Nick Saban, players recap 'beneficial' bye week for Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama was off last week, and while the Crimson Tide didn’t play in a game, the No. 8 team still had a productive three days of practice on top of needed rest.
“I know that bye weeks at this time in the season can be very beneficial, and I think in a lot of ways to our team it was very beneficial,” head coach Nick Saban said. “I think we got lots of guys that were banged up a little bit some rest and limited reps so that they could heal up, and of course, we won’t know how well that happens until we see how they respond this week.
“And we got a lot of good repetitions on future opponents as well as LSU in the bye week, so that should enhance our preparation for this game.”
Alabama practiced Tuesday-Thursday before taking the weekend off. Last week, Saban said the team did “43 percent of the workload” compared to a normal game week, which allowed players with nagging injuries to gain invaluable time to recover before the final four games.
The players were dismissed after Thursday’s practice and reconvened Sunday to ramp up the on-field preparation for No. 13 LSU. Some of the Crimson Tide players, like linebacker Deontae Lawson, remained in Tuscaloosa rather than heading out of town with the time off.
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Asked how he spent the idle weekend, quarterback Jalen Milroe was quick to respond.
“Grind don’t stop,” Milroe said Monday. “We’re in the season. Grind don’t stop. We’re still trying to improve, get better. So I took the bye week as a chance to increase my mental capacity as far as approaching the game and as far as the physical standpoint – resting, take care of my body so I can really take some big strides this week.”
Alabama seemingly had a productive bye week, but Saban’s message to his team was simple.
“I think that you want your players to enjoy their time off, but you also want them to be focused and ready to go when they come back,” Saban said. “There’s a balance in all that. You can’t dissipate and go not eat right and (not) do the right things while you’re off. You can still enjoy yourself, but you also can stay focused on what you need to do when you come back. I think that’s a combination and balance in all that.
“Balance in life is important in about everything that you do. So that kind of balance can create very positive results for you when you come back and you’re ready to go. If you didn’t think about your job, what your responsibility is, one minute for three days, you’re probably not going to benefit very much from the time you had off.”
That message from the head coach was well-received by the Crimson Tide’s leaders.
“That was a big focus last week during the bye week,” Lawson said. “We tried to keep up energy and keep that mental intensity and that’ll carry on into this week.”
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