What Nick Saban said about Alabama's QB battle after first practice
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Nick Saban knew the question(s) was coming, so he addressed it right away in his opening statement. Shortly after Alabama exited the practice field on Thursday, the 17th-year coach spoke to local reporters and shared the latest on the quarterback battle.
“Every day I’m going to tell you the same thing: everybody’s getting reps at the position,” Saban said. “Somebody’s got to take the bull by the horns. Somebody’s got to separate themselves. When that happens, we’ll tell you. Will be glad to tell you. When we’re going to take the cake out of the oven, we’re going to tell you when it’s time. But until then, there’s really nothing to talk about, nothing to say. Not a whole lot of sense in asking about, because we want all the guys when they’re in there, you play the position like it’s yours. Like it belongs to you.
“You’re out there competing. You’re not looking over your shoulder, you’re not looking at what somebody else does. You’re playing like you’re the man. That’s what we want each guy to do and see who can do that with the most consistency. So it’s important. You’ve got to be processed-oriented. You can’t be outcome-oriented right now, you’ve got to be process-oriented because that’s what you want to help your players to have the kind of consistency is you need to play winning football at the position, which is ultimately what we’re looking for.”
The biggest question surrounding this season’s Alabama team is the quarterback position with two-year starter Bryce Young turning pro after the 2022 season. In the spring, Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson battled for the job, but Saban felt it was necessary to add another player to the mix by way of Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner once the spring season wrapped up.
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There was one question about the quarterbacks after the Tide’s first preseason practice, and it was about the new guy and his ties to Alabama’s new offensive coordinator, Tommy Rees.
“Tommy knew the guy better than anybody could know him,” Saban said. “I mean, he coached him for a couple years. The guy was injured last year, so he didn’t get as much experience. I think he started two games and played fairly well, so we got the opportunity to see that. But Tommy knows him better than anybody else could. I think you always know a player when you coach them. You know what his strengths. You know what he needs to improve on.
“I still think that he’s probably getting comfortable with the system. There’s some new terminology in it. And I think he’s probably still getting comfortable with the players around him because the other guys have been with those guys a little more. But I do think there’s really good competition at the position.”
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