Nick Saban Recaps Alabama’s Pro Day
The Crimson Tide held its annual Pro Day this Wednesday, giving Alabama's NFL Draft hopefuls a final chance to display their skills ahead of the big weekend in April.
Following a successful day, in which many of the Tide's top talents performed well and likely increased their value in the eyes of the NFL, head coach Nick Saban spoke with the media and recapped the day as well as gave updates on spring practice.
"This is a great opportunity for people in the National Football League, who we open our arms to, to come and have a chance to look at and evaluate our players," Saban said, "Lots of players here want to get an education and we do the best we can to create a platform for them to be successful in that regard, but they all also want the opportunity to play in the NFL someday. So, we want to try to continue to try and help them develop and be the best players they can be so they get opportunities like this."
In all, the Crimson Tide saw nine of its former stars perform on Wednesday: Jalyn Armour-Davis, Slade Bolden, Christian Harris, Phidarian Mathis, Evan Neal, Chris Owens, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, Jr. and Daniel Wright.
Coach Saban spoke highly of his former players, most notably giving a lot of praise to, potential first overall selection, Evan Neal.
"Evan Neal is an outstanding player," Saban said, "Obviously he's got great size and he's got great competitive character. Football is important to him. He loves football, he pays attention to detail, he prepares well. His size and athletic ability has put him in a position where I think he has a very bright future."
Speaking on Brian Robinson and his dedication to the program, having stayed and waited his turn for four seasons, Saban said, "I always say that people having resiliency, which means they have persistence, they can overcome adversity, they don't get frustrated, they learn from their feelings, these are all things that are critical to development. I think Brian Robinson, as Mac Jones was last year, is a great example of a guy who kept his head down, kept working and showed great perseverance."
The NFL Draft is set to kick off on Thursday, April 28th and will stretch across three days, concluding on Saturday the 30th. Each of the nine players that competed in Alabama's Pro Day seem to have excellent chances to be drafted, and will likely find their home with a new NFL team this time next month.