Nick Saban satisfied with growth from wide receivers throughout spring

The wide receiver position has been one of the most successful as of late at Alabama, with a standard set high by a multitude of first-round draft picks that have sported the crimson and white. Alabama’s new wave of wideouts was on display on Saturday during the team’s A-Day Spring Game, which signified the end of spring practice for the Crimson Tide. The wide receiver group did have a handful of drops during the spring game, but afterwards, head coach Nick Saban evaluated his wide receiver room.

“We’re looking at the big picture, so we’re looking at the 15 days in total of how those guys played,” Saban explained. “Isaiah Bond had a really good spring, Ja’Corey Brooks had a really good spring, Jermaine Burton had a really good spring.”

Those names are ones that are familiar to Crimson Tide fans, as they each contributed to last years offense at the wide receiver position. But there are also some fresher faces that impressed Saban throughout spring practice and during A-Day, including junior college transfer Malik Benson and sophomore Emmanuel Henderson.

“I think number 11 who made some catches at the end of the game today has got a chance to be a real contributor,” Saban said. “24 is getting better all the time, made a really nice touchdown catch today.”

Benson was a four-star prospect ranked the No. 1 junior college player in the entire 2023 class according to On3’s Industry Ranking, and he looked like just that during A-Day, leading all receivers with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Henderson found the end zone as well after recording just one catch for the Crimson Tide last season, catching a 36-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe in the third quarter.

“So I think we’ve got the right combination of people at that position. We still need to pay better attention to detail and route running, and sort of get a better chemistry between quarterback-receiver so that we can develop confidence in the passing game,” Saban said.

Last season was the first time since 2017 that Alabama hasn’t had a 1,000-yard wide receiver. That 2017 season was also the last time the Crimson Tide hasn’t had a top 2 passing offense in the SEC, as they came in fourth in the conference last year.

The Crimson Tide may not have or need a box office, household-name wide receiver like they’ve had in seasons past, but if they can check all the boxes as a unit and be on the same page as their starting quarterback, then the passing attack can likely still be lethal in Tuscaloosa.