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Alabama takes 3-day break from Rose Bowl practice for Christmas
Following Tuesday’s indoor practice session, Alabama will break for Christmas and will not practice again until Saturday, Dec. 26.
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Top-ranked Alabama began its on-field preparation for No. 4 Notre Dame on Monday. The two teams will square off in the Capital One Rose Bowl semifinal on Jan. 1 in Arlington, Texas.
But following Tuesday’s indoor practice session, the Crimson Tide will break for Christmas and won’t practice again until Saturday, Dec. 26. Head coach Nick Saban explained the reasoning behind his decision shortly after Alabama learned its College Football Playoff opponent.
“I would say that we’re gonna try to manage it a lot like we would a bye week,” said Saban in an appearance on ESPN. “That’s not a routine that’s abnormal for the players to understand, and at least we can give the players three days during Christmas to be able to do that.
“We let our players go home when we had a bye week. We tried to educate their families and those that had not tested positive on the safety issues and the things that they needed to do to stay safe and healthy so we wouldn’t have an issue on our team.
“I don’t have the heart to tell the players that they can’t go home for Christmas, so we’re gonna try to do the same thing in that regard. We’ll give them three days off for Christmas, practice a day or two before they go and then have a normal week when we come back.”
As Saban said, players could travel home during the team’s bye week earlier this year but not without strict guidelines. Players were only allowed to visit their families, who were debriefed on the necessary safety protocols over video conferences, and given packets of sanitary items like masks and hand sanitizer. That occurred again prior to departures for the holidays.
“It’s very difficult,” said Kelly, head coach at Notre Dame, Sunday. “Our roster, our players, we have as many from California as we do from any other state, so the logistics would be virtually impossible for us because of our roster and where everybody is from. If they were within a few hours where they could drive, we certainly could make this work. But virtually all of them, or at least a great percentage of them, would have to get on planes. Getting them on planes, the logistics of doing that, for us, because of our roster makeup, makes it virtually impossible.”
Notre Dame will be at less risk of an outbreak in cases, but Alabama didn’t experience a spike following its bye weekend back in early November, either. Asked about the ability to spend Christmas with their families this week, the Tide players supported their head coach’s decision.
“We’re really thankful that Coach Saban’s allowing us to go home,” quarterback Mac Jones said. “I think obviously it’s a little bit of a risk, but at the same time, he trusts us with listening to what he has to say and what our trainers and doctors have told us. We’ve been very well-educated about the virus, and we understand the main ways that we can get it. We just have to be really safe, and our families understand that, too.
“It’s just a big shoutout to all the families that have done a good job this year and tried to protect their bubble in coming to the games. My family’s a great example of just wearing their masks all the time and coming to the games and still supporting us. But they’re really watching what they do, so that’s a big part of it.”
Once the Crimson Tide reconvenes after Christmas, it will have six days before it meets the Irish on the field at AT&T Stadium. Notre Dame’s players, however, will remain on campus due to the geographic diversity of Brian Kelly’s roster and the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
