The Alabama football team had its third practice of the spring and first in full pads Wednesday afternoon at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility.

“It’s been quite a long time since [the players] have had pads on,” said head coach Nick Saban. “It’s always a physical adjustment for players to carry their pads and go through their first practice, but I was really pleased with the way our players kind of persevered.”

With three starters graduating or leaving for the NFL, the secondary is one position where young players could benefit the most from spring practice.

“They make progress every day,” Saban said. “We have a lot of progress we need to make with that group. We don’t have a lot of experience coming back.”

Saban also said he is very pleased with Mark Barron, the only returning starter from last season in the secondary. Barron said he will be asked to do more from a leadership standpoint this year, and that he will be the one who will have to make all the calls in the defensive backfield.

“I would rather lead by example,” Barron said, “but I can’t do that right now. I have to step out of myself a little bit and talk to everyone.”

Saban, who works more closely with the defensive backs than any other group on the team, said practices leading up to last season’s national championship game is helping some of the defensive backs in the first few practices of spring.

“I think the biggest thing that’s helped this group is that last year we had 14 days of bowl practice,” he said. “We really had a lot of time to work with those guys and emphasize time with them. I think that was very beneficial and I think it’s helped their carry over into this spring.”

Saban speaks on NCAA decision

Saban addressed the NCAA’s denial of the University’s appeal for a vacated wins penalty before being asked, and stressed that the decision will not affect any aspect of the Alabama football program’s future.

Saban also said the vacated wins will not affect recruiting.

“There is no negative to it [in terms of recruiting],” he said. “It’s been two years now, and it certainly hasn’t affected our recruiting to this point. It has no significant effect on a guy’s ability to get a quality education here or what kind of football team he’s going to play on.”

Ingram named semifinalist for Sullivan Award

Mark Ingram was named one of 14 semifinalists for the Sullivan Award, given annually to the country’s top amateur athlete.

“It’s always good to see some of our players get self-gratification for some of the good things they’ve done,” Saban said.

Coming off a Heisman Trophy-winning season, Ingram said he is still looking to improve.

“The day you stop improving is the day you stop playing,” he said. “There’s always room to improve.”

Notes:

Trent Richardson wore a black jersey during Wednesday’s practice because he strained his hamstring on Monday. He rode a stationary bike during the media viewing period of practice, although Saban said Richardson did still participate in some drills.

William Vlachos was also in a black jersey, as he is recovering from offseason foot surgery.

Josh Chapman, Marcell Dareus and Luther Davis ran through defensive line drills in the same group Wednesday.

Alfred McCullough ran offensive line drills at right tackle alongside Barrett Jones Wednesday. D.J. Fluker also worked at right tackle.