He is a six-time national champion at head coach, but Nick Saban is moving with urgency this season.
His goal is to not allow a third consecutive year to go by at the University of Alabama without him holding a national championship trophy, despite the emergence of other head coaches.
The competition has gotten better and Saban wants his players clicking on all cylinders.
On Tuesday, he told local reporters that the coaching staff is working with everybody and that the team has to get better.
A talented quarterback lies at the head of each collegiate offense.
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With the departure of Tua Tagovailoa to the Miami Dolphins (NFL), Mac Jones has taken this summer to prove to himself, his teammates and his coaches that he can operate the offense.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he replaced an injured Tagovailoa last season and performed well versus Arkansas, Auburn and Michigan.
He pushed the Crimson Tide to 40-plus points in meetings with the Razorbacks and Tigers, while tossing for 327 yards and three scores in a 35-16 win over the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl.
Now at 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, the redshirt junior feels more than capable of guiding Alabama back to the College Football Playoff and finishing the season as the No. 1 team in college football. Jones has been strong through fall practice and after totaling three scores in the team’s first scrimmage, Saban said the former four-star has had a ‘really good week’ this week.
On Saturday of last week, the Tide had a game-like practice at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Despite him struggling a little in the completion percentage department at the scrimmage, Jones responded with a much stronger showing against the first-team defense in the game-like practice.
“He (Mac Jones) had a really good day on Saturday,” Saban said on Tuesday. “Maybe not quite as what we wanted in the first scrimmage, but a lot of guys did not play as we like in the first scrimmage. We made a huge improvement and I hope to made another big jump this Saturday.”
After completing 21 of 36 passes in the first scrimmage, credible sources told yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine that Jones connected with targets on nearly every pass he attempted. He scored on every drive he had against the defense.
As Jones continues to rise, Bryce Young and Paul Tyson have improved too.
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Young, a five-star true freshman, missed the first scrimmage but participated in the game-like practice.
“I think Bryce (Young) has shown he’s a talented guy,” Saban said. “He just has to get more knowledge and experience to be a little more consistent in terms of his execution.”
Not having spring practice set Young back, but the California native is learning fast.
When it comes to Tyson, Saban said the redshirt freshman has ‘significantly improved.’
Alabama is continuing to work with all three signal callers. Steve Sarkisian has a great room overall, but Jones is leading practices. He arrived in the 2017 signing class with a championship mindset, and Jones has not stopped working.
He is eyeing a huge season in his fourth year with the team.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
