CRIMSON TIDE NOTEBOOK: Tide shows 'better enthusiasm' at Thursdays practice

TUSCALOOSA | With two-a-days now out of the way, the University of Alabama football team hit the practice field Thursday with a renewed sense of spirit and eagerness in preparation for the Aug. 30 opener against the Clemson Tigers.

“I think we had a lot better practice today,” Saban said. “A little more intensity, better enthusiasm. More guys playing with the kind of intensity we’d like to see on a day-to-day basis. I think we made some improvement.”

Saban said he was pleased with the progression of the offense and in particular, senior quarterback John Parker Wilson.

“He’s been having a good camp so far,” Saban said. “His leadership has been a real positive on the development of our offensive team.”

Freshman impact

Once again, Saban harped on the developmental process that the incoming freshman class is currently going through, and the ways in which they can improve as players.

“The biggest thing with our young players is they have to be able to stay focused on the process of what they need to do to be complete players at their position,” Saban said. “In some cases they came in and thought they would be able to make a significant impact and some of them will be able to do that.”

Saban pointed out how the process of getting the freshman where they need to be — relative to their contributions to the team —is a more difficult task than many of them thought it would be.

“They tend to personalize everything because they’re frustrated because they’re not getting the kind of results they’d like to get,” Saban said. “They have to be able to not get frustrated and be able to stay focused on the things they need to do to get better.”

Tide bits

Just as he did after last Saturday’s scrimmage, Saban tapped the podium for good luck when he discussed the Tide’s injury situation.

“We’ve been able to stay fairly healthy — knock on wood,” Saban said. “Hopefully we can continue to do that and continue to improve as a team and practice smart so we’ll be able to do that.”

Saban reiterated how the Tide takes the extra step in order to assure the safety of the players on the practice field.

“We try to practice safe and we try to stay off the ground,” Saban said. “We try to play fast, play blocks, stunt people but we try to stay off the ground.”

Saban said most injuries in practice occur because rules can sometimes be broken relative to the way the team should practice.

“We don’t cut (block),” Saban said. “Two guys last year were injured in practice because one guy got cut and another guy got drug down from behind which is not the way we want to do it.”

Currently, the Tide has no players in black jerseys due to injury reasons.

Saban also addressed the recent Forbes magazine cover.

“All I can tell you is when I go home at night,” Saban said. “I’m not the most powerful person at my house.”

The team will hit the field today at 2:30 for its last practice before Saturday’s scrimmage.