Nick Saban addresses tight end Danny Lewis' fit in Alabama offense

Nick Saban talks Ty Simpson growth, improving penalties | Alabama Football

It is game week, and the Alabama Crimson Tide are preparing for their home and season opener against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, September 2. As they prepare for their Week 1 matchup, head coach Nick Saban shared his thoughts on tight end Danny Lewis and what kind of player he will be for the program.

“He’s probably more of a traditional Y-type,” said Saban. “Although we’ve got four or five tight ends we think can provide some kind of ability to contribute in their own way; to what we can do, run or pass. But Danny is more of the traditional inline guy, but they all play both positions and have some opportunity to do that as well.”

Lewis was poached right out of the backyard of the Crimson Tide’s SEC West rival LSU. The former three-star recruit out of the 2022 recruiting class, according to On3’s Industry Ranking, played his high school ball at Westgate High in New Iberia, LA.

Last season at Alabama, Lewis played in five games, taking eight snaps in the Crimson Tide’s season opener against Utah State as a true freshman. He logged most of his snaps as a part of Alabama’s special teams unit in 2022. In 2023, the Louisiana native is looking to carve out a larger role in the Crimson Tide’s offense and notch his first career catch.

Saban on quarterback Ty Simpson’s development

Lewis was not the only player’s development Saban addressed. The Alabama head coach also shared some thoughts about quarterback Ty Simpson, who is in the running for the starting quarterback spot this year.

During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Saban was asked about how Simpson has looked as he battles Jalen Milroe and Tyler Buchner to become Alabama’s starting quarterback. He said all three of the quarterbacks have looked good during camp, and they’re all learning important lessons along the way.

“Ty has done a really good job,” Saban said. “I think all the quarterbacks have made significant improvement, I think Ty has made improvement. I think one of the hardest things to not get involved with is to be outcome-oriented and show your emotions when things don’t go exactly like you’d want them to. That’s one of the things that I think has helped all of our quarterbacks, especially Ty, improve on.

“Mistakes are opportunities to learn, get better, grow and not get disappointed or frustrated in terms of how it affects the next play. And that’s something that he’s done a really good job of, and I think it’s impacted his execution in a really positive way.”