Saban: Turnovers Key Area of Improvement for Defense
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — According to Alabama football head coach Nick Saban, defense wasn't the team's strong suit during its first scrimmage of the 2023 spring practice season.
Following the conclusion of the scrimmage, one of Saban's key points in his opening statement was of his defense's shortcomings. However, he was quick to note that much of the Crimson Tide's veteran personnel were absent due to a variety of reasons.
“Defensively, we gave up probably too many explosive plays, need to improve on tackling," Saban said. "We didn’t really do a very good job of getting turnovers, which has been a big emphasis for us this year. We’ve got a lot of veteran players on defense who aren’t playing. Justin [Eboigbe] just played on third down. Dallas [Turner] is out, [Chris] Braswell is out. Kool-Aid wasn’t here today because of family circumstances.
"But it’s an opportunity for a lot of young players to get a lot of reps, a lot of opportunities for us to evaluate those guys’ progress."
Over the course of the 2022 season, turnovers — to put it bluntly — were not Alabama's strength. The Crimson Tide offense finished with nine fumbles and eight interceptions — a total of 17 — compared to just 15 takeaways on defense, bringing its turnover margin to -2. The number is the only negative turnover ratio that Alabama has had over the past five seasons: 2018 saw a +10 turnover margin, 2019 at +16, 2020 at +9 and 2021 at +6.
Saban noting that takeaways are an area of improvement on defense should ease the minds of concerned Alabama fans. While the team seemed to have struggled during Friday's scrimmage, it will no doubt improve as more of the roster returns from injury to the gridiron.
One of the biggest question marks on the defense heading into this season is the defensive backfield. This offseason, the Crimson Tide saw multiple crucial players depart including Jordan Battle, Eli Ricks and Brian Branch. With McKinstry being absent on Friday, plenty of opportunities arose for young players to gain experience at corner.
“OK," Saban said, evaluating the play of the safeties. "We played Malachi [Moore] at safety today. We’ve been playing some days at Star, some days at safety. Caleb Downs is doing well for a young guy, getting a lot of reps. We played Earl [Little] at Star, played several guys at corner since Kool-Aid wasn’t here. Terrion Arnold’s been doing a pretty good job, having a good spring. We played him at Star some, too.
"So a lot of guys getting a lot of reps, but that’s an area of our team we definitely need to develop some depth and get these guys experience so they’re more confident in terms of how they go out there and play and execute what we need them to do.”
See Also:
What Nick Saban Said After Alabama's First Spring Scrimmage
Saban Praises Alabama Offense in First Scrimmage: “Both Quarterbacks Played Really, Really Well”
Roydell Williams Back from Injury, Saban Pleased with Running Backs
