Nick Saban revisits Bear Bryant quote, applies to Saturday game vs. Texas

During this week’s installment of the “Hey Coach” series from the Alabama Athletics YouTube channel, Nick Saban channeled some of the late Bear Bryant’s wisdom that he has used lately to motivate his team. On the show, Saban brought up one line from Bryant he always remembered:

“You never know what a horse can pull until you give them a heavy load.”

In a football sense, you never know what the players are capable of until you push them to their limits. Saban used that quote to explain why, at Alabama, he pushes his players so hard. Because the program is the gold standard. The Mount Everest of college football, which stands above the rest. To get there, the players have to be challenged harder than just about anywhere else.

Here was Saban explaining how and why he uses that teaching from Bear Bryant with his teams to this day.

Nick Saban explains how he applies Bear Bryant’s quote

“I think that’s going to be a heavy load for us and it’s going to be a very challenging game for us. But I think that’s why people come to Alabama. If you want an easy way, you wouldn’t come here. Because it’s a lot of challenging games and most teams that we play, you know, they’re going to give us their best shot. And you have to, you know, really challenge yourself to be the best that you can be at all times. And you can’t take anything for granted.

“You could say, well, why wouldn’t somebody go someplace else where it’s a lot easier, where you don’t have the expectations of being No. 1, where you don’t have the expectation to win a championship. But it’s the same reason people climb Mount Everest. Why would anybody ever risk their life to climb Mount Everest? I mean, it’s risky. You take a lot of chances. It’s very difficult because you say you climb the biggest mountain in the world on earth.”

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“So it’s the same thing and the same kind of challenge we have with our players. And a lot of the things that people think, say and do affect that in a positive way or in a negative way. But everybody’s got to have gratitude for the day that they have and not worry about what’s going to happen three months from now or six months from now. But do what they can do to control what happens today, and that will affect your preparation in a very positive way.

“So you’re not worrying about tomorrow. Are you worried about today? And what you do today will affect tomorrow. Then you worry about tomorrow, tomorrow, and keep building the momentum on your team so that in your life, for that matter, that you can always address challenges that you have.”