Nick Saban sends message to Alabama fans ahead of A-Day
Nick Saban and Alabama are getting ready for their annual A-Day spring game this weekend. Ahead of the event, the Crimson Tide headman shared a message to Alabama fans.
Despite the fact that the game’s on Easter weekend, Saban encouraged fans to come out and support his team. After all, the players like playing in front of a full house, and Saban said they’d certainly appreciate it if fans can fill Bryant-Denny Stadium for the game.
“For us to have a great crowd on Saturday, regardless of what the weather is, to support the players, to support the team, I think this sends a huge message of what our passion and our desire and support that we have for having a great program,” Saban said. “I know it’s a holiday weekend. Sorry that the calendar worked out this way. But we certainly love having a great crowd there.
“The players really, really enjoy it. They love playing for you, and I think it really shows your support for them and the program. So we’d appreciate y’all coming out for A-Day.”
Nick Saban outlines plan, format for A-Day ahead of this weekend
Prior to A-Day, Nick Saban outlined the plan and format for the game. He said he’s not doing too much different from what he’s done the last few years, but the goal remains the same. It’s all about getting the players experience in a game-like setting — and good matchups are going to be key.
“The first offense is on one team with the second defense,” Saban said Thursday. “The first defense is on the other team with the second offense. So the ones play against the ones, the twos play against the twos. I’ve done A-Day games like 15 different ways, and [if] you get mismatches in the game, it can ruin the game. This is the best way that the good players play against the good players, the most experienced players play against the most experienced players. It’s more challenging for them. It’s better for us in terms of evaluation, and I think it’s more game-like, which is really the ultimate goal out of A-Day.
“Even though the coaching staff’s split up, we want to get bench organization for the game. We want players to go through what they go through in pregame, what they go through in halftime. This is kind of an exhibition game type experience that we want to try to utilize the best we can so it helps our team grow and develop. Obviously, we try to simplify things so we’re not really showing anything exotic to our opponents, but it’s also a better way for us to be able to evaluate all the players because hopefully, the simplicity helps them know what to do so they can play fast, be physical and have fun.”