Nick Saban and Jalen Hurts met on Wednesday.

It was a combination of a meeting and a film session to help Hurts continue to improve as a passer.

The two watched some plays together, and Saban said he emphasized to his talented freshman quarterback "the simplicity of 'This is what you're supposed to look at. This is what you're supposed to do. And this is what you should have done.'"

Alabama coaches continue to focus on helping Hurts grow as a passer and into a more complete quarterback. It's a big priority, and it's been an ongoing process that's continued heading into Saturday's game between the Tide and Mississippi State.

The good news? Hurts continues to improve, and Saban said Hurts has had a "really good week this week." In addition, Hurts will be facing a Mississippi State defense ranked just 104th nationally in pass defense.

What that means: Don't be surprised if Hurts has a breakout game throwing-wise on Saturday.

"I think he's really worked harder this week in preparation in terms of trying to understand," Saban said of Hurts. "I think sometimes guys that have success running as quarterback, it's a little more difficult for them to get the mindset that they want to be a complete player because they know they have the ability to take off running all the time because that's when they have success and that's what they get a lot of positive self-gratification from. But to be a complete player and for our team to be a complete offensive team, we talked about the fact that we have to get 3, 13, 88, all those guys need to get involved, and we have to do a good job of executing as an offensive team to get them the ball.

"It's pass protection. It's quarterback reads. It's good route-running. It's timing. It's a lot of things. I think he's very, very dedicated to trying to make progress in those areas. I think he's had a really good week this week."

Those three players -- 3, 13 and 88 -- are wide receivers Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart and tight end O.J. Howard.

Ridley and Stewart are two of the top receivers in the SEC. Howard is arguably the best tight end in the country.

Getting those three the ball more and creating more explosive plays with each of the three of them are big priorities. Saban has talked about that a lot in recent weeks.

Ridley, who posted an average of 84 receiving yards in Alabama's final 11 games last year, has 27 yards or less in four of the Tide's last six games.

Howard, meanwhile, has had only one catch in three of the last four games. For the year, Howard is averaging just 31 yards per game and less than three catches per game.

Howard's only catch against LSU lost three yards.

While Hurts has been great as a runner and is tied for the SEC lead with 10 rushing touchdowns, he has thrown for an average of just 186 yards in Alabama's six games against SEC opponents.

During the Tide's win over LSU last week, Hurts was just 10 of 19 for 107 yards with no touchdown passes and an interception.

After throwing only one interception in Alabama's first six games, Hurts has five interceptions the last four games.

The reason for the increase in interceptions?

"We're just not making the progress in the passing game and making decisions and getting our feet and doing things with accuracy like we need to," Saban said. "We just need to develop a little more consistency in that regard."

So, that's one of the top storylines entering Saturday: Will Hurts look better as a passer against Mississippi State? And will he be able to make some big plays with his arm against this defense that has had issues stopping the pass?

Opposing quarterbacks have thrown for an average of 264 yards per game against Mississippi State. In addition, the Bulldogs have allowed 21 touchdown passes. Only 11 teams nationally have allowed more.

Samford sophomore quarterback Devlin Hodges threw for 468 yards and four touchdowns against Mississippi State Oct. 29 while completing three passes that gained 45 yards or more.

The week before, Kentucky's Stephen Johnson threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns vs. the Bulldogs. That's the same Stephen Johnson who has thrown for an average of only 80 yards in games against Alabama, Vanderbilt and Georgia,

South Alabama's Dallas Davis also had success against Mississippi State. Davis, who has thrown for 195 yards or less in three of his last four games, was 24 of 34 for 285 yards with two scores and no interceptions during South Alabama's 21-20 win over the Bulldogs.

There were issues last week, too.

While Mississippi State beat then-No. 4 Texas A&M, Aggies backup quarterback Jake Hubenak was 11 of 15 for 222 yards with two touchdown passes in the second half while completing three passes that gained 47 yards or more.

That's the defense Hurts will be facing Saturday.

"We're certainly trying to make progress with a young player, and he's responding in a positive way," Saban said, "so we're going to continue to work on that."