Saban, Smart seeking more energy after first scrimmages

The two college football programs that vied for last season’s Southeastern Conference championship and the national title conducted their first scrimmages Saturday afternoon.

As is often the case a couple weeks into August, neither Alabama nor Georgia is exactly in midseason form.

“We started out today with a lot of energy, and as things moved along, we weren’t able to sustain it,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said in a news conference. “Sometimes you’ve got to be able to regain that energy when things get difficult. We want everybody to be able to reach their full potential and do what they’re capable of doing and challenge themselves, and this is a tough time.

“Camp is a tough time, though it’s not as tough as it used to be.”

Over in Athens, coach Kirby Smart admitted that his offense is ahead of his defense, which he said is to be expected given that the Bulldogs had five defenders selected in the first round of April’s NFL draft. Still, Smart was hoping the defense would bring more energy knowing its uphill climb, but apparently that did not happen.

“I didn’t think that it was the best of our nine practices,” Smart said in a news conference. “It was our first scrimmage and our first chance to tackle live, and you have to be careful how you assess your team when you tackle live for the first time.

“In my experiences as a coach, it’s not pretty, and it was not pretty.”

Both Saban and Smart are very much focusing on their respective teams and not the starts to their seasons. The Tide host Utah State on Sept. 3, while the Bulldogs face Oregon at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta that same day.

“There were some good things out there today,” Saban said, “but we got sloppy at times and had way too many penalties and a lot of undisciplined penalties, whether illegal formations or offsides on defense. They were all things that are correctable.

“I’m not disappointed in any way, but at this point, you would expect to need to practice to improve on a lot of things. I’m sort of OK with where we are, and I’m enthused about the challenges we have.”

Bulldogs bites

Smart said redshirt sophomore receiver Arian Smith will need surgery on the high ankle sprain he sustained in practice earlier this week. … Sitting out Saturday with minor injuries were redshirt sophomore guard Tate Ratledge (turf toe) and junior running back Kendall Milton (hamstring). … Smart: “We need to get (freshman) Dillon Bell rolling to get where we need to get at wideout.” … As far as the return roles, Smart said senior running back Kenny McIntosh and senior receiver Kearis Jackson are handling kickoffs and that Jackson, redshirt sophomore receiver Ladd McConkey, junior receiver Dominick Blaylock and redshirt freshman receiver Mekhi Mews are competing on punts. … Smart said the best battles are on the interior offensive line and that senior outside linebacker Robert Beal is “having a quietly good camp for us.”

Tide tidbits

Saban said the first-team offensive line looked improved Saturday but that the second-team line struggled in protection and in running the ball. … Despite receivers displaying inconsistencies, Saban said freshman Kobe Prentice had about five catches and was “the guy who stood out the most of the young players.” … Sophomore cornerback KoolAid McKinstry did a nice job on punt returns, according to Saban, who added that junior receiver Jermaine Burton and freshman running back Emmanuel Henderson are also vying there. … Saban said a lot of the young linebackers “are swimming a little bit.”