TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The 2018 NFL Draft is now a thing of the past. So is spring football.

So, what’s next for Alabama?

The next largest event on the calendar is graduation, which will take place this weekend.

Other than that, though, we have reached the point where the countdown to the college football season can sometimes seem to be stuck -- which currently sits at just under 125 days.

“This next five or six weeks coming up in college football is the time where players are away from each other more than any other time of the year,” Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said. “We work out in the summertime. We have off-season program in the winter time. We have spring practice in the spring. We have the season in the fall.

“But finishing finals is the most important thing right now.”

Alabama ended its spring season with its first-team defense getting the better for its first-team offense, 24-14, in the A-Day Game. The Tide did not suffer any injuries in the scrimmage.

But that was the last actual football we will see for a while.

UA opens its 2018 season Sept. 1 in Orlando, Fla., against the Louisville Cardinals. Until then, however, there will not be much action. The spring semester will end, the remaining members of the Tide’s 2018 signing class will arrive on campus and then, before we know it, SEC Media Days will be upon us, this year taking place at Atlanta’s College Football Hall of Fame.

Nick Saban watches CB Shyheim Carter during a practice rep.

Fall camp in Tuscaloosa started Aug. 3 a year ago, and with the 2018 campaign beginning one day earlier for Alabama, the team’s return to the practice field is likely to mimic that. And that will be a time to further build on the foundation that was laid this spring.

“The biggest thing moving forward that we would like the players to focus on is the individual improvements the players need to make so they have the best opportunity to outperform the people they have to play against next year,” Saban said.

“That starts with our first game against Louisville, but we will have great competition all year long in our league, so whoever we have to play against should be about the players and what they are looking to do because the individual’s ability to do so will determine how strong our team will be. The individuals on our team will make the team what it is.”

Once the players reconvene for summer workouts, that time spent on the field is arguably the most important between spring and fall practices. Sure, it is where conditioning takes place, where games in the fall are won in the fourth quarter. But it is also an opportunity for leaders to step to the front of lines and for chemistry to be formed between teammates.

“We have made some progress, but there are things we have to work on in every position,” said redshirt junior safety Deionte Thompson after the A-Day Game. “We will work on that this summer and bring it into camp, and we will be ready in the fall when the season starts.”

All should be quiet in Tuscaloosa for a time, but the opposite can be said for the discussion surrounding the reigning champs and the rest of college football. Talking season has arrived, and endless debates will take place until the opening kickoff of 2018.

In other words, get ready for a lot of “Tua vs. Jalen” in the immediate future.

Whoever is the quarterback, UA is poised to make another run at a title this fall. But Saban, as expected, said there is plenty of room for improvement for his latest team in the coming months.

“All in all, we made a lot of progress this spring and I’m not completely satisfied where we are, but I’m certainly excited about the opportunities that we have to try and improve over the summer and the individuals over the next five weeks,” Saban said. “We’re looking to have a strong team coming into fall camp with individuals that are looking to play winning football.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).