Alabama Football: Nick Saban on ‘hard’ and ‘the ball’
By Ronald Evans
After a demanding win against Mississippi State, Alabama football coach Nick Saban spoke Monday about ‘thriving on hard’ and ‘the ball.’
In Nick Saban’s Monday press conference, there was no discussion about the Auburn Tigers. Nick reviewed the Mississippi State game and commented on this week’s Alabama football opponent, the Mercer Bears.
Not having to admonish the media about looking past Mercer, left Nick in a calm and somewhat reflective mood. Below we paraphrase and quote Nick from the live, press conference broadcast.
On the Mississippi State game
- Mississippi State had a good plan, played slow, can’t give them extra possessions as in the leaping penalty on the first quarter punt. The defense has to get off the field on 3rd-and-8, 3rd-and-9 and 3rd-and-10.
- (Alabama football) had issues on defending play-action passes.
- Defensive team stability starts with the play-caller, (we) had some costly breakdowns … the whole defensive team must improve, be more consistent.
On certain players
- Not displeased with any of the running backs, but need to get Josh Jacobs more involved because of his versatility
- J.C. Hassenauer did a good job. He has to also rep as backup center
- Raekwon Davis has done a good job, plays with a toughness, more guys upfront need to play with Davis’ tenacious attitude
- Priority for Jalen Hurts to take care of the ball. We always stress ‘the ball, the ball, the ball’ and Jalen has done a good job
On hating to lose
Nick was asked to comment on Jalen sharing Nick’s perspective on ‘hating to lose’ more than loving to win.
"All great competitors set a standard of accomplishment … when you lose it is a reality check that they didn’t get the things done to be successful … they don’t like the feeling of not being successful"
The most interesting Saban comment on Monday was an explanation about ‘thriving with hard.’ On Saturday night in Starkville, Alabama football confronted a ‘hard’ situation. The Tide was not playing its best game. The Bulldogs were playing at a high level. The atmosphere was intense, the setting was a clamor of cowbells, a hyped crowd and an overamped sound system. Composure was not easy to come by.
It was a setting and a situation to provide an answer to the question, “can you thrive on hard.” As Nick elaborated, life is sometimes hard, as is competitive sports. Saban said the challenge becomes “are you going to respond in the right way?” Saban said the answer is found “in the heart.”
"Are you going to put the team accomplishments first, or are you going to put yourself first?I was proud of the way the team responded."
There is plenty of ‘hard’ in the Tide’s future. After Mercer, starting with Auburn, Tide fans will be hoping for a total of four ‘hard’ games leading to another championship.
Players of the Week
Crimson Tide coaches named ten players of the week for their performance against Mississippi State. On offense, named were Jalen Hurts, Jonah Williams, Josh Jacobs and Calvin Ridley. Defensive players of the week were Anthony Averett, Ronnie Harrison, Anfernee Jennings and Quinnen Williams. Special teams players chosen were Deionte Thompson and Keaton Anderson.
It worth noting that the two leading tacklers against Mississippi State, Hootie Jones with 10 total tackles and Rashaan Evans with nine total tackles, including a tackle for a loss and a sack, were not players of the week.
Much has been made about missed tackles and missed assignments, and most of the focus has been on the poor play of Keith Holcombe. Given the positive stats generated by Hootie and Rashaan, were their performances diminished by also missing assignments and tackles?
Next: Why can't Dan Mullen beat Alabama?
Alabama football had a day off on Monday. The Tide returns to the practice field on Tuesday and begins preparation for the Mercer Bears.