Nick Saban will wait for the legal process to play out after lineman's arrest.
“It’s going to be a good race because all four have done some good things,” Saban said. Saban said junior Cooper Bateman is probably a little bit ahead at this point because of experience. “That experience helped him to be a little more consistent in the spring,” Saban said.
One of the surprises of the spring for Saban was how well true freshman Jalen Hurts played and the fact that the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Hurts made plays throwing and running and didn’t make as many mistakes as a first-year quarterback normally would after arriving on campus only a few months earlier.
rbr opJalen Hurts is going to be special. You can already see that.
Getting things going with three more entries to our annual roster countdown.
This lack of good information, Saban said, makes it hard for coaches to maintain trust with the players who, rightfully so, wonder if the coach has an agenda when he recommends that the player remain in school. Saban had a couple of suggestions.
* A “Junior Day” or underclass combine, which would be held before a player’s junior season. Saban suggested that it be held right after spring practice. NFL scouts would put the juniors through a series of drills just like the pro days held on campus before the draft. That would give the scouts additional data to combine with the evaluations of the coming season.
* Saban also suggested – well, pretty much demanded – that draft grades not be given to any players until after their seasons have been completed. It will be interesting to see where this goes, if anywhere.
rbr opNinety-six juniors have been undrafted the past three seasons. Saban and Bielema have very different ideas of how to correct that, but I think Saban's general idea of greater information is probably the best. The old accountant maxim, garbage in/garbage out applies here: kids can only make an informed decision with greater information at their disposal.
"It's the first time Cam has ever had an issue or a problem," Saban said. "We're handling it and managing it internally and making him do things to hopefully change his behavior. I'm waiting to see how this whole legal thing plays out, because it's not really what it seems to be."
Saban declined to provide specifics about Robinson's arrest, but sources told ESPN.com that the two players had been shooting guns at a range earlier in the night and didn't take them home afterward. Sources also said Robinson bought the gun a year ago and didn't know it was stolen, but never got it registered.
rbr opThis is looking to be more benign with every passing day. I'd be stunned if CamRob and Hootie miss more than a game or two -- if that.
More details have emerged surrounding Alabama starting left tackle Cam Robinson and reserve safety Laurence Jones’ arrests last month in Louisiana, according to a report.