Everything Nick Sheridan said after Alabama's third spring practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan spoke to local reporters for the first time after Friday’s third spring football practice. Below is everything he said.

Sheridan on his confidence in Jalen Milroe…

“Very confident. He’s an extremely talented kid. I think more than anything, he’s just a great person. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and his family. Obviously, everybody knows the talent, the explosiveness as a passer. Obviously, he’s very electric as a runner as well. But I’ve just enjoyed getting to know him as a person, what his history’s been, what his journey has been. Just his journey, what has gotten him to this point. But if you ask me how confident I am, I say very. There’s a lot of work to be done still as a group, not just as a quarterback group, as an offense, but yeah, the kid’s a special player for sure, and a special person, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and getting a chance to coach him. I feel very lucky.”

Sheridan on how being a former quarterback helps…

“I think that’s a great question. I certainly had some ups and downs in my career as a player and so I think that journey for me has helped me connect with the kids that I’ve coached. And I’ve shared my story with them, and there will be more experiences that you share with your players to try to motivate them, connect with them, try to get the best out of them. And so I think playing quarterback at this level is a small fraternity of people, and the things that come with that, I think only a few people can understand what that experience is like.

“And I don’t think, no two people, no two journeys are the same. No two schools, no two careers, but I think there’s some similarities. Everybody goes through adversity, everybody has good moments and bad moments, and how you handle those, the experiences that you gain, the wisdom you learn from that, I think that’s our job as coaches to try to get the best out of the players and I think sharing your story is certainly helpful and helps you connect with them.”

Sheridan on his transition to Tuscaloosa, finding out he would be OC…

“There’s so much work to be done. You don’t have time to reflect on it, you just kind of get to work. That’s kind of what all coaches do. And so, as far as any reflection goes, there hasn’t been much of that. We’ve just been waking up early and staying up late and trying to build relationships with the players, but also make sure that our football is clean and fundamentally sound and the communication between the staff because we’ve had some moving pieces there, make sure we all get on the same page before we present it to the players. So, couple that with recruiting and developing those relationships with families, all grades, all areas of the country, all positions. We certainly have been busy. But it’s fun, we love to do this. I know everybody on staff feels very fortunate, very blessed, to be at Alabama.”

Sheridan on his biggest objectives for the spring…

“I think number one, install our systems. The scheme that’s involved. And then number two, to make sure that our style of play, that we’re executing those plays with the right mentality and the right mindset. There’s certainly fundamentals involved in both of those areas, but knowing what to do and how to do it, that’s really what we’re focusing on this spring.”

Sheridan on freshman TE/WR Caleb Odom…

“I think with Caleb, we’re just trying to put him in a position to be successful early on in his career. You know he’s a big kid. He’s very athletic. He’s very explosive. He has a great frame. How his body grows and what he turns into being when he’s 20, 21, 22 years old, I think time will tell. He certainly runs good enough to play wide receiver. He runs very well, he’s a big target. So we just tried to put him in a position early on, to not try to run into 275-pound people, you know, put him in a position so he can have success. And I think there’s so much versatility in our offense, there’s so much inter-positional responsibilities, where tight ends or wide receivers or running backs, everybody’s being taught conceptually what we’re trying to do. 

“And so there’s good teaching and learning occurring there. And he’s coming from a great program. He’s accustomed to playing football at a high level, and so the moment hasn’t been too big with him. He fit right in. Obviously we had a chance to watch some bowl prep when we first got here, there are moments of him competing at a high level against really good competition in his time here at Alabama. Transition to spring, he’s got a long way to go, a lot to learn, but he’s eager. He’s willing. Likes to be coached, cares about football. So we’re excited about him for sure.”

Sheridan on Alabama’s tight ends…

“I think that group, from just a mindset standpoint, has been excellent. I always think that the tight end position, really, their mentality and their work habits, the physicality that they play with, the effort that they play with, they connect with multiple positions, right? They play in the box. They play on the perimeter. Kind of their energy and their vibe that they bring every day to practice, it can be infectious. And I’ve been really pleased with that group. They’re kids that love football, that wanna work. They care about this place. They care about their teammates.

“And they have an excellent coach in Bryan Ellis. So they’ve taken to that coaching, and I’ve seen improvement each and every day because their mindset had been so good. Top to bottom, that’s been a great group. How they’re utilized, time will tell. Our jobs as coaches, for any position, is to find what they do well and let them do that as many times as possible. Our offense has so much variety and ability to adapt, time will tell what each of their roles are, but certainly, there’s good players in that room.”

Sheridan on Alabama’s running backs, Robert Gillespie…

“I’ll start with the coach. I’ve known Coach Gillespie for a handful of years now. We worked together at Tennessee. I thought the world of him then, and I feel the same way now. And his family is great too. One of his daughters has the same birthday as I do, so there’s a connection with our families there. But he’s as good as it gets. He’s demanding with his players. He creates great relationships with his players. His track record speaks for itself. And he’s been phenomenal. He has great relationships with not just his room, but you know, guys across different positions throughout the team. His experience here, his knowledge here, his ability to help us connect with some of the kids has been fantastic— not to mention, he’s a phenomenal football coach. I can’t think of any other… I mean, he’s phenomenal. He’s excellent. 

“And then the room, kids are great. Hard-working and very talented, big, strong, physical— everything you would hope for in a running back room and more than one. Making sure that they understand all areas of our offense. We’re going to ask them to do different things, trying to find out what they do best. But certainly protecting the football, running the ball, pass protection, catching out of the backfield. It’s a group that can do all those things.”

Sheridan on if the expectation is he will call plays…

“Yes, that is the expectation, but I’ll let Coach DeBoer handle that. Trying to get me here early. Yeah, that would be the expectation.”

Sheridan on the importance of Jalen Milroe’s leadership…

“I think it was important for us to keep all the kids. I mean, certainly the quarterback, that’s important. The leadership at that position naturally has the impact they have on the rest of the roster and the rest of the team is super important. Obviously, Jalen’s presence on our team is impactful. So, I would say very important.”

Sheridan on Washington transfer WR Germie Bernard…

“Obviously, we’ve had history with Germ. Great kid, great family, loves football, tough competitive, excited about being here. I think Germie is excited about being around other like-minded people that care about football and want to be the very best they can be. Him and the rest of the wide receivers have a great coach, and they’re getting better each and every day. The relationship between those groups – quarterbacks and wide receivers – is building and growing each and every day. We’re glad he’s here.”

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