Published On: 09.01.23 | 

By: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Alabama News Center 2023 football preview: University of Alabama

Alabama head coach Nick Saban gives instructions during practice at Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Saban said competition for each position on his team continues throughout the season. (Alabama Athletics)

Nick Saban went into great depth about how he will Deep 6 the depth chart for his No. 4 Alabama football team.

The Crimson Tide meets Middle Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network to open the 2023 season. But Saban surmised that media at his press conference this week were less concerned about the challenges of the Blue Raiders and more concerned about which players were listed higher or lower among others at their position.

“When we put a depth chart out, you all think that’s, like, final,” he began. “Like this is etched in stone, that it’s going to be this way forevermore just because we come out of fall camp and that’s where it is.”

But that piece of paper carries a lot of weight in the players’ minds.

“It creates a lot of distractions on our team, creates a lot of guys thinking that, ‘Well, this guy won the job and now I’m not going to play’ or whatever,” Saban said. “Quite frankly, we don’t need that. I want all of our players to continue to compete, to continue to compete for playing time, to try to play at the highest level. I don’t want anybody on our team to think they’re a backup player or whatever. The depth chart kind of does that.”

The coach said most of the players on his squad know who should start in the next game and who shouldn’t start. That comes through the day-to-day efforts of those players who are viewed as starters.

“Nobody’s entitled to play just because we put it on a piece of paper and say this is the way it is today,” Saban said. “I apologize for that, but it is what it is.”

Of course, the question on everyone’s mind is the pecking order of quarterbacks in the Tide lineup. Redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe, redshirt freshman Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner have competed for the job, with no one having clearly distanced himself from the other two.

Responding to a question, Saban said Milroe has gotten better since subbing for former Heisman Trophy winner and top NFL Draft pick Bryce Young last season.

“I think Jalen has made a significant amount of improvement,” the coach said. “I think he’s more comfortable in the pocket. I think that he has more confidence in the way he executes and the way he plays.”

Saban said that Milroe has been more consistent in the way he’s played.

“I think that’s gonna be the key to the drill for him to be able to maintain that consistency in every practice,” he continued, “so that he is developing the kind of habits that are going to carry over in the game and help them be successful.”

With multiple signal-callers still in the mix, does Saban expect to use some type of quarterback rotation? Play QB by committee?

“I don’t have any expectations for that right now. We’re going one day at a time and we’re repping the players,” Saban said. “Regardless of what happens in this game, it’s the same thing that I told you guys before. Just because whoever starts in the first game, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to continue to compete and play throughout the season.

“The competition doesn’t end with the first game at any position, including quarterback,” he said. “My expectation is, what can we do to get them better today so that we can play better the next day and the next day? Then when the game comes, we’ll be playing as well as we need to be playing to create value for themselves as players as well as our team to be able to have success.”

Alabama’s biggest challenge, he said, comes in creating an identity that proves it can be a dangerous team, prove it has the energy, focus and enthusiasm not just to win a game but to beat the other team.

“There is a difference in that,” Saban added. “I think that difference primarily is the way you compete, the way you can play, the relentless competitive attitude that you have for 60 minutes in a game to play to a standard, your standard, (and) not let the scoreboard or anything else determine what your performance level is.

“That’s something that I think this team has to prove that it can do.”

Alabama News Center has posted season previews for all 16 college football programs in Alabama. Read previews for Birmingham-Southern College, the University of West Alabama, Jacksonville State University, the University of North Alabama, the University of South Alabama, Tuskegee University, UAB, Huntingdon College, Faulkner University, Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Samford University, Miles College, Troy University and Auburn University.