Nick Saban shares his initial thoughts on Michigan, Rose Bowl

Alabama head coach Nick Saban joined the Rose Bowl Selection Day Teleconference shortly after it was announced the Crimson Tide, ranked fourth in the final College Football Playoff Top 25, will face No. 1 Michigan in the semifinal in Pasadena, Calif. Below is a full transcript of his early thoughts on the Wolverines and more during his 10 minutes with reporters.

Saban’s opening statement… 

“We’re very excited about being able to play in the College Football Playoff, very excited about playing in the Rose Bowl. My experience in the Big Ten is we always referred to it as the ‘Granddaddy of Them All.’ We played there in 2009, and it was a wonderful experience, a lot of great people and first-class organization in every way. So our team is very excited about having the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country in the University of Michigan. They’ve had a very, very successful season, Big Ten champs. I’d like to congratulate them on that. And we’re going to look forward to the challenge that we have ahead in terms of what we have to do to prepare and be the best that we can be to play against the No. 1 team in the country.”

Saban on Jalen Milroe’s Heisman candidacy…

“Jalen’s done a fantastic job for us. His transition and improvement as a player is certainly been a huge factor in the success of our team. I don’t get the opportunity to watch all these other guys on a consistent basis, so it’s not fair for me to make a comparison, but from our team’s standpoint, he’s certainly a Heisman candidate in terms of what he’s done to help our team be successful.”

Saban on what the last 24 hours were like…

“It was a lot of concern about what – I felt like our team deserved to be in the playoffs. They earned the right to be there. I was just very anxious and hopeful that they would get the opportunity to do that, so it made a bit of a sleepless night in a lot of ways. So we were trying to prepare for the opportunity if we got it but also concerned about what opportunities we’d have if it didn’t work out. But we’re excited about the fact it did, and I know our players are excited about it. And we’re going into finals week here in the next couple weeks, so they’ve got to focus on academics and get ready to play in this game.”

Saban on how Michigan is similar/different to teams Alabama has faced this year…

“I haven’t had the opportunity to watch them yet, and I don’t get to see very many college football games through the course of the season. But the little that I have seen is they’ve got a great defensive team. I know they’re one of the best defensive teams in the country. They do a great job of attacking the ball and getting turnovers. They’re very productive on offense. The quarterback is a good player, good runner, great balance. I haven’t been able to see them and it wouldn’t be fair enough to compare them to someone else that we’ve played, but I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for what they’ve been able to accomplish all year long.”

Saban on the importance of Alabama, Texas getting in with matchups being valued…

“We won 10 or 11 games in a row and beat the No. 1 team in the country, so we’re not the same team that we were when we played Texas earlier in the season. We were kind of in transition at the quarterback position. It was unsettled. I think it affected our team, although Texas had a great team and I think deserves every opportunity in terms of their resume and getting in the game. So this is just one of those years where – and there’s been other years like this – where somebody that may have been deserving got left out. And Florida State certainly, going undefeated, did everything they could to get in the playoffs, and unfortunately, probably because of the injury to their quarterback, are not going to have that opportunity.”

Saban on success in semifinals a result of figuring out rhythm in preparation…

“I think early on in preparation for these games when you have this long span of time, we probably practiced too much, and by the time we got to the game, our players were probably mentally and physically maybe not in peak performance. So as we’ve transitioned through the years, we’ve kind of learned how much you need to practice and how you can psychologically get them in the right place at the right time. But some of the teams that you play in the playoffs, none of them are not going to be really, really good teams, and I think the way you prepare and compete for games like this and the psychological disposition you have about how difficult it’s going to be is very important to every team. So hopefully, our team has the right disposition because they’re going to play a great Michigan team.”

Saban on Terrion Arnold…

“Terrion is a very vocal guy. He’s got a great personality. He’s very well-liked by his teammates. He’s a hard worker. And he’s made a significant amount of improvement, and I think it’s showing up in terms of the way he played this season. He’s made a lot of big plays for us, and hopefully, he’ll continue to have that right mindset to… And he’s done multiple things for us – played corner, played Star. So we’ve had to move him around some because of injury, and he’s responded well to every challenge that we’ve given him and no reason to think he won’t continue to do so.”

Saban on his expectations for the transfer portal window with making the playoff…

“There’s probably a lot of differences. I don’t think players look at playing in a bowl with the same significance they look at playing in the playoffs, so that in and of itself makes it a little bit different. But I told players today in the meeting that, ‘Some of you have issues about transition in terms of your future. You don’t have to do it in a vacuum. We’re here to help you. Come talk to us about it.’ I’m going to stay in the office tomorrow so that – whether it’s guys going out early for the draft, our seniors, leadership group on the team – guys in transition have the opportunity to visit about what they want to do in the future. We’re hopeful that all of our players will want to stay on our team and contribute to the preparation and success that we have in the opportunity to have playing the best team in the country.”

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $1! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!