Cecil Hurt Chimes In on Alabama’s A-Day Atmosphere [Audio]

Cecil Hurt of The Tuscaloosa News joined Ryan Fowler to discuss some college football, but more specifically, Alabama's A-Day game and the atmosphere surrounding the Tide's final spring scrimmage.

Fowler introduced the main topic of conversation to Hurt early in the interview, and Hurt gave his opinion on the overall relevance of a spring scrimmage, noting that although the players are playing like it's a game, from a coach's perspective, they're setting the players up in different situations to see how they've developed.

"First of all it is a practice... People put the template of a game on to it, but it's really a practice. And you can say, 'Why didn't they do this, why didn't this guy look good?' Coaches may not have put him in a situation for him to look good... There's certainly a competitive spirit among the team, they want to win they want to get the steak instead of the beans, but it's not something the coaches are game planning to win."

Over the past few years, the attendance of the A-Day game has been much lower than it was in Nick Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa, and this shrinkage of attendance has had its effect on the atmosphere of the game itself. Hurt was asked how the aura of the A-Day game could affect recruiting; if the atmosphere isn't exciting and exuberant for what is basically a practice game, could this be a detriment for teams when it comes to hosting high-caliber recruits?

"If that's not your cup of tea, and what you want is a game and to replicate the national championship game, I'd agree with you. But again, if you understand that that is what it is, a practice, you want to see the players, you want to see young guys, understanding that it's not primarily a game or it's not primarily for your entertainment, it's a practice, that's fine. Alabama has intelligent fans, die hard fans."

You can listen to the entire interview below, and be sure to catch "The Game with Ryan Fowler" each weekday from 2-6 PM.