Everything Nick Saban said on Monday of Texas week

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke to the media on Monday for the first time since his postgame press conference after the 55-0 Utah State victory. This week, the Crimson Tide have a road trip to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns.

Below, you can check out everything Saban said during his availability.

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Opening statement…

“I think we showed elements of Alabama football in terms of how physical we are the toughness, we played with the intensity that we had. For the most part, the discipline to execute was pretty good, especially early in the game. I think we need to get more players to be able to go and do those things in game situations and play winning football. But, the key is the measure of a team is what is your growth between Week 1 and Week 2, even though you had a pretty good start, can you build on that and make progress for the future because we’re gonna need to do that playing against a really good opponent this week.

“(Steve Sarkisian) has done a really good job. They have a very good offensive coach. They’ve been in a great system and have a great scheme on offense. They’ve got some really good players on offense. (Bijan) Robinson is an outstanding running back. (Xavier) Worthy is a great receiver. Ewers is a very good quarterback. Great arm and is a very talented guy. They’ve got seven starters back on defense. They played much better last week on defense than maybe some of the times last year when people scored points on them. This is a very improved defensive team to me. They do a really good job on special teams, they play with great effort and blocked a punt last week. They make plays, Worthy has been a really good punt returner, he averages 15 yards or something on a punt return. They’ve got a lot of good players. They’ve got really good schemes, and it’s gonna be a very challenging game for us.”

On the challenges in communication when playing on the road…

“Well, it’s the same that we’ve always done. We try to go in silent sometimes, we try to go into clap sometimes. We can’t really use a cadence and those kinds of situations, so that’s what you practice. We usually have some noise practices when we’re playing on the road, which we will do at some point in time this week, later in the week, but it’s always a challenge, especially on offense. For defensive players maybe not as much, but sometimes for defensive players, it’s tougher at home because the crowd is yelling when the other team has the ball. This is a very challenging thing that we’ve always had to work on hard in the past and we’ll continue to do it this week.”

On what he saw out of Alabama’s running game against Utah State… 

“Inconsistent. Like I said, after the game, it was a big little. We made a couple of really explosive plays in the running game, but the down-in and down-out consistency to have positive runs and not having negative plays was not where we want it. It’s something that we want to improve on, but I wasn’t disappointed at all in the way we played. They did a lot of stunting and moving up front, which we sort of expected. We didn’t always pick it up exactly right. Sometimes they were able to create some negative plays with it, so definitely need to work on those things.”

On Texas running back Bijan Robinson as a runner and receiver…

“He can do everything. He’s got speed. He’s got power. He’s a very instinctive runner, sets up his blockers well, has a burst. And he’s got great hands, good receiver— they use him a lot in the passing game. So this guy is as good an all-around back as there probably is in the country, or certainly one of the best of all the guys in the country, and his production really shows that.”

On how he adjusts facing Steve Sarkisian and a coach that knows the defense well…

“We’ve seemed to play several teams now that kind of know us, but you act like we don’t know them. So just because somebody knows you when they play you, doesn’t mean they’re going to beat you. And just because you know them when you play them, doesn’t mean you’re gonna beat ‘em either. It’s gonna come down to how you execute. 

But to think we’re gonna go change a lot of things that we do, that our players know how to do, that they do well, that they have confidence in—I don’t think that’s the answer when it comes to getting execution and having confidence in how you have to adjust in what you need to do.”

On the advantage of a running back that can also catch passes…

“I think that’s what every offensive coach wants. You have five eligible receivers, and you want them to have to defend all five guys. I think tight ends and running backs are mismatched players because of the guys who end up guarding them most of the time. So when you have a guy that’s outstanding, that can create those mismatches, that’s a real advantage for you. So I think that’s probably the greatest advantage of having a running back or running backs who are really good receivers and understand the passing game and can be used as targets in a lot of ways that puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”

On what makes Sarkisian a good play caller… 

“Well, I think he’s a very bright guy, very well organized. He did an outstanding job when he was here. He’s got a good system. He understands defense. He likes to see what you’re in if he can, so that he can run a play that’s going to be an effective play against that particular look or give his players the best chance to be successful. I think all those things and a combination of those things and good preparation, make you a really, really good play caller.

So he has a really good understanding of defense. He has a really good understanding of what he wants to do on offense against certain things on defense, and he tries to implement those in the game. Whether it’s formationally, using motions, adjustments, eye candy, whatever you want to call it to, to sort of get the look that he’d like to have and run that particular play against it.”

On Alabama linebacker Jaylen Moody, doing the little things right consistently…

“Well, I think that’s the key to the drill. A lot of players want to make plays, but they don’t understand that systematically you have to do your job relative to what’s required on that particular play in that particular defense. And that will actually enhance your chances of making plays. And when players understand that, then we can play much better team defense because you’ve got everybody in the right places. The term I like to use is, ‘Nobody here needs to farm somebody else’s land.’ So if you just do your job, then we’ve got a chance to be successful because when one guy is trying to do something he’s not supposed to do, that opens up an area that offers an opportunity for the other team to make plays.”

On how Alabama’s pass rush performed despite not getting any sacks…

“I don’t know if you can really assess the pass rush against Utah State because they threw the ball and got the ball out so quick that we didn’t have a chance to get a pass rush. But we did affect the quarterback in the game, pushing the pocket. We had some free runners in space which affected his throws. But typical drop back, hold the ball, see it develop and throw it, they didn’t do much of that. So the ball was catch and throw all the time so we didn’t have a lot of opportunity to get the proverbial sack but I think we affected the quarterback pretty well in the game.”

On recruiting in the state of Texas…

“I thing anytime you get exposure in area it obviously helps recruiting. It doesn’t matter where you play, whether you play in Atlanta or whether we play somewhere in Texas, that exposure makes people in that area more aware of your program, who you are, players on your teams so I think those things have an impact on your recruiting. It’s a great opportunity for us to play a school like Texas who has a great tradition and have a really good team.”

On Alabama receiver Traeshon Holden a Player of the Week…

“Traeshon had a really good camp and he played really well in the game. He’s playing fast. One of the things that Traeshon has gotten so much better at is controlling his emotions and staying in the right place where he can play fast and not get frustrated and not cut things short and not do things the right way. I think he’s learned through his maturity, doing things the way the quarterback expects him to do it and the way it’s designed, I think it enhances and give him the best chance to be successful. He’s playing fast. He’s very physical. He’s got strong hands. All those things benefitted him in a very positive way hand he had a very positive performance.”

On Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers…

“Well he’s a very, very talented passer. He’s got a good feel for the game. He has a strong arm. I think he threw the ball 55 yards pretty much on the money in this last game. I know that’s probably his first game playing but I thought he played extremely well in that game and I’m sure he’s going to continue to make progress because he has a tremendous amount of talent. So he’s a really, really good player and we’ll have to do a great job of hopefully disguising what we do a little bit so he has to figure it out after has the ball in his hands but he’s got the talent to make the plays when he knows where to go with it. That’s for sure.”

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