Nothing to see here
Saban downplays effects of Hurts’ comments on team
Alabama football coach Nick Saban said Wednesday evening that recent comments by junior quarterback Jalen Hurts are much bigger to those outside the program.
Saban spoke to the media for the first time since Saturday, when Hurts said Crimson Tide coaches “can’t control” the quarterback competition between Hurts and sophomore Tua Tagovailoa. Hurts also described the battle as the “elephant in the room.”
Hurts is 26-2 as Alabama’s starter, having led the Crimson Tide to a pair of appearances in the national championship game, but he struggled in January’s title contest against Georgia. He was replaced at halftime by Tagovailoa, who rallied the Tide from a 13-0 deficit to a 26-23 overtime victory.
“Every player has a right to express what he feels and what he thinks,” Saban said in a news conference, “and I think he has every right to do that with every coach or anybody in the organization that he has relationships with. This is probably a lot more important to people outside this organization than it is to people inside.
“I don’t think this has any effect on our team.”
The Tide held their first fullpads practice of the 2018 preseason Wednesday, working out for two hours. The practice started outside but had to be moved into the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility due to thunderstorms.
On Tuesday, three senior players — running back Damien Harris, outside linebacker Christian Miller and center Ross Pierschbacher — said the comments made by Hurts have not served as a distraction. Pierschbacher added that several players met to discuss them.
Saban said Wednesday that he met with a lot of the team leaders.
“The players are focused on what they need to do,” Saban said. “The rhetoric will not have anything to do with who’s the quarterback. That
will obviously be decided on the field by how people execute and do their job.”
Defensive lineman Stephon Wynn sustained an injury during Tuesday’s practice. On Wednesday, Saban said the 6-foot-4, 299-pound freshman has a ligament strain that will “keep him out for a little bit of time.”
Alabama will practice today and Friday before conducting its first scrimmage Saturday inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
In the limelight
Saban has been followed by his share of cameras in recent days due to the fourpart “Training Days” series that starts tonight on ESPN2.
When asked about the extra attention so far in camp, Saban said he hopes ESPN’s technical crew can edit out some of the occasional “bleeps” he might have uttered. He added that his program is filled with great people throughout the support staff and that this is an excellent way to display their importance.
A late addition?
Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that former University of Washington signee Ale Kaho, a 6-1, 218-pound inside linebacker from Reno, Nevada, is heading to Alabama as a late member of the 2018 signing class.
Kaho received his release from the Huskies on Monday. He was rated by 247Sports. com as the No. 7 inside linebacker nationally and the No. 133 recruit overall for 2018.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.