What Nick Saban said about the Vols to start Tennessee-Alabama week

Alabama head coach Nick Saban met with reporters Monday to start Tennessee week, previewing his 11th-ranked Crimson Tide (6-1, 4-0 SEC) hosting the 17th-ranked Vols (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa:

Opening Statement

“This game we’re playing against Tennessee, big rivalry game. Means a lot to a lot of people in the state of Alabama and I’m sure there, too. It’s one of the best rivalries in college football. They have a really good team. They’re ranked 15th or whatever, so they have a really, really good team. Very explosive. Josh Heupel has done an outstanding job there. They play with great tempo on offense, which is challenging for the defense. But their ability to run the ball and create balance has been pretty phenomenal this year. I mean, they run it for like 230, pass it for like 210, whatever. And that kind of balance is always something that is difficult. 

“Their defense is playing really, really good. They’re in the top three or four in the SEC, ranked nationally in negative plays, sacks, tackles for loss and those types of things. I think Joe Milton is a really good quarterback. They’ve got three really good runners who have all been very productive. They’ve got good skill guys outside. So this is all around a really, really good team. So it’s important for us to have a great week of preparation and be able to maintain focus in practice, in meetings, in whatever we’re doing to be able to carry that forward in teh game and be able to sustain in the game for 60 minutes, which is what it’s going to take in a game like this.”

Saban on the challenge of covering Tennessee’s wide splits

“They certainly make you defend 53 yards wide of the field. There’s two challenges. It affects run support in the box because the guys that are covering the receivers are so far away from the box. And they run a lot of vertical routes from out there so the people covering them get pretty isolated because they’re far away from, whether it’s split safety or middle of the field safety. So it is very challenging. The thing that I think is going to be really important is not to give up big, explosive plays, which was a real issue for us a year ago.”

Saban on Tennessee QB Joe Milton

“I don’t see Joe being a whole lot different than what we’ve played against in the past, when (Hendon) Hooker was there. Guy can throw the ball, he’s accurate, he’s got a strong arm, they can make plays down the field, and they take a lot of vertical shots, so he’s certainly capable of making those plays. But he’s also athletic enough to extend plays in the pocket and run if necessary. You don’t tell them anything different than any other time they play a quarterback (like that). You can’t get pushed by the quarterback. You have to keep the guy in front of you. We’ve got to have disciplined pass-rush lanes. Need to try to make the guy throw on time from the pocket, and hopefully, we can cover them well enough to make it work on the back end.”

Saban on the importance of cleaning up pass protection issues

“It’s very important. It’s been important all year. It’s something that we have to do a really good job planning wise, and we have to fundamentally play better. It’s a combination of both. Both of those things are coaching and teaching things that we need to do better. Guys need to get set better, hand placement has to be better, footwork has to be better, and we have to make sure whatever scheme it is that we’re trying to use that players are capable of doing it without putting themselves in a bad position.”

Saban on keeping JC Latham at right tackle

“He’s really a good right tackle. He’s played really well, obviously, being SEC offensive lineman of the week. He had a really good game in the last game. He’s big, strong, physical. He’s the prototype right tackle that everybody would look for in terms of having a power guy who is effective in being able to pass block well enough. I guess you always hope that if we move the right tackle to left tackle, that would make everything better. But I guess the question you also have to ask yourself is would that make us any better at right tackle? Or do you just try to attack the solution of trying to get the left tackle to play to the standard that you need him to play, without making multiple changes to the offensive line. We can have a debate about that. Nobody really knows the answer to that. But we have made a commitment to try to keep some stability with the guys where they’re playing, and get the guys to play left tackle better.”