TUSCALOOSA — Near the end of team stretching Monday, Tide offensive lineman Antoine Caldwell walked

Caldwell pleaded with his teammates to have “not a good day, but a great day” and then told them that he was “feeling motivated, rejuvenated and dedicated” before he and the rest of the Tide players started their drills.

Monday provided not only the third practice of the spring, but the start of a consistent string of drills that lead up to A-Day on April 12, and the two practices that follow the annual scrimmage.

While some coaches look at spring practice as a chance to implement new systems in a laid-back atmosphere with minimal fanfare, Tide coach Nick Saban sees greater importance to the 15 practice sessions than just team improvement.

In fact, he can trace the Tide’s recent off-field success to its 2007 A-Day experience.

During the past year, that one event has been well-documented. Alabama played under the backdrop of a deep blue sky, a cool spring breeze and 92,138 fans who crammed into Bryant-Denny Stadium. And a year later, Saban has seen its effect on his program. Several national recruiting services ranked Alabama with the top recruiting class in the country, and Saban gave the assist to the fans for that accomplishment.

“Our fans had as much to do with the success that we had recruiting as anyone else this year because they did an outstanding job of being positive in their support,” Saban said. “I think it’s a lesson for everyone to understand that when you are positive, and you do positive things, you can make an impact.”

Along with 2007 A-Day’s influence on Alabama, teams across the nation have seen a heightened interest in spring football. Alabama and 15 other schools will take part in the Gridiron Bash, a fan competition/rock concert, which will feature Alan Jackson playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium on April 11, the night before A-Day on April 12.

The school that gets the most votes on the Gridiron Bash’s Web site as the university with the best fans will win $1 million toward its general scholarship fund. Monday, Alabama was first, followed by Texas A&M.

“It adds something to the ADay game,” Saban said. “It adds something to the community, and I know our players will be excited about it as well.”

Also, the school announced that “ESPN College Gameday” will have a live show from a spring scrimmage for the first time. It will broadcast from Florida’s spring game April 12.

Before Alabama’s 2007 A-Day, the largest known SEC spring game crowd came in 1986, when close to 73,000 Tennessee fans watched at Neyland Stadium.

It also almost doubled the previous Bryant-Denny Stadium A-Day record of 46,700 set in 1994, and beat out the 51,117 who came to Legion Field on April 9, 1988, Alabama’s previous A-Day attendance record.

In looking back on the situation, Saban has trouble grasping the monster that Alabama’s 2007 spring scrimmage created.

He certainly wouldn’t mind getting another capacity house.

“It’s a great opportunity for our fans to come and enjoy themselves and be part of something that can be special, and I hope they support it,” Saban said. “I hope our players enjoy it. I hope our students enjoy it.”