Photos and Video from Alabama Football's First Practice of Ole Miss Week
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Under clear skies with temperatures hovering in the low-80s, No. 1 Alabama football hosted its first practice of the week in preparation for No. 12 Ole Miss' trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium this weekend.
The Crimson Tide conducted its practice in shells as is customary for the team's first practice of the week.
While the primary focus of Monday's press conference revolved around the Rebels' highly productive offense, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban took a moment to comment on how Lane Kiffin's defense has improved over last season.
“They just to have a good system and a good scheme," Saban told reporters via Zoom. "I think they went and studied some things and, you know, they do a good job of executing that they know what they're doing and other players are, you know really know what they're doing."
While Ole Miss doesn't rank particularly high in most defensive categories of the Southeastern Conference, the team does lead the league with four fumble recoveries. However, the defense is still much-improved over last season.
Saban remarked on how the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the Rebels in being productive on defense last season but, now that the team has had a full offseason to prepare, the team is shaping up to far surpass last year's production.
"I think, you know, last year was a little bit of an anomaly when it came to — if you're a new staff — how do you get what you want to do implemented," Saban said. "And I think, you know they probably went through that on defense a little bit. You know last year because of COVID this year because they've had the spring they've had the summer, they've had a year, they know what kind of adjustments they need to make relative to the players they have, and they've done a really good job of that.”
Gallery: Alabama Football Hosts First Practice of Ole Miss Week
Photos courtesy of Alabama Athletics
