TUSCALOOSA -- During the bye week, Nick Saban said his Alabama offense needed to “be a little more efficient getting the ball to our explosive guys down the field.” And one of those players is star wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

Through eight games, Ridley and freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts haven’t perfected the deep ball that made Ridley a household name a season ago. Some of that is because the pair wasn’t able to build a rapport in the preseason because of a lingering quarterback competition. But the wideout said he and Hurts have remained on the field after practice to try and create that of late.

“After practice, we get at least five deep balls, every route he wants,” Ridley said. “I catch a lot of balls after every practice. I guess that’s going to help us.”

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From a statistical standpoint, Ridley’s numbers are similar to 2015 at this point in the year. As a true freshman, the former five-star had recorded 45 receptions for 525 yards and three touchdowns. This year, he has hauled in one fewer pass (44) for 28 fewer yards (497) and two more scores (5). But watching the ball hit the turf instead of his hands on deep shots hasn’t discouraged him.

“I think he’s having a great year,” Saban said of Ridley on Monday. “Last year we were a different kind of team. This year we haven’t been able to get him the ball as frequently or on the explosive plays that we were able to last year. It’s not that we haven’t tried at times, we just haven’t succeeded at it. But he’s handling it very well.”

Ridley’s four-yard touchdown reception from Hurts in the Texas A&M game was the receiver’s 12th touchdown catch of his Crimson Tide career, tying him for ninth in Alabama history with Kevin Norwood (2010-13). He’s still producing, especially on Lane Kiffin’s go-to jet sweep play call, but he’s also contributing in the running game as a blocker for his teammates.

“First play of the game last week, he’s going cross-field blocking point on Damien Harris’ run and you’d say this guy was shot out of a cannon, trying to get over there and block somebody,” Saban said. “He’s actually doing the things that he needs to do to help the team try to be successful. Never has he shown any signs of being disappointed or frustrated.

“He is a guy that can make explosive plays for us and when I say there are some things that we need to improve on as an offensive team, that’s what I'm talking about -- being able to get the ball to some of our guys on the perimeter that have chances to make really big plays.”

That unselfish approach has stood out to Ridley’s teammates, who still view him as a big-play threat.

“Playmaker,” senior tight end O.J. Howard said. “He’s a guy who’s a team player who does a great job for us, even when he doesn’t have the ball. He plays well without the ball, which makes him a great team player. He had a great block or two in the last game. That’s just the type of person he is. He’s a player that plays hard with or without the ball.”

As the team leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Ridley has still been a focal point of the Tide offense, but it’s clear the sophomore could be the league leader in receiving stats if he and his roommate had better chemistry through the air. According to Ridley, though, they’re working each day to improve that, just like Saban said last week.

“Building pretty good,” Ridley said of his connection with Hurts. “Sometimes I might not run fast enough or he might throw it farther. It’s just being consistent with each other in practice. That will help more with that -- down the field deep ball.”

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