With a week left until the conclusion of spring practice at the annual A-Day game, the Alabama Crimson Tide held its second scrimmage of the spring Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Head coach Nick Saban said he was pleased with the team’s effort and commitment to improvement.

“I thought that the improvement that we made, which I sort of expected, anticipated, hoped for between the first and second scrimmage… would be something that we would see that enhanced itself,” Saban said. “I feel like we did that.”

Saban said he was satisfied at the play of the rebuilding defense, a group that lost nine starters and was statistically creamed by the Tide offense in the first scrimmage.

“I think the first defense played a little better,” Saban said. “They didn’t give up as many big plays, they tackled better – the things you need to do to win.”

The secondary nabbed two interceptions after being held without a pick a week ago, something Saban attributed to better coverage and reads from Alabama’s youngest and most inexperienced unit.

For the Tide head coach, a notorious stickler for routine and stability, the post-game message to his team after the performance, for both sides, was a simple one.

“The big message to me is ‘Consistency in performance defines success,’” Saban said. “We’re going to have days where one side of the ball or the other will do extremely well and then maybe not do as well the next time out… You can’t be complacent.”

To achieve this goal, Saban said he and his coaching staff will need to continue to play a strong role in making sure every Tide player works to create a team identity for the limited time remaining in spring.

“We have three opportunities as a team to improve,” Saban said. “This team has to challenge itself to create an identity for itself based on the personality it has… Those are all challenges to human nature that we definitely need to make sure that every individual on our team are doings the things they need to do to create consistency in performance.”

The Tide will practice on Tuesday and Thursday before finishing spring practice Saturday with the A-Day scrimmage at 2 p.m. All practices are closed to the public.

Other notes:

-Saban said he was not sure whether he would stick with the normal routine of placing the 1s against the 1s on Saturday or mix up the teams.

“We have not decided how we will play the spring game,” Saban said. “The decision will get made based on what helps develop our team the best.”

-Saban said sophomore linebacker Nico Johnson and freshman offensive lineman Chad Lindsay were held from the scrimmage with sprained knees. Saban said the injuries were not serious, nor were there any significant injuries during the scrimmage.

-Specific offensive players that Saban mentioned had good days were Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Brandon Gibson and Julio Jones.

PASSING LEADERS

Greg McElroy – 17 for 27, 156 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

A.J. McCarron – 17 for 30, 215 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT

Phillip Sims – 15 for 19, 139 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Star Jackson – 10 for 17, 91 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

RUSHING LEADERS

Mark Ingram – 19 rush, 72 yards, 1 TD

Eddie Lacy – 10 rush, 28 yards, 1 TD

Trent Richardson – 7 rush, 18 yards,

RECEIVING LEADERS

Brandon Gibson – 10 rec., 74 yards, 1 TD

Julio Jones – 9 rec., 117 yards, 2 TD

Trent Richardson – 8 rec, 39 yards

Preston Dial – 4 rec., 46 yards

Kenny Bell – 4 rec., 33 yards

Demetrius Goode – 3 rec., 79 yards, 1 TD

Hardie Buck – 3 rec., 34 yards

Kevin Norwood – 3 rec., 33 yards

FIELD GOALS

Cade Foster – Made: 27, 32, 24, 33

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Marcell Dareus – 10 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 TFL, 2 PBU

Dont’a Hightower – 8 tackles, 2 sacks

John Fulton – 5 tackles, 1 TFL

Tana Patrick – 5 tackles

Will Lowery – 5 tackles

B.J. Scott – 5 tackles, 1 PBU

Chris Jordan – 5 tackles, 1 TFL

Jerrell Harris – 4 tackles

Rod Woodson – 4 tackles

Darrington Sentimore – 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack

Ed Stinson – 4 tackles, 1 TFL

Robert Lester – 4 tackles, 1 INT

Courtney Upshaw – 4 tackles, 3 sacks

SCORING

Touchdowns – 7 (Jones 11-yard pass from McElroy; Goode 16-yard TD pass from McCarron; Jones 16-yard pass from McCarron; K. Norwood 14-yard pass from Sims; Gibson 5-yard pass from McCarron; Ingram 3-yard run; Eddie Lacy 2-yard run)

Field Goals – 4 (Foster: 27, 32, 24, 33)