Nick Saban: Coaches should text players what to do 'because they'll read it'

When it comes to distractions, Nick Saban wants his Alabama team to stay focused on the task at hand. That’s a big part of his message to players when asked about something off the field, such as an eclipse coming up during Saturday’s game against Arkansas.

Saban tells his players to avoid distractions at all times. However, he thinks there’s another way to get that message across.

“I actually think the best way to do that is text it to them so they can read it on their phone, aight?” Saban said.

Because players tend to be on their phones a lot, Saban wondered if texting instructions would be a better way to get his point across. He joked the players tend to tune some things out, which is why he said texting could be more effective.

“Sometimes, they don’t listen,” Saban said. “But if you text it to them, they’ll read it, aight? That might be a new technique that we try. We should text them what they’re supposed to do on the field. They’ll probably get it then.”

Of course, there’s a big distraction looming during Saturday’s game. Tuscaloosa will see about 60% coverage during the lunar eclipse, according to NASA, and it will occur right around the noon ET kickoff. Fans will likely be looking up to the sky to see the event, but Saban will want his players’ attention on the field.

A big stretch is looming for Nick Saban, Alabama

After a 1-1 start to the season, Alabama is now in the midst of a four-game winning streak after gutting out a victory over Texas A&M last week. The Crimson Tide looked like they’d be on upset alert, but pulled away to get the 26-20 victory to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Alabama is also now alone in first place in the SEC West after entering last week tied with Texas A&M for the top spot. With five conference games left, Saban is going to want his team at its best to try and get back to the SEC Championship.

That win over Texas A&M could create some much-needed momentum going forward. After this week’s game against Arkansas, Alabama will welcome Tennessee for a Third Saturday in October showdown before the bye week. From there, LSU will come to Tuscaloosa on Nov. 4 and a trip to Lexington to take on Kentucky awaits the following week.