What Nick Saban said on Wednesday during fiery press conference

Alabama coach Nick Saban spoke to the media on Wednesday for the second time this week. Depending on the day and mood, we tend to see different sides of the seven-time national championship-winning coach.

Wednesday was one of those fiery days we tend to see from time to time. Here’s everything Saban said during that press conference.

Opening statement

We’re trying to identify exactly what our passion is, what our spirit is. I think we got a lot of really good guys on our team that have great character. They want to do the right things, they make good pretty good choices and decisions but… Passion is what is your sense of purpose, what do you want to accomplish, what do you want to do long-term in terms of the challenges of this season. And I think when you have a great sense of purpose, then you know you have a positive attitude about working every day, creating the right habits, doing the right things and you have the right energy and enthusiasm to sustain intensity and do things at a high level and play to a standard all the time. So that’s kind of the challenge for us in terms of what we want to do.

We have a lot of respect for Southern Miss. I think they have a really good defensive team. You know they’re ranked very high in the country. They’ve not given up very many points and some of those points have been field position, turnovers and pick-sixes and things like that. So, this is a very good team. They’re very athletic on offense. They have good skill players. The quarterback is a very, very good athlete, even though he’s a freshman and a young player. So we need to play to our standard. We need to do the things that we do well.

It’s always great to play at Bryant Denny Stadium to be home. I’d like to see our fans, you know have some passion and enthusiasm and energy for this team. I think it would be helpful to them.

We’ve had a pretty good week. I think the players were really good today in terms of their focus and what they’re trying to accomplish and what they’re trying to do so. We’re excited about the opportunity to have a game at home.

On why Trey Sanders didn’t play against Florida…

Well, we don’t know yet. It’s day-to-day. Trey Sanders is OK, if you’re asking about B-Rob, he’s day-to-day. There’s nothing wrong with Trey Sanders, so I don’t really understand the question.

After reclarifying that it wasn’t a question about Brian Robinson…

B-Rob played really well in the game and Jase played really well in the game. It’s not like I sit there and say everybody’s going to play this many plays, and when it comes to running backs, whoever’s playing well and has a hot hand, that’s who we’re going to play. That’s how it’s always been around here. We’ve had some really good backs in the past that didn’t play in games that were third guys because the other two guys were rolling and playing good. There was no plan to play him or not to play him, it’s just the way the game worked out. 

On if he considers Will Anderson a work in progress…

Will played well for us last year as a freshman. He’s played really well for us this year. I think he showed a warrior mentality, playing in the last game, playing as well as he did when he wasn’t 100%. I think a lot of college players, they think just the opposite of pro players. Pro players think “I’m going to play no matter what because I’m getting paid to do a job and I don’t want anyone else to take my job.” College players seem to think “I’ve got to be 100% to play.”

You have an opportunity when you’re not 100% to show that you’re a warrior. That you can go out there and play, be Player of the Week when you weren’t 100% and he wasn’t 100%. He didn’t practice all week and he got tired in the game. Now, he did practice some, but he didn’t practice like he always does and he got tired in the game — and he persevered. He showed a warrior mentality. That creates tremendous value to me for any player who can do that and he did it.

So, I don’t see him being a work in progress at all. I see him being one of the guys on our team that plays to the standard that we want guys to play to, and he does it all the time and he does it on a consistent basis. He sets a great example for every other player who wants to be successful. Why don’t they play like that? Why don’t they do that? I think he’s got some leadership qualities that are going to grow and develop as we go through this season and in the future.  

On Alabama tight end Jahleel Billingsley…

Well, he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He practices better, he’s more engaged, he’s more focused on what he’s supposed to and he’s having more positive performance on the field, which is what any player is supposed to do. I think that — did any of you play sports? I mean, the coach is supposed to play the best players, right? And then it’s up to the players to do what they’re supposed to do so they get to play because they become one of the best players. So that’s what he’s doing now. But I don’t know, maybe if you didn’t play, maybe that’s not something that you quite get. So to answer your question, he’s doing what he’s supposed to do.

On true freshman wide receiver Agiye Hall…

We’d like to see Agiye become a part of the offense. He’s got a lot of talent and a lot of ability. I think consistency in performance, making good choices and decisions on a day-to-day basis to do the right things, whether it’s on the field, off the field, in academics, whatever it is, aight, because those things really prove dependability. And we try to get our guys to understand that dependability is really important in their life for them to be successful, as well as in school for them to be successful, as well as in football to be successful. He’s getting better and better and he’s had some good weeks, so hopefully, he’ll be contributing sometime soon.

On what the Alabama standard means…

I don’t know. We tried to create a standard here when we came here 15 years ago. So it means to me what you’ve seen out of our football teams that play the next play, that play one play at a time for 60 minutes in the game regardless of what the score is. They don’t win the game, they beat the other team. And there’s a difference in those two things. And they can maintain their intensity for 60 minutes in the game. And they’re the more physical, they’re the tougher team. They play with greater discipline and intangibles than the teams they play against. And that mentality creates respect that helps you be successful, in your league, in the teams that you play year in and year out.

On the biggest factor behind the drop in explosive plays offensively…

I don’t know. We’re working to make explosive plays. I think we have to just execute a little bit better, give players more opportunities to make those plays. We’ve had some really, really good skill guys here, and the players make the plays. So those guys made a lot of explosive plays. They’d catch a slant pass and run for 70 yards. We catch a slant pass and get tackled. It’s the players, the execution of what we have to do on each and every play so that we have a chance to make explosive plays. And giving our guys opportunities through good planning is something that we have to continue to try to do a good job of as well.

Full press conference