Alabama Football: Nick Saban's 3 Biggest Concerns Post-Spring Practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban isn’t going to take spring practice as a final gauge of where his team is.

No, spring practice, he says, is only one step along the way.

“It's almost like a midterm in school,” Saban said. It's not the final exam. It kind of shows you the progress that you've made to this point, how many guys that you actually have out there that have made the kind of progress that they need to make, that they can go play in a competitive situation and elevate their game and play with some kind of consistency.

“It also points out the areas where you need to improve, individually as well as collectively as a team, and where we have to invest our time in the future to be able to fix some of those things.”

So if spring practice was the midterm, what does Alabama need to keep studying for the final exam?

Here are three of the Crimson Tide’s lingering concerns going into the summer.

Running back depth

Will a No. 3 running back please stand up?

It would seem like a first-world problem, complaining about having only two running backs, but the Crimson Tide will likely need a third to make things work.

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake are more situational backs. Henry is a bruiser who is most effective late in games. Drake is the speedster whose frame wouldn’t hold up with 25 carries a game but is a threat to take it to the house on every play.

Drake, too, may be used more in a passing role. We saw him take some reps at wide receiver during some spring practices.

So a third running back needs to step up and eat some carries when needed.

The problem is, all of Alabama’s dropped like flies, and the team is left with a former safety, a true freshman and an incoming freshman to do the work. One of those three (Ronnie Clark, DeSherrius Flowers or Damien Harris, respectively) needs to emerge as a trustworthy back before Alabama faces off with Wisconsin.

Quarterback favorite?

Just as Alabama rode Blake Sims to the College Football Playoff, so too will it live and die on the back of its 2015 signal-caller.

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Who that will be continues to remain a mystery.

Right now it looks like it will either be Jake Coker or David Cornwell. Coker is still the presumed favorite, despite an inconsistent A-Day performance, and Cornwell emerged late in spring to grab the No. 2 spot.

Alabama also is reportedly looking at Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller to come in and lead its offense. Miller, if healthy, would seem like a natural fit in Lane Kiffin’s offense, but there are still several major questions that remain unanswered before he could get to Tuscaloosa.

The only sure thing we know about Alabama’s quarterback situation is that there is no sure thing right now for the Crimson Tide.

Safety shuffle

It looks like Alabama figured out half of its secondary struggles from last year, after it gave up a Saban-era high 226 passing yards per game.

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Cyrus Jones is a proven No. 1 corner, and Tony Brown showed waves of improvement after an impressive freshman season.

Those two could form a lockdown cornerback duo, while Bradley Sylve, Anthony Averett and Marlon Humphrey are solid options behind them.

At safety, though, Alabama has developed some talent and moved some guys around, but needs to settle on a consistent rotation to get the most out of the group.

Geno Smith finished spring practice at free safety after a short practice suspension for DUI. Eddie Jackson moved from cornerback to work with the safety groups and looks like he could play free or strong.

Hootie Jones seems to be another major candidate at strong safety after getting some looks there his freshman year. Maurice Smith makes for a nice nickelback or dime back in passing situations.

And Ronnie Harrison made the most moves of any early enrollee, drawing praise from both Saban and his teammates.

If Saban and new secondary coach Mel Tucker can find the right combinations, Alabama’s secondary could be a strength of the team, instead of its biggest weakness.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes and reporting were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.