given their respective injuries, it sounds like Hamilton, Emmons and Scarbrough are on track to be ready to go when it matters the most.

Also, consider no news to be good news where prior ailments to running back Najee Harris (meniscus) and offensive lineman Joshua Casher (broken foot) are concerned. There was some question about whether either of the two would be ready to go for the start of spring drills. Apparently, both have made enough progress to participate at or near full go.

Saban on Trevon Diggs working in the secondary: “[Diggs is] an experiment we wanted to go through and see. Look, it’s two-fold. A, we can see what he can do and he can learn a position if we had issues later on from a depth standpoint, he would know enough to go over and be an emergency player and play both ways if he was playing offense later on. This is the time to sort of try to do that.”

What we think it means: If you simply connected some dots like I did earlier in the week, Diggs getting work in the secondary during the spring made plenty of sense. After all, he worked back there in fall camp last August and that was during a time when depth wasn't as big of a concern as it is now.

Diggs has the size and athleticism needed to play either safety or corner, but so do a lot of guys. As much as anything, the coaching staff must think he also has the mental aptitude needed to handle working on both sides of the ball.

As far as how the experiment might ultimately play out, Saban's "play both ways" comment was especially interesting. Is depth in the secondary a big enough of a concern to eventually force Diggs to defense full-time? Hard to envision that being the route for a guy with No. 1 receiver talent, something Saban will still want to make use of on offense -- even if Diggs is also needed in the secondary (and the return game, for that matter) at some point in the future.

Saban on the secondary: "Working out there today was [Minkah Fitzpatrick] and [Anthony Averett] at corner, Tony Brown is playing corner and star, and we have two freshmen safeties — really three freshmen safeties — that are all midyear guys and they’re all working in there as well. [Ronnie Harrison] is back, [Hootie Jones] played a significant amount last year after [Eddie Jackson] got hurt. So we do have some experience, but it’s going to take awhile for us to sort of see which combinations of guys in regular, nickel and dime work best for us.”

What we think it means: So there's your starting point for the 2017 secondary. The biggest question had to do with where Fitzpatrick would line up on Tuesday. While I tend to lean toward Fitzpatrick and the defense being better served with him at safety, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Saban is emphasizing experience across the board early on.

After all, once you get past the five guys he outlined above, not much in the way of game experience down the depth chart. Again, though, it's merely a starting point and the emergence of a young player or two could have the back end looking somewhat different by Labor Day weekend.

Saban on the possibility of changing offensive approach: “There was nothing … we didn’t block [Clemson], we didn’t execute very well, we didn’t throw the ball accurately when we had open people and a couple of times we dropped it. I think it was more a lack of execution than it was something schematically that we were doing. And that’s on us as coaches and not to blame anybody but us for not having the players more prepared. The defense also needs to get theirselves off the field on third down so they don’t have to play as many plays. So it was a combination of things. But I do think we could have executed a lot better in that particular game, and I think most players would probably tell you that on both sides of the ball. Not to take anything away from Clemson, but it is what it is.”

“As we always do we’re going to self-assess what we did through quality control, what we did well, what we need to improve on, visit people, try to get better at the things we need to do better.

“But philosophically, I don’t know where you came up with we’re going to go to ‘ball control.’ That’s not what we do. I mean, the New England Patriots threw the ball over 60 percent of the time, which was more than we threw it (last season). So where does that assumption come from? Or do you do what everybody else in the media does and just create some shite and throw it on the wall and see what sticks, which is what I see happening everywhere. And the people who scream the loudest, they kind of get the attention and we pass some rule that everybody has to live with, or some law, and the consequences mess up a lot of other things. We do it all the time. We’re doing it right now. The NCAA is doing it, we’re going to change the way we have summer camps where we can’t have high school coaches working summer camps. I mean, it’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen, but it is what it is and whatever they do, they do. So we say we don’t want third parties dealing with players, so we’re not going to let the high school coach bring a guy to camp, but some third party guy can bring them to camp now. It makes no sense at all.

“But all the people who have common sense don’t say anything about it, but the people who scream the loudest get the thing changed and mess everything up. That’s the way it goes, that’s the way it goes in the world of politics, just the way it goes. The same thing with you (saying) we’re going to be more conservative now with a ball control offense. Where did that come from? I never said that, nobody in this building ever said that. So where did you come up with that? Have a dream about it or what? If we had caught some passes in the national championship game when we had guys open we wouldn’t have had to control the ball, we would have scored more touchdowns.”

What we think it means: Spring is a time for hanging sliders and Saban got one to his liking on Day 1.

