Nick Saban breaks down areas of growth for Amari Niblack

The Alabama Crimson Tide currently sit at 4-1 overall on the 2023 campaign and this weekend, they’ll take on the Texas A&M Aggies. Alabama legendary head coach Nick Saban took some time to speak with reporters on a number of topics on Wednesday evening, including the improvement of his sophomore tight end, Amari Niblack.

“He’s doing great. He’s a really good receiver. He’s improved as a blocker. This year, his confidence and knowledge of the offense and what he’s doing, how to do it, why it’s important to do that way is so much better. And I think it’s starting to show up in how productive he is on the field as a player,” Saban said.

Niblack’s improvement has shown up in the box score for the Crimson Tide. Heading into Week 6, he currently ranks third on the Alabama roster in receiving yardage with 158 yards. Niblack only trails Isaiah Bond (179 yards) and Jermaine Burton (189 yards). Last year as a freshman, he hauled in one 15-yard touchdown catch in limited action.

A dynamic athlete coming out of high school, Niblack was also a standout basketball player for the Lakewood Spartans. He had a career game against Hardee on Oct. 15th, 2020, with seven catches for 170 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He was one of the more highly regarded prospects in the 2022 cycle. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Niblack was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 89 overall player in America.

Nick Saban on the NCAA Transfer Portal window

The NCAA made changes the transfer portal window on Wednesday, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban offered his thoughts. It was announced that the window for players to transfer at the conclusion of the season will move from 45 days down to 30.

The spring portal window, which is currently set at 15 days, will remain unchanged. Saban was asked for his opinion on the matter at his weekly press conference, but admitted he wasn’t aware of the change so had little to say about it.

“I’m sure there was good reason to do what they did,” he said. “I’ve said before I’m all for players having rights to do the things they wanna do. I’m all for name, image, and likeness and guys being able to do things that create value for them. I’m not for just paying guys to play. That’s not what name, image and likeness was supposed to be. I don’t really know what they did today, so I really shouldn’t comment on it.”

Football isn’t the only sport affected by the NCAA’s changes to the transfer portal window. For men’s and women’s basketball, the window will be 45 days after selection Sunday. The change does not impact when a player can announce their decision to transfer, but only when they can officially enter their name in the portal database.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.