Saban happy with attitude of Trent Richardson

Alabama running back Trent Richardson’s attitude that he wants to be a starter, but still has to win the job, has endeared himself to Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban. “We want all of our players to feel that way,” Saban said after Wednesday’s practice. After evaluating film from Saturday’s first scrimmage, the coach noted, without being specific, some changes to the first and second teams. “There’s some guys that got demoted for the way they played … because they didn’t seem to have that attitude,” Saban said after the Tide closed out its 10th of 15 spring practices. “Anybody around here that has a feeling of entitlement that just because they played last year, they don’t have to do things to a standard that we’ve set for what we want. “I don’t care if it’s effort that they give, toughness that they give, ability to focus and execute, however you want to break it down. If we have somebody else, we’ll replace him. We had a few players that I didn’t feel like really responded that way.” Again, he didn’t mention names. But he went over a couple areas from Saturday’s first scrimmage. Saban didn’t like how his defensive front played. “We didn’t tackle very well on defense,” he said. “I don’t think we played up front, shedding blockers and holding point like we need to, so that’s been a big emphasis for us.”

Several players have said the progress of ends Darrington Sentimore and Ed Stinson, who weren’t expected to compete for a starting job this season, is noticeable.