Not much to add to that baby. I mean, he covered everything from the loss to Clemson to the run-pass ratio of the New England Patriots in 2016 to a rule change that will impact the way he goes about staffing his summer camps.

Heck, he even dropped an S bomb in there for good measure. Speaking of which, I'm left to wonder which rant was better: "SH!T through a tin horn" or "SH!T on the wall". We're big on polls around here these days so we'll leave it up to you guys and gals to decide.

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2. A new identity under a new coordinator

Via ESPN: Speaking of Hurts’ new offensive coordinator, it’s time to learn more about former New England Patriots assistant Brian Daboll. We know he got his start under Saban at Michigan State, learned under the wing of Bill Belichick in New England and had mixed results on his own as an offensive coordinator in the NFL with the Chiefs, Dolphins and Browns. But given that it has been two decades since he last sniffed the college game, how much do we really know about the former college defensive back? He may sport five Super Bowl rings and have Tom Brady on speed dial, but there’s going to be a learning curve adjusting to a younger athlete. Saban said at Alabama’s pro day earlier this month that Daboll is learning some spread concepts. How he picks up on the hurry-up and meshes it with his pro-style background will be a source of constant interest throughout camp.

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3. Reloading on defense

Via ESPN: Notice how we used the term “reloading” instead of rebuilding? Not many teams can say that when they’re losing seven starters to the NFL. But not many teams recruit like Alabama. Thanks to a decade’s worth of top-three signing classes, Saban and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt have plenty of talent to work with. Stars such as safety Ronnie Harrison, cornerback Anthony Averett and linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton are back. Vets such as defensive end Da’Shawn Hand and outside linebacker Christian Miller are expected to take on bigger roles. And youngsters such as Ben Davis, Terrell Hall and Dylan Moses could go from freshmen to household names overnight. While there's nothing simple about replacing a Jonathan Allen or a Reuben Foster, Saban and Pruitt have plenty of options to give it a try.

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“It was incredible. It’s great every time I go,” Quick told BamaOnLine. “Today was better than others. It was really, really good.”

Having the opportunity to watch the Tide practice was a moment that made this trip stand out compared to others.

“They look really good, especially for a first practice,” Quick said. “I think they’re going to have a really good year again this year. It was great getting to watch those guys. It’s awesome to know they can get those guys in every year. Their depth on the offensive line is great. Alex Leatherwood, he’s a big dude. He’s going to do really good at Alabama.

“I think the offense this year is going to be better than any year. It looks really good.”

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If there were questions about Jalen Hurts' place in Alabama's offense, Nick Saban put it to rest Tuesday evening.

Asked about the Crimson Tide's quarterback situation after the first spring practice, Saban touched on the experience that returns from 2016. He started with Hurts, the reigning SEC offensive player of the year, then mentioned the two true freshmen who entered the mix.

"The other two guys who are freshmen, they're going to have to grow into being adequate backups by the fall," Saban said. "This is the least amount of experience we've ever had at quarterback, regardless of having a starter back. But I like all the guys, I like their attitude and I think they all three have a lot of potential to really be good players."

Those two freshmen -- Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones -- completed their first college practice when the spring schedule began Tuesday. Of course, Hurts was in their exact position this time a year ago only to win the starting job by September.

The difference is Hurts is the first returning starter since AJ McCarron in 2013. His rise to the starting job led to the transfers of Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman and David Cornwell.

So, instead of a competition for the starting job, there's a new challenge with a different quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll.

"Well, we have one year of experience - all of our quarterbacks combined," Saban said. "So that's more of a dynamic than having the starting quarterback back."

That's true.

But unlike the one-year tenures of Blake Sims and Jake Coker, Hurts will have a chance to build on his maiden campaign with a subsequent spring practice.

"I think that because we do have a starting quarterback coming back, it's easier for us to self-assess what we need to do for him, with him, to help him, to coach him so that he can develop in areas that would be helpful to him becoming even more of a complete player - mostly in the passing game," Saban said. "That's something that we're going to work hard on in the spring and also in fall. If he could do that and be sort of a dual-threat guy, I think it would be really, really difficult for defenses to defend him."

Tagovailoa arrived in January as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2016 signing class. He was quick to downplay any speculation about a competition brewing with Hurts.

"Oh yeah. I mean, (he was) amazing," Tagovailoa on signing day Feb. 1. "He won offensive player of the year for the SEC. Just a lot of the intangibles that this guy has, some aren't even coachable. So, I think he's a great player. He's a better person off the field than what he does on the field."

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