Nick Saban addresses whether Alabama is concerned about Michigan's sigh-stealing scandal
Nick Saban was asked about Michigan’s sign stealing scandal and allegations ahead of the Rose Bowl. However, the Alabama coach had bigger fish to fry.
Jim Harbaugh served a three-game suspension at the end of the year due to the investigation into Connor Stalions‘ master plan. But the scandal is still talked about going into the College Football Playoff.
However, Saban wasn’t concerned about Michigan in particularly, while also saying integrity should still be an important part of the game.
“We’re really not concerned about that,” Saban said. “The integrity of the game, I think is really, really important. And, you know, our team has had every opportunity to prepare for this game just like they have every other game. And you know, I think that, especially when you’re, you know, a no huddle team, you got to adapt and adjust how you communicate with the quarterback.
“And hopefully one day we’ll get to the NFL system where you can just talk to the guy in his helmet. I think that’d be a lot better but for now, we just have to adapt to how we communicate with the quarterback and we’ll change it up and try to not put our players into disadvantage in any way.”
Nick Saban not concerned about issues with Catapult game footage
Friday evening, news broke that Catapult — a service that provides game film to teams across college football — was looking into a potential data breach. The company said local authorities were involved, and that came after players from Alabama and Michigan said they weren’t using iPads to review film.
Just two days before the Rose Bowl, Nick Saban was asked about when he knew about any issues with Catapult. He kept his focus on the game and downplayed the situation during his Saturday press conference.
“I’m not concerned about that,” Saban said. “Our players have had every opportunity to get ready for this game just like any other game. It’s not an issue that I’m concerned about or that our players are concerned about or is worth discussing here 48 hours before the game.”
Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel reported the investigation isn’t centered on Michigan — which is at the center of its own investigation — but rather one other unnamed school. Catapult is widely used by teams across college football to analyze film from games and practices.