After Saturday’s first scrimmage of preseason camp, Alabama football head coach Nick Saban was concerned about depth at offensive and defensive line. The Crimson Tide are solid at the top of the depth chart in both areas, but Saban said they needed more than six or seven players both offensively and defensively to step up as contributors.

During his Tuesday press conference, Saban explained more about what needed to happen in order for that depth to form.

“Guys gotta focus, they gotta get reps, they gotta learn from their mistakes,” Saban said. “It’s maturity and the only way those players are gonna get it is how many times can we do it over and over and over over? And it’s not practicing until you get it right, it’s practicing it so much that you can’t get it wrong.”

On Monday, offensive tackle JC Latham and defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis said they were both working with young players to make sure the underclassmen were doing the right things to become usable pieces for the Crimson Tide. They both foreshadowed Saban’s words, noting the youngster needed to build confidence and makes sure they were doing things correctly.

Saban noted that Alabama’s younger players can often be thrust into positions they ordinarily would not have been in due to older Tide teammates leaving.

“The depth of your squad gets affected to some degree by some of those things,” Saban said. “So it’s important that we do a great job of developing the young players and getting them into a position where they can be players who can go in and play with confidence and give us a chance to be successful even if they have to play.”

In his opening statement Tuesday, Saban offered a glimpse at what he wants to see from the Crimson Tide’s depth as the season approaches.

“Bottom line is, just ask yourself, can your teammates trust you to do your job?” Saban said. “And that should be everybody’s goal in terms of what they strive to do and what they’re trying to do. That’s how you compete to play, that’s how you compete for playing time.”

Alabama continues preseason camp through Aug. 26. The Tide will open the season Sept. 2 at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Middle Tennessee State.

More: Alabama football: What Nick Saban has said about each position in camp