With spring practice off the table, at least in the capacity that has been the norm in recent years, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Alabama coach Nick Saban proposed an alternative teaching period for his team and others, should college football season go on as scheduled.

“Obviously, we have 14 practices in the spring, not counting A-Day, which makes 15, which is not going to happen,” said Saban on Thursday during a teleconference with local and national reporters. “If there was some kind of way that we could have 14 days of teaching with our players sometime before fall camp happens, I think that would probably be beneficial. Historically, we’re not allowed to work with our players in the summertime.

“This would be hypothetical that at some point in time in the summer we would have the players back here and we would be able to work with them. And I’m not talking about having pads on or anything, but just be able to teach system, teach scheme. We’ll have to evaluate the players based on fall camp, and I think the players who benefit the most from spring practice ... are really the young players on the team. Hopefully, this will work out that we’ll able to have some time to be able to teach them, and we’ll just have to evaluate them in fall camp.”

The SEC canceled all of its spring games and pro days because of the outbreak, but as of right now, it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of football practices in the spring. Team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings, whether required or voluntary, have been suspended through at least April 15. If that deadline is extended, the Crimson Tide won’t hit the practice field until early August to prepare for its opener against USC on Sept. 5.

Saban’s hypothetical proposal would occur before that in the form of non-padded practices.

“I don’t think the actual contact that you have in the spring prepares somebody to have contact in the fall,” Saban said. “I think that’s why you have fall camp. That’s why I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to do some kind of teaching sessions on the field, even if it’s in shorts and T-shirts in the summertime with our players. At least from a knowledge and experience standpoint, we’ll be able to benefit their growth and development so that they’re more ready when contact actually comes in fall camp.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban and cornerback Patrick Surtain II at bowl practice.

“I don’t personally think that making fall camp longer is going to get anybody any more ready to play. I think if you look at statistics historically on concussions, injuries, the most concentrated time that you practice and not play is in fall camp. You have more practices, you have to spend more time on the field.

“So, I don’t know that increasing that is actually going to be beneficial in helping people get ready to play. I think if you could do simulated training programs in the summertime that wouldn’t even involve that much contact, or any contact, would be just as beneficial at that point.”

While the lack of spring practices affects the young players on Alabama’s 2020 roster, especially its 13 early enrollees, Saban said that won’t force him to play more veterans this fall.

“We’re going to lean on the people who are the most responsible to go out and do their job and be able to create value for themselves because they’re confident and understand,” Saban said. “That could be a freshman. We’ve played a lot of freshman around here. I think we played 19 last year, and five started. I know they’re not going to have the benefit of going through spring practice, but we’ve had a lot of guys that came in the fall -- Minkah (Fitzpatrick), Ronnie Harrison.

“I mean we’ve had guys that weren’t here in the spring, they didn’t get here mid-year, and they started as freshmen. I don’t think making those kinds of choices, decisions, whatever you want, without having some legitimate information to evaluate from, that kind of speculation, we’re not going to do it and I don’t think it’s smart for anybody to do.”

Contact Charlie Potter by personal message or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).