Kelly Ward
Mississippi State will come into Tuscaloosa with a perfect record. The No. 1 team in the country will also come into Bryant-Denny Stadium with a Heisman hopeful in quarterback Dak Prescott.
The Bulldogs' offense is balanced and has proven to be one of the best teams in the country, Alabama coach Nick Saban said on Monday.
"Dak Prescott is a very talented guy in a lot of ways," Saban said. "He's a big, physical runner. He kind of reminds you of (Tim) Tebow in a lot of ways, but he's also a very, very good passer. They have a big offensive line that has a lot of experience."
Prescott has put himself in a prime position to lead. He has 2,231 yards in the air and has a 61.1 percent completion rate. On the ground, he's second on the team with 870 yards. He's rushed in 11 touchdowns, tied for first on the team. He's thrown for 18.
"I think he's one of the best passing quarterbacks that we've played against all year," Saban said. "He's probably one of the best in the country. It's a difficult combination when you have a guy who is big, physical and has the ability to run the ball on quarterback runs, which creates another gap. It's about responsibility."
The team has used Cooper Bateman as the scout quarterback, Saban said on Wednesday.
"Cooper Bateman is very athletic, very fast, probably runs less than a 4.6 and does a really, really good job," Saban said. "He's been the scout team player of the week several times this year. Certainly has done a really good job this week. You have to have someone that can be that type of guy or you really can't prepare your defense for what they're going to see."
His job is to be Prescott so the team can get a taste of what it's going up against. It's part of Saban's plan to stay disciplined in defending pass lanes and not allowing Prescott to take off in a run.
"Not be so worried about, 'I want to sack the quarterback so I'm going to lose contain or I'm going to be pushed by the quarterback and now he has alleys and lanes to scramble,'" Saban said. "Those are the critical things I think we need to do as a front so that we have really good control of the pass rush lanes and pushing the pocket."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1703765
Mississippi State will come into Tuscaloosa with a perfect record. The No. 1 team in the country will also come into Bryant-Denny Stadium with a Heisman hopeful in quarterback Dak Prescott.
The Bulldogs' offense is balanced and has proven to be one of the best teams in the country, Alabama coach Nick Saban said on Monday.
"Dak Prescott is a very talented guy in a lot of ways," Saban said. "He's a big, physical runner. He kind of reminds you of (Tim) Tebow in a lot of ways, but he's also a very, very good passer. They have a big offensive line that has a lot of experience."
Prescott has put himself in a prime position to lead. He has 2,231 yards in the air and has a 61.1 percent completion rate. On the ground, he's second on the team with 870 yards. He's rushed in 11 touchdowns, tied for first on the team. He's thrown for 18.
"I think he's one of the best passing quarterbacks that we've played against all year," Saban said. "He's probably one of the best in the country. It's a difficult combination when you have a guy who is big, physical and has the ability to run the ball on quarterback runs, which creates another gap. It's about responsibility."
The team has used Cooper Bateman as the scout quarterback, Saban said on Wednesday.
"Cooper Bateman is very athletic, very fast, probably runs less than a 4.6 and does a really, really good job," Saban said. "He's been the scout team player of the week several times this year. Certainly has done a really good job this week. You have to have someone that can be that type of guy or you really can't prepare your defense for what they're going to see."
His job is to be Prescott so the team can get a taste of what it's going up against. It's part of Saban's plan to stay disciplined in defending pass lanes and not allowing Prescott to take off in a run.
"Not be so worried about, 'I want to sack the quarterback so I'm going to lose contain or I'm going to be pushed by the quarterback and now he has alleys and lanes to scramble,'" Saban said. "Those are the critical things I think we need to do as a front so that we have really good control of the pass rush lanes and pushing the pocket."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1703765
