Alabama Holds Final Practice Before A-Day Game

From Alabama Media Relations:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama football team held its final practice of the spring on Thursday at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility in full pads for roughly two hours.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban feels that the Golden Flake A-Day Game will be the first opportunity for the Crimson Tide to create their own identity as a team. The A-Day Game is scheduled to kickoff at 2:05 p.m. Saturday inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. A-Day will be broadcast live on CSS and available nationally on ESPN3.com (blacked out in local markets).

"I'm really looking forward to the game," Saban said. "It's probably the closest thing to a game that we have until the opening game. This is a real opportunity, and we play it as close to a real game as we can. We have the first offense on one team and the first defense on the other team and they play against each other."

Saban encouraged everyone who supports the Alabama football team to come to the scrimmage on Saturday. He feels that it is great for recruiting and the team to have the support of the community.

"It is going to be a beautiful day on Saturday," Saban said. "This team has worked very hard and it would be a lot of positive self-gratification to have a supportive group there for the game on Saturday. It is great for recruiting, and it is certainly great for our team."

Former Alabama left tackle James Carpenter came out to practice on Thursday to support his former teammates. Carpenter was a first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2011.

Saban hopes to join the five players from the 2011 National Championship team who were invited to New York for the NFL draft at the end of this month. Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick, Trent Richardson and Courtney Upshaw invited Nick Saban to join them for the draft in New York.