The Alabama Crimson Tide practiced indoors Wednesday to stay out of the blistering heat just a few days before the season-opener against San Jose State.

“We had some pretty good intensity today, but I think everyone’s looking forward to playing a game and not practicing against each other,” head coach Nick Saban said. “It’s been a long time.”

Saban then referred to an old basketball analogy on practicing foul shots without a ball in hand. He called it “mental practice,” and said that’s what the Tide really needs. Saban said it’s all up to the players now to make sure they get enough rest, take care of themselves, and are ready to play ball this coming weekend.

“Hopefully our guys are preparing and doing the right things they need to do to play their best football,” he said.

Saban on Ingram

When pressed with the subject of Ingram’s recovery time, Saban had this to say: “Mark is doing extremely well. He didn’t have a lot of swelling, which is a good sign.”

Lack of swelling is a key factor in Ingram’s recovery time, but as of right now, Saban said his return date is unknown.

“Nobody knows how quickly he could come back… we’ll take it week-to-week,” Saban said. “Whatever decision we make will be with his best interest in mind.”

Williams as a starter

Senior linebacker Chavis Williams said his struggle to move into the starting lineup the past three years does not mean he has accomplished anything by finally earning that honor. “I was raised to never give up, just keep working to get your own,” he said. “Starting doesn’t mean anything. You have to go out there and show that you can do it and maintain it.”

Injury report

Rebounding from a recent concussion, sophomore safety Robert Lester will appear in the Tide’s starting defensive backfield this weekend for the first time.

“I tried not to let it slow me down,” he said. “I think once I had the day off the next day, I was fully recuperated and ready to go out to practice.”

Anticipating starting alongside All-SEC performer Mark Barron, Lester expressed how well he felt the secondary is working together at calling plays.

“It’s all a group effort,” Lester said. “If Mark reads it first he’ll call it. If I read it first then I’ll call it. I mean, even if a corner reads it first he’ll call it. We all work together.”

Practice Notes

– Julio Jones ran confident plays in the first stage of practice, with some sublime catches from redshirt freshman quarterback A.J. McCarron.

– Saban said offensive lineman Barrett Jones and William Vlachos have been showing their technical understanding of their line, and it has shown in practice.

“They make it a lot easier for the other guys to play,” said Saban. “It’s really important to have guys like that out there so they can pull from their recourses, knowledge, experience. When it comes time to make some game-time adjustments, they’ll be able to recognize it and do those things.”