| FTBL Nick Saban press conference: 8/24
- Thread starter TerryP
- Start date
TerryP
Staff
Transcript:
"I hope everybody’s safe and really doing the right things to keep you and your family safe out there. We have a lot of great supporters at the University of Alabama, so we’d certainly like to keep all those folks to be good supporters of us in the future.
"We just put pads on for the first time today. I think the acclimation period is certainly a positive for players when it comes to -- you know, they have two days in just a helmet, two days in shoulder pads and then today was the first day in pads. I thought our players responded and reacted to it pretty well. Obviously the most important thing at this time of year is, how many guys can we develop to play winning football on this football team. I think probably more than ever the depth of your team, the experience of your team, is critical, because we may have more issues just from a personnel standpoint just by the nature of where we are than maybe we’ve had in the past, even though all of our efforts are to keep our players safe.
"But you know this all comes down to everybody’s personal discipline to sort of manage their bubble. We don’t have a lot of issues when the players are here. They all wear masks. We practice social distancing. They stay separated in meetings. We keep them arm’s length apart on the field as much as possible. It’s OK when you leave here, what kind of decisions do you make in your own personal bubble? Because that probably is the biggest challenge for us, and that comes to everybody’s personal discipline to make the kind of choices and decisions that they won’t have issues. Because I think this is everybody’s personal choice.
"We had the Surgeon General speak to the team on Monday, and he said what I’m saying loud and clear to the players. You manage this for the safety of your family, you manage it for the safety of yourself in terms of how you practice all these things. That’s an opponent that we have to deal with, but I think this is an important one for player safety, and that’s something that we think certainly have done a really good job of. I think our medical staff, Jeff Allen and his staff of folks, our doctors, have done a really good job. I think the SEC medical task force has done a really good job in all those areas.
"So we’ve had a lot of heavy installation so far on the field. This is very challenging to young players. But I think the 10 days, well, we used 10 days, where could have sort of a minicamp type of atmosphere, where we had six hours a week on the field, six hours in meetings. I think those walk-throughs were very beneficial in helping the young players understand. I think all the Zoom calls that we had helped them gain an understanding. They’re picking it up on the field a little quicker and with a little better understanding than maybe what they normally would because we’ve had so many so-called chalk talks, walk-throughs, those types of things that I think have really enhanced their development.
"I think one of the things that’s really important on every team -- I talked to our team about this the other day -- is what kind of humility do you have as a person and as a competitor. Because people who have humility are always working to get better. People who don’t have humility are always looking for ways to think that I’m entitled to not have to do what everybody else does. And I think when you have that, it’s hard to develop team chemistry and I think it’s hard to have your best players be the best competitors on your team. We’ve obviously had two opportunities -- Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan -- the last two years that our players have had the opportunity to talk to. They were very loud and clear on the fact that they were never satisfied. They had lots of humility. They always respected their opponent. They were working hard to get better every day, and I think that’s really, really important. When you don’t have humility, it can cause a little complacency which creates a great disregard for not doing what’s right, because you feel like you’re entitled to something. And that’s not good for team chemistry.
"Obviously we’ll work hard for the rest of this week. We’re kind of doing these first two weeks like spring practice so we’re practicing Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. It gives us a good chance to teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays and still be within the 20-hour sort of work week to try to get these guys ready to go out in the scrimmage on Saturday, so that we can evaluate and see how especially some of the younger players, if they’re mature enough to go out there and compete when the coach is not standing right there behind them kind of helping them along. That’s kind of the next step of what we’d really like to do.
“I know you’re probably going to ask me about what the mayor did today. Look, this stuff is about people. People are affected in a lot of ways. It’s not just about football. So, for people to make the right choices and decisions to wear their masks, do the things when they’re out publicly, respect the rules, respect the virus, that’s important. And when people don’t do that, I guess there’s consequences. Those people that make those decisions certainly know more about it than me. I feel bad for the business owners and the people who are affected by this in a negative way. Not the people who really don’t have the personal discipline to do things the way they’re supposed to do it.”
ON THE OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS...
