Nick Saban addresses returning talent during Alabama Pro Day

As NFL executives gathered to watch Alabama’s Pro Day on Wednesday, Nick Saban took a look at the past, present and future of the program. With a long history of producing NFL talent, he spoke with SEC Network’s Chris Doering about how the former players help the future, among other things.

During that conversation, Nick Saban discussed the scarcity of players on the field and what that means for Alabama’s returning talent for the 2022 season.

“I think that we had kind of a young team last year,” said Saban. “We would’ve had nine starters back on offense and nine back on defense, now we have five back on offense and seven back on defense so we had six guys go out early.

“I’m happy for them and I want them to do well, but it creates opportunities for other players, that are you players, to develop and have a significant role on the team. But it’s also a challenge for those guys coming back to sort of embrace the challenge of being able to help those guys – set a good example for them so they can develop the way we’d like for them to – so they can play with great consistency and performance.”

Alabama brings back Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young, along with defensive superstar Will Anderson to provide not only talent but leadership on the field for one more year before they participate in their own Pro Day next in 2023. Some scouts got a sneak peak at that day when Bryce Young delivered passes to Slade Bolden and Brian Robinson during the trill portion of the day.

Nick Saban on returning Alabama players

While the large amount of returning talent in the lineup makes Alabama the early title favorites in the eyes of many experts, Nick Saban says it does now allow the coaching staff to cut corners in the preparation process.

“It depends, we probably have more veteran guys returning on defense than we do on offense,” said Saban. “And I think that the defense can probably absorb it a little quicker and you can put it in a little faster. Where on offense, maybe with more younger player we need to be a little more patient in terms of how we do things so that everybody can keep moving in the right direction without getting overly confused about just the volume of information that you can really throw at these guys very quickly in spring practice.”