LaBryan Ray set to return, other Alabama updates from Nick Saban - AL.com

Alabama coach Nick Saban held his first weekly SEC teleconference of the season Wednesday, providing a few updates on players’ health and other topics before Saturday’s opener against Miami.

Here were the highlights:

-- Saban said the opening game is “very challenging” and first games often include “things you’re not prepared for.” He noted Miami has 19 out of 22 starters returning with a “really good quarterback” and “really good skill guys on offense,” along with “good special teams” and a defense that plays “hard, tough, physical, aggressive.”

-- Saban said fifth-year senior defensive lineman LaBryan Ray should be available for the game after missing practice time with a “pretty significant groin injury” he suffered late in the summer.

-- Kendall Randolph, listed as the starting right tackle, should also be available for the game after missing time with a sprained ankle. “We’re very encouraged by how they were doing, how they’ve been doing, the progress that they’re making,” Saban said of Randolph and Ray.

-- Asked again about Jahleel Billingsley, Saban said, “We’re just trying to get Jahleel to be a very responsible, disciplined person as well as a responsible, disciplined player. [He] certainly is a very talented guy, and we have high hopes for how he can contribute to the team. How that happens is sort of up to him, and his choice.” Billingsley was listed as the co-backup along with Major Tennison at tight end on Monday’s depth chart. Later that day, Billingsley tweeted, “Come on now I’m the 3rd option” with a crying emoji before deleting that tweet.

-- Asked about Cameron Latu, the listed starter at tight end, Saban said of his conversion from defense before the 2019 season, “Cameron’s done a really good job. He’s made a lot of progress. Any time you move a guy to a new position, I think it’s a little bit of a work in progress for him to sort of develop the confidence in knowing what to do, how to do it, knowing why it’s important to do it that way. But he’s had a really good fall camp and done a really good job for us at that position.”

-- Tulane’s football team, displaced from New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida, posted a photo Tuesday after a practice inside Alabama’s facility. Asked about opening the doors in Tuscaloosa to the Green Wave, Saban said, “Obviously, we’re very concerned about people who have been put in a difficult circumstance because of this storm. A lot of people in South Louisiana, which includes Tulane, are having a lot of struggles. These guys are in a tough spot, so anytime we can help people that are in a tough spot, we’re glad to do it. We’ve had other teams practice in our facility before and I’m never opposed to that, and certainly in this case, we wanted to be as accommodating as possible.” Tulane practiced Monday in Birmingham’s Legion Field and could play games there, Sports Illustrated reported, as it spends the next four-to-six weeks in the city.

-- Alabama listed Paul Tyson as its No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart with freshman Jalen Milroe as No. 3. Asked about the competition to backup Bryce Young, Saban said, “I think both those guys are in competition for the position. Paul has done a nice job, he’s got a good understanding of the offense, he’s very bright. Jalen is a young player who is still learning the offense but very talented guy. Both guys are working hard and both guys are doing a good job, and hopefully they’ll continue to progress and hopefully we’ll be able to both get them some experience somewhere along the line as well.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.

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