280 days. That is how many days it has been since Alabama played inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium (a 66-3 beat down of Western Carolina). Yesterday, the Crimson Tide returned to that same stadium for the first fall scrimmage this season. Coach Nick Saban spoke of being back inside the stadium at his press conference on Saturday.

"To go back to the stadium today was exciting," Saban said. "Every step you take makes it feel like we are going to play a game."

If you have lived in Alabama for any amount of time, you know it is going to be hot during training camp. Saban spoke of his team's strength and conditioning while speaking about the excitement of sports science being integrated into their everyday routine.

"I am not disappointed with where the players are at all. "Saban said. "I think they like the new strength and conditioning coaches. I certainly like the sports science aspect of how we have implemented things and hopefully, we'll get a better idea of how we assess the conditioning of the team when we start practicing more like a game week."

Quarterback Mac Jones worked against the second-team defense in the scrimmage. Saban mentioned that Jones finished the day 21-36 with three touchdowns. When speaking about Jones, Saban said,

"I think Mac did some good things. I think Mac's got to play within himself, be confident, be positive, not beat himself up when he makes bad plays. That's part of the maturity level as a competitor that his game experience is going to help him do, and I think his experiences up to the game will help him do, as well."

COVID-19 is not something that is easy for anyone, even more so for a team that wants to win a National Championship this season. While cases are on the rise at UA, Coach Saban recognizes the continual challenges this season.

"I think there's been a bit of a transition psychologically for players, coaches, and everyone else because it has been a long time and it's not been normal with a lot of uncertainty of what's going to happen next," Saban said. "You get into the mode that we are practicing to practice, which is a little bit different than practicing to play games and practicing to play against great competition. I think we have been trying to get the players to transition into that."

The Crimson Tide will not have practice on Sunday but will use Monday to study the film from Saturday's first scrimmage. Alabama football will travel to Missouri in 28 days on September 26th to begin its 2020 campaign.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Alabama Career Passing Yards

 

More From Tide 100.9