Alabama running back Trent Richardson’s attitude that he wants to be a starter, but still has to win the job, has endeared himself to Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.
“We want all of our players to feel that way,” Saban said after Wednesday’s practice.
After evaluating film from Saturday’s first scrimmage, the coach noted, without being specific, some changes to the first and second teams.
“There’s some guys that got demoted for the way they played … because they didn’t seem to have that attitude,” Saban said after the Tide closed out its 10th of 15 spring practices. “Anybody around here that has a feeling of entitlement that just because they played last year, they don’t have to do things to a standard that we’ve set for what we want.
“I don’t care if it’s effort that they give, toughness that they give, ability to focus and execute, however you want to break it down. If we have somebody else, we’ll replace him. We had a few players that I didn’t feel like really responded that way.”
Again, he didn’t mention names. But he went over a couple areas from Saturday’s first scrimmage.
Saban didn’t like how his defensive front played.
“We didn’t tackle very well on defense,” he said. “I don’t think we played up front, shedding blockers and holding point like we need to, so that’s been a big emphasis for us.”
Several players have said the progress of ends Darrington Sentimore and Ed Stinson, who weren’t expected to compete for a starting job this season, is noticeable.
Those were the names offered by right tackle D.J. Fluker after practice Wednesday.
“They’ve really been giving me a lot of trouble lately,” Fluker said. “They’ve working on it real hard and have been taking the time to learn plays.”
Safety Robert Lester singled out Sentimore, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound sophomore, as much improved last week.
“Watching film, I’ve seen him getting off the ball pretty fast and doing what he has to do to get on the field,” Lester said.
Stinson, at 6-4, 280, has worked with jack linebackers and with the defensive ends. He was with the ends during the media viewing period on Wednesday.
Whoever was unseated, Saban made it clear he will be watching this week to see how those players react to the change.
“Sometimes when you make those role changes, how they respond to that change goes a long way to telling me what kind of player they are, or it tells me what kind of competitor they are,” Saban said. “Because if they pout about it, that’s not really what we want.”
Practice notes:
Look ahead: Alabama started introducing next season’s opponents into Wednesday’s practice. Saban said the idea is to give them some idea of seeing something different.
“Our players sort of get the basic fundamental resource of information that they need so that when the time comes next year, we won’t be starting from scratch,” he said.
To-do list: The coach said continued work on fundamentals is important, but improving consistency is just as crucial.
“It all comes from mental energy and intensity on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “We still have some guys that struggle to be consistent. Up and down. That comes from maturity and understanding that to be a dangerous, competitive player, that comes from a relentless ability to be consistent in what you do regardless of what happened on the play before. That’s in all athletics.”
Menzie earns praise: Last season, defensive back DeQuan Menzie was recovering from major Achilles tendon surgery that left his availability for the secondary in doubt.
Menzie played last fall, but is far ahead of the game this spring.
“If you went on the last scrimmage based on him being healthy and being able to practice all the time, I sort of felt like in that particular scrimmage he was our best corner,” Saban said.
“Because of that, maybe the guy has expanded his role on our team. It makes good competition because we’ve got three guys that have played a significant amount at that position. It’ll be interesting to see how those guys compete and respond to that.”
Fluker pushes on: Right tackle D.J. Fluker, the mammoth 6-6, 335-pound sophomore, went third person when comparing his comfort level this spring compared to last year.
“D.J. last year, he was more focused on trying to learn, trying to get things going,” said Fluker, who was wearing a boot on his right foot as a “precaution.” “This year, D.J.’s more laid back, watching film, trying to figure out what the defense’s motives are. That’s what he’s doing. Now, since he’s in his second year now he’s learning a whole lot quicker.”
He considers this year more of a challenge.
“I came out with an attitude that I want to be better than last year,” Fluker said.
Messing with Mark: Richardson said after practice he talked recently with Mark Ingram, who left Alabama a year early to enter the NFL Draft. The two friends never stop needling each other.
“He was like, ‘You the man, how does it feel?’” Richardson said. “I was like, ‘I feel like Mark Ingram, for real.’ We just kid around like that all the time.”
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