Nick Saban's message to players in bowl prep: 'Excellence is not free'

Nick Saban’s message to the team is clear. As Alabama continues to prepare for the Rose Bowl semifinal against Michigan, the head coach has mentioned one point multiple times.

“Excellence is not free,” Saban said. “You’ve got to pay the price up front, and there’s a price to pay for it.” 

It was part of his opening statement after Wednesday’s practice when he discussed the week of practice, and he brought it up again when asked about the team’s responsibilities once it lands in Los Angeles next Tuesday to begin on-site work for the College Football Playoff.

“We have some responsibilities that sort of go with the territory, that are required for the players to be involved in,” said Saban during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “But I think it takes mature guys to be able to manage external factors that can cloud how focused you are and what you need to do. 

“But what I try to emphasize with the players is, ‘Look, man. When we’re here, we’ve got to focus. I know it’s going to be Christmas in a couple days, but we’ve got to focus on practice. We’ve got to focus on the meetings. We’ve got to reinvest in what we’ve got to do to go play well in this game.’”

Saban continued with his same message from Wednesday. “Excellence has a price. It doesn’t come easy. It’s not free. So we’ve all got to make an investment in what we’ve got to do when we’re here, and then the couple days we have off for Christmas, I want you to enjoy yourself. 

“And then when we refocus, I don’t care if we have media or whatever that we have to deal with, we’ve got to focus on what we’ve got to do on the field to play well, and that’s got to be the No. 1 priority for all of us.”

Alabama held three fundamental practices, beginning last Saturday, before shifting its full focus to Michigan. Saban said the team tried to approach the rest of this week like a normal game week leading up to its holiday dismissal on Saturday, Dec. 23. The team will reconvene and travel to California on Tuesday, Dec. 26, to hold another full week of practice.

Getting back into a rhythm is important as the Tide prepares for a one-game season.

“It’s all about having a singular focus and doing our job,” quarterback Jalen Milroe said on Tuesday. “That’s something that’s going to reveal itself when it comes to playing on Saturdays, just having that type of mindset. That’s really critical to playing in games like this, and really to maximize every opportunity that we have. 

“With that, we have to appreciate the grind, we have to appreciate where we’re at, because teams set goals for themselves prior to the season, and one of our goals is to be where we’re at right now. All we can do as a football team is appreciate it, but also acknowledge that we have a lot of work to do to be successful.”

With two practices left before a brief Christmas break, Alabama is implementing its game plan for the top-ranked Wolverines. And with 11 days until the Rose Bowl matchup, Saban likes what he has seen from his players as the semifinal on New Year’s Day – an opportunity to claim a spot in the CFP National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 8 – inches closer.

“Once we started sort of planning for the game, that gave them a focus,” Saban told McAfee. “I think when you get to this point in the season and you’ve played this many games, 13 games, players are into a rhythm of what are we doing to get ready for the game? And that’s where their focus is.

“Those first three days were hump days, I call them, in terms of trying to get guys to do things the way you want. But the players did a good job of it, and they’ve been really good this week.”

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