Every long pass during A-Day brought a measure of relief.
This was what Nick Saban was hoping for, after all. The intermediate to deep passing game that disappeared late last season for Alabama returned during the Crimson Tide’s spring game two weekends ago. Jalen Hurts, no longer a freshman quartebrack learning on the job, showed progress in passing for more than 300 yards during the scrimmage, accomplishing what Saban called the “No. 1 goal” of spring practice: improve as a passer from the pocket.
But there were “mixed emotions,” as Saban put it.
“Every time we completed one,” he said, “I was happy for the guy that completed it and I was saying, ‘Why did the defensive guy let him complete it?