Nick Saban reveals Alabama's bowl practice schedule, why first few days are vital

With just more than two weeks until a Rose Bowl date in the College Football Playoff semifinals against Michigan, it’s time for Alabama to ramp up practice. And of course head coach Nick Saban has a plan for the coming weeks.

After a hectic time on the recruiting trail, Saban shared on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Friday that he and his staff are spending today dialing in the practice plan. They’ll begin with three days of more generic, camp-style football practices before getting into specific prep for the Wolverines.

Having some practices focused on fundamentals and techniques rather than on plays and game plan, Saban said, gives players a chance to get back in the groove after time off.

“One of the big things in bowl games, especially when you’ve had some time off, is getting the techniques right. Tackling is a big thing in bowl games because guys haven’t played for a while. So we spend three days on that and after three days then we’ll go through a regular week here and do the same thing once we get out there,” Saban said.

It’s also a chance to get young players more padded practices, including mid-year enrollees from high school.

But there is a balance to be struck, ultimately, between the players Saban wants to develop for years on and the players he and his staff need to coach up for the next game — or two.

“Well especially in these first three days. I mean once you get past these first three days, you’ve gotta get back to coaching the guys that can play in the game. One of the new rules that I think is really good for young guys is you can actually come to bowl practice now if you’re a mid-year graduate that’s starting school in January. So we’ll have some of those guys in here, it’ll be a good experience for them to get acclimated to what college practice is like, college preparation is like. Fundamentals, scheme, all that type of thing,” Saban said.

He continued: “But once we get past these first three days, we’ve gotta focus pretty much on the guys that can play in the game. But, there is a lot of fundamental work that the young guys get because they’re practicing, much better than if they’re not out there practicing for, I think we’ll have 11 or 12 practices for this game.”