Saban Press Conference | 08.08.13

The Crimson Tide practiced Thursday afternoon in the searing heat, with the heat index above 100 degrees.  Saban seemed if not happy, then at least satisfied with the level of effort and performance in the practice.

Saban mentioned that Joe Girardi spoke to the team about the things can bring down a high quality team.  It sounds like backup nose tackle Dakota Ball (who had an emergency appendectomy yesterday) should be good to go in a couple weeks.  There were no other new significant injuries to report.

Right now, it seems that the practices have started taking a turn towards focusing on which players should get more quality reps during the scrimmages so that they are adequately positioned to be a consistent performer.

• When asked what the teams policy is on players signing autographs - Saban discussed the meetings and systems that are in place to educate players and discourage them from breaking the rules. "I trust our players. I trust our players to do the right thing."
• Has Saban ever been satisfied with a first scrimmage? "Not really." "Wherever we are, we have to continue to improve."
• On players that can provide depth on the defensive line - "all of our freshman have shown some ability to be possibilities of guys that can play this year."
• On Joe Girardi's trip down to Tuscaloosa to talk to the team - While Saban was up in New York during the off season, he mentioned in passing that he'd like for Joe to come down and talk to the team sometime.
• On the new targeting rule and how the staff has handled addressing it with the team - Saban is looking forward to Steve Shaw coming by to discuss it. He's feeling nervous about how the judgments are going to be made and whether all the officials will be on the same page.
• On the cornerback situation - "I think we have a long way to go." It sounds like we have some more depth, but Saban is not satisfied with overall consistency of the group.

Here's the video of Saban's press conference: