Nick Saban compliments Texas offensive line ahead of matchup

The anticipation continues to build as we get closer and closer to the kickoff of Saturday’s marquee matchup between Alabama and Texas. Both teams had dominant week one performances, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke specifically about the play of the Longhorn’s offensive line in their first game.

“They got a couple young guys playing who are really good players, they got a couple veteran players, center and one tackle, that are really good players,” Saban said. “So they were very impressive last week in terms of the way they played, how they protected the quarterback, how they ran the ball effectively.

The Longhorns started freshmen Kelvin Banks and Cole Hutson in week one up front on their o-line, tasked with protecting freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers and creating running lanes for star running back Bijan Robinson.

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The Longhorns did have a successful day on the ground and in the air in week 1 led by their offensive line, but they’ll have a much taller task this week as they face one of the nation’s best front seven units, headlined by edge Will Anderson.

However, the same can be said about Alabama, whose offensive line struggled at times last year protecting Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Bryce young and had some question marks heading into the season. The Tide’s o-line only allowed one sack in their opening game versus Utah State, but will definitely face a greater challenge this week against Texas’ defensive line.

The full verdict on both teams up front is definitely not final, as both teams faced lesser competition in week one, but Saban still gave a nod to Texas’ offensive line for their improvement and solid play against Louisiana-Monroe.

“So I think they’re much improved and really a good, solid unit, even though they’ve got two young guys there, the young guys are really good players,” Saban said.

Will Anderson explains how Alabama is preparing to play in the Texas heat

The weather was ideal in Alabama‘s week 1 home game versus Utah State last weekend, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff where the weather stayed around 70 degrees for the majority of the game. But conditions will be a little different in this week’s matchup at Texas, where the high in Austin this upcoming game day is 96 degrees, and the game kicks off at noon.

Alabama linebacker Will Anderson was asked about how he and the Crimson Tide are preparing for the Texas heat ahead of their matchup against the Longhorns.

“You know we just got done lifting and they were giving us sodium shots, salt packets, Right Stuff, giving us hydration tests, making sure we’re doing everything the right way and make sure our bodies are ready. So the strength staff and the training staff have been doing a phenomenal job of helping us get ready for this game on Saturday,” Anderson said.

The Crimson Tide seem ready to combat the heat, as they come off of an impressive 52-0 win over the Aggies. Anderson was the second leading tackler in Alabama’s shut out recording five tackles, a tackle for loss, and one quarterback hurry.

The Tide had the chance to rotate a lot of defensive players into the game during their blowout win Saturday, but the story may not be the same in this week’s matchup versus the Longhorns. Hopefully for Anderson, that means more snaps played and more chances to sack freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers in his first true test of his collegiate career.