Nick Saban calls for consistency out of wide receiver room
Preseason questions surrounding Alabama‘s wide receiving corps have yet to be answered heading into Week 5.
Only two wideouts have more than 100 yards receiving on the season, and no one has stepped up as the guy for Jalen Milroe in this year’s identity-less Crimson Tide offense.
“They play well at times, but we need more consistency. We need to develop confidence in terms of playing together,” Saban said. “… All of those little things and those details — I say this all the time, it might be the most overused — attention to detail — term in the building that can make things work or not work.
“I think we need to pay more attention to detail in the togetherness of how we execute in the passing game. Whether that’s protection, quarterback reads, the whole thing. I think we can continue to make a lot of progress.”
Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond — two wideouts who returned from last year’s squad — lead the team with 189 and 162 receiving yards respectively. Together, the duo have been on the receiving end for three of Milroe’s six touchdown passes this season. Tight end Amari Niblack is the third-leading receiver statistically with five catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m not disappointed in the way these guys have played,” Saban said. “They’ve made some great plays, but I think the consistency would be helpful.”
Elsewhere in the room, Saban has been reluctant to play Ja’Corey Brooks this season, who alongside Burton, combined for 79 receptions for 1,351 yards and 15 touchdowns for Alabama last season. He’s someone who is proven and could contribute in a big way immediately, but was suspended for the first half of the season opener and has only logged one reception for two yards on the season.
He’s been relegated to special teams, but made a massive play against Ole Miss this past weekend, blocking a punt to set the Crimson Tide up with First & Goal while trailing in the second quarter. For that, Saban named him as one of the team’s special teams players of the week alongside P James Burnip.
Whether something went down internally to erase him from the game plan will likely remain under wraps, but it seems that the former IMG Academy star is doing his best to make an impact any way he can. If or when he returns to the offensive lineup, Brooks could prove to be that spark on offense Alabama has been missing through the first four weeks of the season.