Notebook: Niblack highlights improved TE group, WRs create separation in season-opening win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama used four different tight ends early in its season-opening win over Middle Tennessee, and all six scholarship players at the position saw the field during the Crimson Tide’s 56-7 victory to start the 2023 campaign at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

After its conclusion, head coach Nick Saban explained why that group has improved.

“I think we have better tight ends on our team than we’ve had in the past,” Saban said. “CJ (Dippre) gives us something we haven’t had, which is a good, strong, solid blocker at Y. Amari (Niblack) is a really good pass receiver. He made a really nice catch down the middle today. He’s improved his blocking. Danny (Lewis) is a good blocker and a good Y. 

“Robbie Ouzts is kind of an H-back, old-fashioned fullback type of guy that can do certain things really well. So that group is, I think, much better than we’ve had in the last couple years.”

Lewis and Niblack were on the field for the home team’s first offensive snap, earning their first and second career starts, respectively. Both Dippre, the Maryland transfer, and Ouzts didn’t wait long to see their first game action, though, and the four players rotated before things got out of hand on the scoreboard. Their versatility helps, but having solid blockers is a plus.

“We’ve had to play an offensive tackle at tight end to be able to do some of the things that we’re doing now,” Saban said. “So I’m pleased with the progress that group has made, and hopefully, that’ll help us in the future. It’s hard to run the ball on the perimeter when you don’t have guys that can block at tight end. We’ve got power at tackle, so hopefully, we can continue to improve on how effectively we can run the ball, as well, because of those two things.”

Being able to assist in the run game is an important element of the tight end’s game, but so is catching passes. We had heard all offseason about Niblack being a mismatch player for the UA offense, and the sophomore showed signs of that in Week 1. He caught two passes for 49 yards and a touchdown Saturday, hauling in a 29-yard score from Jalen Milroe in the third quarter and making a fourth-quarter catch over the middle after Tyler Buchner bobbled a snap.

“I love him,” Milroe said of Niblack. “No. 1, how he approaches practice. You can really see in a guy how he approaches practices, just how he’s just grown overall. With the time we had in the offseason, just him being hungry, him hitting me up, saying, ‘Hey, let’s go watch some film. Hey, let’s go run some routes.’ I think that’s key, and it factors into what happened today.”

You gotta keep gettin’ separation

Alabama made some explosive plays in the passing game Saturday against the Blue Raiders. All three of Milroe’s touchdown passes were 29 yards or longer with the quarterback launching the ball downfield on all three throws. He might have had a fourth if not for a penalty.

Isaiah Bond was on the receiving end of the first touchdown, a 47-yard play that gave the Tide a 28-0 lead just before halftime. Bond, in his second year in the program, led the team in receiving with five catches for 76 yards and the score. The five catches were a career-high for Bond, and his 76 receiving yards were tied for his season-high last year at Arkansas, another game where Milroe played most of the first-team snaps at quarterback for those counting.

Jermaine Burton also had a big night with 62 yards and a 48-yard touchdown on three catches. His long scoring grab kicked off Alabama’s points in the second half. Eight UA players ended up with receptions in Week 1, with Kobe Prentice tying Burton with three catches. They “did a good job of getting open,” Saban said, but more importantly, there were no drops by wideouts in the win, something that was an issue for the receivers in the spring and summer.

But they will need to keep up both the efficiency and being able to create separation.

“Look, no disrespect to (MTSU),” Saban said. “They play hard. They’ve got a good team. They do a good of coaching. They present a lot of problems for you. But we’re gonna have to separate against a little different caliber of guy in the future, so that’s gonna be important that we keep working on that and understand that, and I think we’ll be fine.

“But I do think the receiver group has improved. I think there’s better depth. I think there’s more guys that can make plays. I think there’s more confidence. So I’m sort of pleased with the way that group has developed.”

In addition to the receiving corps needing to continue to get open against what will be tougher competition as early as Week 2, their quarterback knows being accurate on his deep throws is imperative for Alabama’s offense to be running at its maximum capability this season.

“That element of my game has to be there so we push and succeed throughout the year,” Milroe said.

Lowest penalty total in three years

Alabama was one of the most penalized teams in the nation last year, averaging 7.9 flags per game (tied for 126th among 130 FBS teams). Eliminating those has been a major emphasis for the Crimson Tide this offseason, and its effort seemed to pay off in the season opener.

Alabama was only flagged three times in the game, with two of them being accepted, for a total of 19 yards. The third was an illegal block penalty that was offset by one of Middle Tennessee’s miscues in the third quarter. The accepted fouls were a roughing the passer penalty on Jaheim Oatis in the second quarter and a holding call on Ja’Corey Brooks on a punt return.

The Tide didn’t commit a penalty on offense.

“Well, that’s one of the goals: play penalty-free, whether it’s special teams or offense, defense,” Saban said. “Don’t give the other team an advantage by giving away yards and field position and putting yourself in the hole with penalties, giving the other team first downs when you make undisciplined-type penalties. 

“You’re always gonna have some penalties in the game, but the pre-snap, line of scrimmage, undisciplined type of penalties, I think, are the things you really wanna focus on eliminating, and playing with good technique will eliminate other penalties.”

The two accepted penalties were the fewest for the Crimson Tide since its Dec. 12, 2020, game at Arkansas. Saban continued with his message to the players on the topic of penalties.

“One of the things I said to the players was, ‘If you really have confidence and you believe in yourself, do you have to jump offsides to win?’” Saban said. “‘Do you have to line up in the backfield to pass block? Do you have to hold a guy in coverage to be able to cover him? I don’t think anybody should think that they need to do any of those things. So let’s do it the right way.’ And I think they did a good job with that tonight.”

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