Nick Saban shares where his focus will be during A-Day, how that will impact summer training

The Alabama Crimson Tide football team is gearing up for its A-Day and spring game on Saturday, which will wrap up spring ball for this year. As Alabama prepares for A-Day, head coach Nick Saban broke down what exactly he’s looking for, and also how the results on Saturday will impact the team’s preparation entering the summer.

Ultimately, Saban is looking to evaluate the growth of the players participating in Alabama’s A-Day in game-like situations. Not every player on the roster will be on the field, but the game will provide an important evaluation for Saban and his staff.

“Look, I think spring ball is a time where you’re trying to develop your team,” Saban said. “Obviously, we’re going to have several guys that aren’t going to play in the spring game which could have a huge impact on what kind of team we really have next year. But I think the biggest thing is to be able to see the experience and growth of the players who are involved in the spring game.

“To find out how many guys on our team can really play winning football and also to be able to evaluate where guys are in a game-like situation.”

Saban on Alabama’s A-Day: ‘This is just part of the process’

Ultimately, Saban doesn’t put too much stock into what happens during A-Day for Alabama. While he will undoubtedly be paying close attention and evaluating what happens, he also understands that this is just another part of the evaluation process.

The results will help Saban and Alabama figure out areas to improve upon during the summer and preseason months, and could help the team also evaluate some potential positions in need of an upgrade.

“So it doesn’t really matter, I mean this is just part of the process of what we’re going through to develop our team,” said Saban. “It may contribute to changes we feel like we have to make, whether it’s schematically or personnel wise. It may contribute to things we want to do in the summer to strengthen an individual or an individual position or give us an indication of where we need to try to improve our personnel. So I think it’s all the above, but it’s just the beginning, it’s not the end point of where you are. It’s where you are and what you have to do to get where you want to go.”