Nick Saban explains the improvement he's seen from Alabama receivers
Whoever comes out the winner of the Alabama quarterback competition should have a solid group of receivers to throw to. The Crimson Tide return their top two pass catchers from 2022 in Jermaine Burton and Ja’Corey Brooks, while also adding the nation’s No. 1 JUCO transfer Malik Benson.
Still, the group struggled with consistency in both the spring and early in fall camp, with drops being an issue. According to coach Nick Saban, however, they looked much better Saturday as Alabama hosted its second scrimmage of fall camp.
“I think our receivers have really improved,” Saban said. “I think they played faster. They’re playing with more confidence. I think we’ve had less drops. Obviously the goal is you never wanna have any drops and we’re gonna continue to work on that, but I think they’ve made improvement. I think we’ve made improvement in the passing game. I think we’re more consistent in what we’re doing and more confident. So I think that’s helped the quarterbacks as well as the confidence of the receivers.”
The duo of Brooks and Burton combined to record 79 catches for 1,351 yards and 15 touchdowns this past season. Alabama also returns Kobe Prentice, who was productive in his own right to finish with 31 catches for 337 yards and a pair of scores.
As for Benson, he totaled 2,152 yards and 21 touchdowns over the past two seasons at Hutchinson (KS) Community College to set a new program record. He’ll hope that production can carry over to the Division I level, and Saban has already said he expects Benson to make a contribution for the Crimson Tide this season.
Although Alabama will have plenty of weapons to throw to, though, it is still trying to figure out who will step in at starting quarterback to replace Bryce Young. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Young helped the Crimson Tide to finish fourth in the SEC this past season with 281.5 passing yards per contest.
Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner are the options, but so far the battle hasn’t seen one player emerge to gain the edge over the others. Saban said after Saturday’s scrimmage that all of the quarterbacks got to see reps, but he still isn’t ready to name a starter with two weeks to go until the season kicks off.
Still, with the receivers they have ready to contribute, Alabama will hope to remain strong in its aerial attack regardless of which QB wins the job. The Crimson Tide will open the season on Sept. 2 in a matchup against Middle Tennessee, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see all three quarterbacks see some time in that game.