Alabama Football: Wednesday practice notes and Saban meets with media

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks during a press conference after the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks during a press conference after the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

Alabama football continued game prep for Fresno State on Wednesday. Afterward, Nick Saban reviewed the week’s progress and replacements for injured players.

Alabama football took advantage of a lovely early fall afternoon in west Alabama. The team worked on the Thomas-Drew practice fields in full pads on a 77-degree, low humidity day.

Injured players Anfernee Jennings, Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis were not seen during the media viewing period. Rashaan Evans, in a black jersey, did some conditioning work on the side of the field. After a small ankle problem on Tuesday, Jedrick Wills appeared to be at full speed.

Josh Jacobs appeared to be moving better in drills. Earlier in the day, on the SEC conference call, Saban said bringing Jacobs back too early was a concern due to the risk of aggravated injury.

During the media viewing period defensive end Da’Shawn Hand appeared to be working with the outside linebackers, along with true freshman defensive end, LaBryan Ray. More on this subject below.

There was no change in the offensive line first group. Trevon Diggs and Levi Wallace continued to rotate at left cornerback.

Saban Comments

  • Nick said Anfernee Jennings and Rashaan Evans will probably not play Saturday but will hopefully return soon.
  • Saban reported Mike Locksley had the option of not coaching this week after the death of his son. Locksley was in Maryland for a couple days with his family and will return again immediately after the game on Saturday.
  • On the Hand to outside linebacker possibility, Nick said Hand is not an OLB but Ray was a possibility.

The last question of the media session asked Saban to respond to whether he is worth the $11M his salary and bonus will earn him this season. Our take is the question is both fair and pointless. Long before today’s question was asked, virtually all college football fans (Alabama and others) had already chosen their answer. Why bring it up again?

For the record, we believe Nick is worth every penny of it and we suspect most Alabama football fans agree with us.

Nick’s partial response was “probably not, but I don’t really do it for the money.”

Here is the full video, compliments of Bama Insider.

Next: Why the Tide can win it all in 2017

There will be one more media session at the Thursday practice. Thursday night’s Hey Coach radio show is always good for some relaxed Saban stories. We will report on both so stay tuned.