Alabama17Tide
Member
OPENING STATEMENT
The focus is obviously to respect our opponent and certainly do everything we can to be the best team that we can be. I think we have a lot of work to do in terms of the improvement that we can make and consistency in execution. I think the last game sort of proved that in terms of the way we played in some parts of the game and the way we played in others. That's certainly the focus and the point of emphasis for this week.
ON JERRY GLANVILLE (worked with him on Oilers)
Jerry was a really, really good coach and a great defensive coach having been a former defensive coordinator. I think a lot of the things that I learned defensively from him, especially playing man to man, playing bump and run, jamming receivers, not letting skill guys run off the ball. Sort of his upbeat energy and attitude all the time with the team, all things that sort of affected me in a positive way. I certainly learned a lot of defense. I actually learned how to play the 3-4 there, which we now play. A lot of real positive effects in terms of what he did.
SHAUN DION HAMILTON:
Shaun Dion has played really well for us. A very dependable guy. Smart guy and has made a ton of plays for us this year. We're really excited that he's been able to take the role that he has and he's a really good leader out there. He's done a great job for us.
HAVE A ROLE IN SCHEDULING KENT STATE?
I'm happy to play any Mid-American Conference school in terms of the tradition that that league has and the number of upsets that they've been able to effectively have against good teams over the years. It's a quality league that has a lot of good coaches and does a really good job. The fact that it's my alma mater, we were looking for a game, they needed a game. It was helpful to them and it was helpful to us. I guess it was good for everybody.
LAST TIME VISITED KENT STATE?
I can't even remember. It's been too long for me to remember. When you're coaching you never get the opportunity to go back to places that you've been before. I think both of us have a lot of good memories from Kent State. We graduated from there and you always appreciate your alma mater and the relationships that you developed there. We have quite a few but we haven't been able to get back there very much in this profession, because of the way we work and the time we have off.
JONATHAN ALLEN'S DECISION TO COME BACK
I think it's always a tough decision for guys to make a decision and I think you make business decisions based on the information that you have. We try to do a really good job with our players here. I think the fact that he was injured and it was going to be tough for him to be ready to work out. Based on the grade that he got from the junior committee, made a good business decision. The fact that there was, I think, maybe 12 defensive linemen or something like that in the first two rounds _ don't quote me on that, I'm not an NFL guy now that keeps up with all that stuff. It was kind of overloaded at the position and heavy at the position. He made a good decision, and he could be one of the top guys this year at his position.
KENT STATE SPECIAL
I don't think there's any question about it. I got a degree from there, and have a lot of mentors that really influenced my life at a time when you're growing up, you're 18-22 years old and especially from a football standpoint and a personal standpoint. Don James was really a tremendous impact on me as a person as well as my future because that's who I played for and he actually talked me into being a coach and asked me to be a GA when I didn't really want to be and didn't really want to even go to graduate school.
There's a lot of things that impacted my life in a very positive way because of the people and the relationships that were developed there.
DALVIN'S ROLE:
Dalvin has been a real contributor for us two years now, last year and this year. Made a lot of plays, bats down a lot of balls. A very consistent player, a smart player. Plays really good technique and is athletic and can rush and do a lot of things. He's been an outstanding player for us. He's gotten better and better each year. He was a little bit undersized when we recruited him. He's gotten bigger and stronger and now he's a pretty effective player on a consistent basis.
RYAN ANDERSON
Ryan has been a very productive player for us the last two years and is a real leader on the team. When he came probably had to develop at the position. Didn't have a lot of patience, was anxious to play and sometimes got frustrated because of that. But he stuck with it and had a great attitude of perseverance and it paid off for him, I think, in a big way because the last two years he's been a really, really productive player for us and now one of the leaders on our team.
MEMORIES PLAYING CAREER THAT STICK OUT?
I think the last year I played there, you always have a lot of pride in accomplishments. But my senior year we won the conference championship, which is maybe the only time that they've won it. I'm not sure about that. I think you always remember that, the accomplishments. I remember we beat Bowling Green at Bowling Green that year and we were huge underdogs and that kind of set us toward having a chance to do that. We beat Miami at Miami even though I was injured and I couldn't play. Jack Lambert made 3-4 goal line stops from the 1-yard line to win the game.Then we played Tampa in the Tangerine Bowl, which became the Citrus Bowl, which is the same bowl it is in Orlando now. We played Freddie Solomon and John Matuszak and they had a really good team. I think we lost by three points or something, but a lot of great memories from that team and being a part of that team and that senior year and those coaches and the impact they had on us. From a playing standpoint, I remember all those things very well.
