Nick Saban opens up about approach to Alabama's second scrimmage

Alabama held its second spring scrimmage on Wednesday, just over a week before the A-Day spring game. It took place just five days after the first scrimmage — and Nick Saban talked about the difference in approach from the first one to the second.

Saban was asked about the “fundamental difference” between the first and second scrimmages for the coaching staff, and he compared it to the regular-season approach. During the season, Saban stresses the importance of the specific game his team is preparing to play. That’s how he looks at scrimmages.

“I don’t really know how to answer that question,” Saban told reporters in his Wednesday press conference. “What’s the fundamental difference in scrimmage one and scrimmage two? What’s the fundamental difference between game one and game two? Game one is the most important game when we’re playing game one, just like scrimmage one is the most important scrimmage when it’s scrimmage one. And scrimmage two, just like game two, is the most important game when you’re playing game two. So scrimmage two is the most important scrimmage when scrimmage two comes up.”

However, he noted there are still differences from the first scrimmage to the second. That comes from the atmosphere the coaches are creating. But part of playing in a scrimmage is playing making it feel like a game, and that’s Saban’s goal each time the Crimson Tide participate in one.

But scrimmages allow more freedom to try different things, and Saban said that’s part of the teaching process. The approach is still the same.

“I think that each time we do a scrimmage, we’re trying to create more of a game-like circumstance for the players,” Saban said. “The first scrimmage, we didn’t use the press box, for instance. We didn’t communicate as we would during a game. Maybe the next scrimmage, we do that. There are some little differences. Sometimes, we change up the situations in terms of doing other things that we didn’t do in the first scrimmage.

“But in terms of teaching progression, trying to get the players ready to do what we’re going to do in that particular scrimmage, it doesn’t really change a lot. The points of emphasis may change a bit, but approach to it doesn’t change much at all.”

Alabama is now one step closer to its annual A-Day spring game, which is coming up April 22 from Bryant-Denny Stadium.