Alabama will conduct its first spring scrimmage Saturday, and Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban laid out quite a checklist Monday night for what he wants sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts to accomplish.
Better decision-making. Getting the ball out of his hands quicker. Not looking at the pass rush. Not drifting in the pocket. Improving his reading of coverages. Having his eyes in the right place.
"I think he's doing a much better job in those regards," Saban said in a news conference. "He still has the ability to run. He can still make plays with his feet, but that's not what we really want to focus on right now. I think he's bought into that and has done a great job."
Hurts is the reigning Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year, but he was pedestrian in the last three games against Florida, Washington and Clemson, completing 31 of 65 passes (47.7 percent) and rushing 37 times for 114 yards (3.1 per carry). Turning Hurts into more of a pocket passer while maintaining his elusiveness has been a primary objective this spring for new Tide offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
Alabama held its sixth spring practice Monday, working indoors for two hours in full pads. The Tide will practice again Wednesday and Friday before scrimmaging at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"The focus so far has been on installation, and now we've got to start focusing on allowing the guys to play," Saban said. "We have to give them some space now to get ready, and when the scrimmage comes I want to see who can do the fundamental things well. Who has the toughness? Who's a good tackler? Who can get off the block on defense?
"It's not going to be some kind of schematic escapade."
Hamilton comeback
Senior inside linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, who tore an ACL during the 54-16 rout of Florida in the SEC title game, performed some 50-yard sprints with an athletic trainer during the portion of Monday's practice that was open to the media.
Rashaan Evans and Keith Holcombe are working with the first team in Hamilton's absence, with Mack Wilson and early enrollee Dylan Moses serving as their backups.
Many happy returns?
Saban said Monday that Alabama has spent only a couple of days to this point working on kickoff returns and punt returns and did not offer any specifics as to who could occupy those roles later this year. He added that most of the work to this point was related to fundamentals.
"I think we've got guys who can do it extremely well," Saban said, "and I think we'll be better at that than we were a year ago."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.