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SEC Sports
Everything Nick Saban said after arriving in Dallas for Cotton Bowl
Read a full transcript of everything Nick Saban said after arriving in Dallas.
247sports.com
Alabama landed in Dallas on Sunday morning to begin its on-site preparation for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, which will pit the top-seeded Crimson Tide against No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 31. Shortly after arriving, Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke to reporters via Zoom for 15 minutes. Below is a full transcript of everything that Saban said upon arrival.
“First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and I hope that you all enjoyed it as much as we did. It’s a great time for family. It’s a great time to have gratitude for all that we should be thankful for. And we’re excited about the opportunity that we have this week here in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Rick Baker and the entire staff for all that you do to create a very positive atmosphere for our team is certainly appreciated.
“Our players have worked hard all year for this opportunity. I think we had good practices before Christmas, but I think that it’s time for everybody to realize that we’re here in Dallas. Now is the time, it’s game week. We need to get ready to roll and sort of get recentered for what we wanna try to accomplish and what we wanna try to do. I think the legacy of any team is how you finish, and that’s how you’ll be remembered. It’s a great opportunity that our players have, and now it’s time to focus on taking advantage of it.”
On Bill O’Brien, Doug Marrone…
“We’re using the same protocols that we used in the past for COVID situations, and they will do all their work and coaching virtually with players, very similar to the way I did it when I tested positive before the Auburn game a year ago. They will join us, I think, the evening of the 29th or 30th or whenever their time is up – before the game. So they’ll be here for the game. And I think they’re both doing well. No one is really that bad sick that they can’t function and do things that they need to do with our players. In the meantime, Joe Pendry will be on the field to work with the offensive line, who has been here for a long time and was a former offensive line coach for us. The two coaches that are gone will Zoom practice and Zoom the meetings and do all the things that they need to do.”
On if there are any injury updates…
“I think you guys know about all the injuries that we have. There’s nothing of any significance that I can remember that’s new or someone who’s not gonna be able to practice this afternoon that you don’t already know about.”
On focusing on the Cotton Bowl…
“When you’re in the playoffs, it’s all about what’s happening, it’s what’s in front of you right now. This is one of those you either win or go home-type situations. And I think players need to understand that. This is a great opportunity for our team. They worked all year. I appreciate the effort, the adversity that they overcame, the things that they need to do to get here. But you didn’t come this far to get this far, so now’s the time that you have to realize that we have to be the best we can be as coaches and every player needs to do the best that they can to create the habits that’ll help them be the best player when the game comes and they’re playing against a very good team and well-coached team and a team that’s undefeated and had a tremendous amount of success all season long. So it’s not gonna be easy. It’ll be a real battle. And our players have to prepare themselves the right way for that.”
On if there was any COVID spread among the team…
“No. I think everyone has to adapt and be able to manage circumstances that come up that are a little different on a day-to-day basis, whether it’s a player missing practice because he has a stomach virus or a coach testing positive for COVID. I think that everybody’s ability to stay focused on the task and manage their business the right way and do everything that they can from a protocol standpoint to not put themselves at risk so that they can stay safe. But we don’t have any other issues that we know about. We’ve got some guys traveling from different spots here today, and we’re all gonna gather up at one o’clock, so if something comes up then, we’ll let you know.”
On if there have been any changes to COVID protocols…
“No. I mean, we implemented the masks, the social distancing in meetings with the players way back when we started. So we’re already doing all the protocols that we feel we possibly can. Our team’s all been vaccinated. Ninety-two percent of our players have also had boosters. But we have encouraged them to use the same practices that we had to use a year ago, whether it’s wearing a mask in meetings, wearing a mask when you’re not in the building, social distancing when we’re in meetings. If there was some new protocols that would help us be safer, we’d certainly implement them. But I think we tried to implement all that we know that has worked in the past.”
On playing at AT&T Stadium…
“It’s special to play here. It’s a special stadium. It’s a special city. It’s a special place. There’s a lot of special people here that do a great job of making this very accommodating for the players in a very positive way. I think playing in this atmosphere and environment here in the past has been a great experience for our players, so we’re excited to be here.”
On Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford…
“We thought Jerome was an outstanding player when he was with us. He had some success with us, and I think he’s done a really, really good job of continuing to develop as a player. He’s got great speed. He’s physical. He makes people miss. He can run with power, and he’s had a fantastic year. I’m really happy that things have worked out well for him where he could create value for himself in terms of the goals and aspirations that he had. And he’ll certainly be a challenge for us in terms of our defense being able to stop their offense. And he’s certainly a key part of what they do in terms of their running game, and he’s also a good receiver. So he’s a very good all-around player.”
On Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder…
“We watched him some in their last-year game. We certainly watched the Georgia game, which I think they did an outstanding job against a very good Georgia team, a very good Georgia defense. We’ve watched most of their games this year. When you have this sort of extended time period, you have a lot more time to sort of look at what teams have done, what their history has been. But their players do a great job of executing what they do. They’ve got a very good offensive scheme. I think it starts with the quarterback. He’s really smart. He puts them in the right play a lot. He changes the protections. He recognizes what the defense is trying to do and, for the most part, does a really good job of taking advantage of it. And he’s done nothing but play better and better and better as this year actually wore on and he continued to develop.”
On Alabama’s change in mindset after losing to Texas A&M…
“I think that one of the most difficult things to do is probably deal with success. I think most of the time when you have a negative thunderbolt, people are much more willing to respond and do the things that you’ve been trying to get them to do to the standard that you’ve been trying to get them to do it. And I think we won something like 19 games in a row. I think that happened one other time where we won that many games in a row and had a very similar loss at South Carolina, where the other team really played well and we weren't up to the task, and I think there were a lot of lessons learned in that.
“I think sometimes when you win, you lose respect for winning. But really what you lose respect for is what it takes to win, what it takes to prepare to win and to respect the challenges that the other team certainly brings so that you can go out and play well from start to finish, which is what you need to do on a consistent basis when you play against good teams, especially in difficult environments to play in. And that was certainly a difficult environment to play in.
“So I think we matured some as a team. I think we gained a little respect for what it takes to be successful, and I think our players have done a little bit better job of trying to create the right habits so that they could play with consistency and performance, which sort of defines success, and they had to overcome a lot of adversity to be here. We surely didn’t get it done that night, but I’m kind of proud of the way they responded and what they’ve been able to do to get here.”
On his message to Alabama fans in Latin America…
“We certainly appreciate all the support that we get wherever it comes from internationally. And certainly, any Latin American folks that follow the Crimson Tide and have helped support us through the years, and especially this year, we appreciate more than you know. I hope you’re having a great holiday season and continue to enjoy yourself and have a Happy New Year.”
