Saban praises Bama’s work Thursday

By Ken Rogers

Published: August 14, 2008

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama football coach Nick Saban said he noticed a better, lighter attitude from his team in Thursday’s practice.
Players felt it, too. Two-a-days ended Wednesday night.

“I think the last day of two-a-days was probably the hump day for them,” Saban said. “We had a lot better practice today, a little more intensity and enthusiasm and more guys playing with the kind of intensity we’d like to see out there on a day-to-day basis. I think we made some improvement.”

“Guys were bouncing around a lot today,” center Antoine Caldwell said. “It did feel like a little lighter mood out there. Guys were getting after it. It felt good out there today. We had a good day.”

Andre Smith noticed “a little joy in the locker room.”

“But we still have one-a-days,” the left tackle said. “We’re still gonna practice and work just as hard. Coach Saban is going to demand the best out of you.”

“We got a lot out of it, they were beneficial to the team — but I’m glad they’re over,” senior tight end Nick Walker said.

Even Saban said he was glad the four two-a-day sessions were past.

“We’ve been able to stay fairly healthy — knock on wood — and hopefully we can continue to do that and continue to improve as a team and practice smart so that we’re able to do that,” the coach said.

Alabama practices today at 2:30 p.m. and will hold its final preseason scrimmage on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Forbes fodder: Saban was well prepared for a question about being the cover subject for Forbes this week.

Called “the most powerful coach in sports” by the financial publication, Saban quipped, “All’s I can tell you is, when I go home tonight, I’m not the most powerful person in my house.”

Senior center Antoine Caldwell, a business major who has already graduated, is among those pictured in the layout. He laughed when asked about being in Forbes.

“Hadn’t thought about that,” he said. “I can tell somebody I was.”

Caldwell said he hasn’t see the spread. The Sept. 1 edition hits newsstands today.

Stadium expansion: Athletics director Mal Moore has taken preliminary steps to set the stage for another 10,000-seat expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Moore said he didn’t want to get “out front” of president Robert Witt, but he doesn’t want to fall behind, either.

“We are working in the athletic department side with the architects, to be ready when we get the nod from the president,” Moore said. “We don’t know exactly when that will be, hopefully soon.

“But if not and it’s a ways down the road, we’ve got a 92,000-seat stadium — and that’s a nice stadium — to go forth as is. Hopefully, good things will happen.
And we’re working hard on this end to be ready when we get the nod.”

2009 opener: Moore also confirmed that Alabama continues to work on returning to Atlanta for its 2009 season opener, where it would play Virginia Tech.

There are still details to work out. Alabama, which opens this season in the Georgia Dome against Clemson, is trying to move to drop its road game at Tulane next season.

Moore said BYU would replace Alabama on Tulane’s schedule.

“That would free us up to play the game in Atlanta versus Virginia Tech,” he said. “So that is certainly now a possibility. And hopefully we can get all the details of that worked out in the (near) future.”

Alabama has currently scheduled to be home against Florida International for its season opener. FIU could move later into the season. By removing the road game at Tulane, it offers a chance for a seventh home game in Tuscaloosa.

“We’ve got to work all that out. But that is where we’re headed,” Moore said.