Nick Saban transcript from SEC teleconference | TideSports.com
The focus is obviously to respect our opponent and certainly do everything we can to be the best team that we can be. I think we have a lot of work to do in terms of the improvement that we can make and consistency in execution. I think the last game sort of proved that in terms of the way we played in some parts of the game and the way we played in others. That's certainly the focus and the point of emphasis for this week.
ON JERRY GLANVILLE (worked with him on Oilers)
Jerry was a really, really good coach and a great defensive coach having been a former defensive coordinator. I think a lot of the things that I learned defensively from him, especially playing man to man, playing bump and run, jamming receivers, not letting skill guys run off the ball. Sort of his upbeat energy and attitude all the time with the team, all things that sort of affected me in a positive way. I certainly learned a lot of defense. I actually learned how to play the 3-4 there, which we now play. A lot of real positive effects in terms of what he did.
SHAUN DION HAMILTON:
Shaun Dion has played really well for us. A very dependable guy. Smart guy and has made a ton of plays for us this year. We're really excited that he's been able to take the role that he has and he's a really good leader out there. He's done a great job for us.
HAVE A ROLE IN SCHEDULING KENT STATE?
I'm happy to play any Mid-American Conference school in terms of the tradition that that league has and the number of upsets that they've been able to effectively have against good teams over the years. It's a quality league that has a lot of good coaches and does a really good job. The fact that it's my alma mater, we were looking for a game, they needed a game. It was helpful to them and it was helpful to us. I guess it was good for everybody.
LAST TIME VISITED KENT STATE?
I can't even remember. It's been too long for me to remember. When you're coaching you never get the opportunity to go back to places that you've been before. I think both of us have a lot of good memories from Kent State. We graduated from there and you always appreciate your alma mater and the relationships that you developed there. We have quite a few but we haven't been able to get back there very much in this profession, because of the way we work and the time we have off.
JONATHAN ALLEN'S DECISION TO COME BACK
I think it's always a tough decision for guys to make a decision and I think you make business decisions based on the information that you have. We try to do a really good job with our players here. I think the fact that he was injured and it was going to be tough for him to be ready to work out. Based on the grade that he got from the junior committee, made a good business decision. The fact that there was, I think, maybe 12 defensive linemen or something like that in the first two rounds _ don't quote me on that, I'm not an NFL guy now that keeps up with all that stuff. It was kind of overloaded at the position and heavy at the position. He made a good decision, and he could be one of the top guys this year at his position.
KENT STATE SPECIAL
I don't think there's any question about it. I got a degree from there, and have a lot of mentors that really influenced my life at a time when you're growing up, you're 18-22 years old and especially from a football standpoint and a personal standpoint. Don James was really a tremendous impact on me as a person as well as my future because that's who I played for and he actually talked me into being a coach and asked me to be a GA when I didn't really want to be and didn't really want to even go to graduate school.
There's a lot of things that impacted my life in a very positive way because of the people and the relationships that were developed there.
DALVIN'S ROLE:
Dalvin has been a real contributor for us two years now, last year and this year. Made a lot of plays, bats down a lot of balls. A very consistent player, a smart player. Plays really good technique and is athletic and can rush and do a lot of things. He's been an outstanding player for us. He's gotten better and better each year. He was a little bit undersized when we recruited him. He's gotten bigger and stronger and now he's a pretty effective player on a consistent basis.
RYAN ANDERSON
Ryan has been a very productive player for us the last two years and is a real leader on the team. When he came probably had to develop at the position. Didn't have a lot of patience, was anxious to play and sometimes got frustrated because of that. But he stuck with it and had a great attitude of perseverance and it paid off for him, I think, in a big way because the last two years he's been a really, really productive player for us and now one of the leaders on our team.
MEMORIES PLAYING CAREER THAT STICK OUT?
I think the last year I played there, you always have a lot of pride in accomplishments. But my senior year we won the conference championship, which is maybe the only time that they've won it. I'm not sure about that. I think you always remember that, the accomplishments. I remember we beat Bowling Green at Bowling Green that year and we were huge underdogs and that kind of set us toward having a chance to do that. We beat Miami at Miami even though I was injured and I couldn't play. Jack Lambert made 3-4 goal line stops from the 1-yard line to win the game.Then we played Tampa in the Tangerine Bowl, which became the Citrus Bowl, which is the same bowl it is in Orlando now. We played Freddie Solomon and John Matuszak and they had a really good team. I think we lost by three points or something, but a lot of great memories from that team and being a part of that team and that senior year and those coaches and the impact they had on us. From a playing standpoint, I remember all those things very well.
Nick Saban transcript from SEC teleconference | TideSports.com
