Nick Saban provides status update on Cameron Latu ahead of Texas game

Last week, Cameron Latu missed Alabama’s season opener against Utah State. It sounds like he’ll be able to play in Alabama’s Week 2 showdown with Texas, though.

During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Nick Saban said Latu is progressing well as he works his way back from a knee injury. He returned to practice last week and participated in warm-ups prior to the game against Utah State, but didn’t see any game action.

Saban said Latu is looking strong ahead of a big Week 2 matchup with Texas, though, and sounded optimistic about his chances of seeing the field.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“Good,” Saban said of how Latu looked in practice. “Doing well, 100%. Runs well, moves well. Practiced quite a bit last week. Thought he needed another week of practice. This will be his first game, so it’ll be a little different for him than some of the guys who got to play last week. But from a health standpoint, he’s ready to go.”

Last season, Latu played a big role in the Alabama tight end room, hauling in 26 receptions for 410 yards and eight touchdowns to help the Crimson Tide to the national championship game. He could be preparing for his season debut against Texas on Saturday at noon ET in Austin.

Nick Saban identifies difficulty stopping big plays from Texas offense

Nick Saban may know the architect of the Texas offense well in Steve Sarkisian. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t weary regarding slowing them down.

With tremendous talent littered throughout the field, Saban recognizes the Longhorns have the ability to create big plays. On Wednesday, the Alabama leader spoke to that point, and how he’s hoping to slow his opponents down.

“I think the first thing is they have great balance,” Saban said on Wednesday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference. “They do a really good job of running the ball. A lot of these big plays that they make come off of the run game with really good play action passes that are vertical, down the field type patterns that are not always easy to cover. They do a good job in formation and motion, making you adjust when they’re taking those shots. And they’ve got good players to do it.

“So that combination of those things. But the fact that they have great balance, you just can’t be one-dimensional against them, you’ve got to try to stop the running back. And then they take shots with some really good skill players in a really good scheme.”