Few Takeaways From Spring Practice

Spring practice is finally back in full swing after a much anticipated wait for Alabama football fans following the 2 losses to end the season last year. Coach Saban and the Tide have started working to try to get everything corrected and back on the good side of the win-loss column for next season. Even with just a few days back into things, we are already hearing some positive things coming out with the various reports thus far.

Spring Practice Video From BamaOnline

According to BamaOnline, freshman cornerback Tony Brown is getting some reps with the first team and it seems he is not taking as much heat from correcting play and techniques as some of the other cornerbacks on  the roster. According to Saban at his presser, Brown is expected to miss a few days of spring practice with track events.

Reggie Ragland and Trey DePriest have been working side by side at the inside linebacker spot but Reuben Foster has been sticking out there as well.

During Saban’s press conference this afternoon, he spoke highly of Amari Cooper saying that he has had a phenomenal spring so far. Dillon Lee, who is looking to fill an empty position in front of him, also received some praise from Saban.

"“I think Dillon Lee will be a really good player for us,” Saban said. “I think he has a good understanding of what we want him to do. He runs well. He’s got good size and plays good block protection, especially at the line of scrimmage. We feel like he can be a very good player and competing for a starting job right now. We’re confident that if he wins that job, he’ll be able to do an outstanding job for us.”"

According to two players, they are definitely seeing more hunger in the players. Quotes via BamaOnline

"“It’s been very positive,” Denzel Devall said. “We’ve got lots of guys going down the right path. We’re just getting better. I like the way things are going, so we’re going to keep it positive.”“Guys are just a lot more hungry,” linebacker Trey Depriest said. “We didn’t finish the season like we wanted to. Guys knew that and they just took a different approach to it, and are trying to get back to the standard to how we do stuff.”"

And then there is the quote from Saban via Al.com

"“First day in pads is always a little more challenging, a little more difficult, tests everyone’s mettle a little bit,” Saban said. “Obviously, makes it easy to see the guys that overcome a little adversity and continue to execute, do their job, have the discipline to pay attention to detail. Some of the other guys obviously have to mature a little bit more.“I think that immature people and immature players sort of think that life’s going to give into their demands. Mature people know that I have to give into life’s demands. If you really want to advance in this world, you’ve got to kind of do what you need to do to be successful, and most of the time that gets defined by somebody else.”"

It’s always hard to tell if Saban is just giving a pre-warning to the team to fire them up and keep them straight or if he is sending a message to a certain player or a group of players. He will never names even if he is sending a message. After the way last season ended and with the bad taste I am sure it left in the mouths of the returning players, I don’t think the coaching staff will have to fight complacency this year. As long as the players can remain focused and get all the little things right, we should be in a great position once again.

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