“I’m impressed with all the young players that we have. I think all four of those guys have shown some promise in what they can do. I think a couple of them probably are going to add depth to our team. I think they have some pass-rush ability, they’re high-effort guys, they’re really good athletes. So, a couple of those guys are going to be able to contribute to the team. I don’t know for sure which ones yet. There’s still a work in progress in terms of the evaluation, but I’m encouraged by that group.”
ON GUYS LEARNING MULTIPLE POSITIONS...
“We’re actually doing that right now, trying to get guys to learn multiple positions. Haven’t really had anybody cross the ball. We’ve met with a couple guys in case that becomes an issue, but we haven’t really practiced anybody that way. Hopefully, we’ll be able to develop enough depth internally that we’ll feel good about every position.”
ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM LAST SEASON...
"I don't think there's any question about it. Me personally, I'm not pleased with the way we played last year. Yeah, we had a lot of adversity as a team: we lost good players with injuries, but there were other opportunities for other players to step up and be able to play and play with discipline, give better effort, play with better intangibles, play better together as a team, have better leadership on the team. I do not think that last year's team reflected the culture of what we're trying to develop here, what has made this program be as successful over time [as] it has been. There's no question that we're trying to emphasize the fact that we want to make sure we re-established that culture, and it comes from the buy-in of every player to believe and trust that the things we're asking them to do is gonna help them have success individually as well as collectively as a team."
ON FREDDIE ROACH, COACHING CONTINUITY...
"Well, I don't think there's any question that the continuity has been a real asset for us this year. I'm excited about having Freddie Roach on the staff. He's an Alabama guy, he's brought great energy and enthusiasm, he's very knowledgeable, he's got great pride in his performance in terms of what he's trying to do, the players respond to him really, really well. So I think it's very helpful to the chemistry of our staff to have that kind of personality added to the defensive staff."
ON HOW DIFFERENT PRACTICE IS DURING A PANDEMIC...
"I really don't see anything. We practice, we still do the same footwork drills, receivers run the same routes, quarterbacks got the same reads, offensive linemen gotta block, defensive players gotta tackle, everybody's gotta key and read the right thing. So when we're out there on the field, everybody's focused on, 'What do I have to do to be a good football player?' The wearing of the mask, the staying apart when you're not in there [are different], but when you're in there playing, it's your turn, it's your rep, we expect you to be 100 percent focused on doing your job and doing it the right way. So I don't see anything different. There's no difference for me except this thing around my neck that I wear that, when I put up here, I can't seem to get the same emphasis that I'd like sometimes. I mean, I look like Jesse James robbing a bank. And I can't get on people like I like to. It muffles the sound a little bit. So when we need to get someone's attention, we have to come out of bank-robber mode."
ON NAJEE HARRIS, BRIAN ROBINSON...
"Those two guys have done great. They've really worked hard; they've had great camps so far. Trey Sanders has done extremely well. The young guys have done really, really well. I see them all contributing and I think those guys can all have a role on our team. That's an area on our team that I really like the depth. I like the experience we have with two seniors, and then there's some young guys that have some really, really good ability to contribute. And these guys are all really good special teams players. I think when you have depth at linebacker, running back, tight end, skill positions, wide receiver, DB, that really, really helps you on special teams because those guys take up a lot of roles on special teams, and I think those guys are going to make a real contribution in all those areas as well."
ON BENEFIT OF A COLLEGE FOOTBALL COMMISSIONER...
"I think that it’s important — at least I look at it as if it’s important that we have something or someone, some organizational body who can bring everybody together. And I don’t know if that’s a commissioner, if it’s some council, I don’t know if it’s a committee someplace. I really don’t know the best way to do that, but I do think that it would benefit college football if the five major conferences could always sort of come together on what’s best for college football. I’m not saying they don’t all have those intentions. They do. But sometimes they don’t all sort of marry up, which is kind of the situation that we have this year. Do I think it would be beneficial if we had some way we could tie all that together? The solution to that, I’m not sure what that would be."
ON JOSH JOBE CONTROLLING HIS EMOTIONS...
"I think he’s done a really good job in that area. Josh is a real competitive guy. He plays with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and he gives great effort. We always say we want guys to play with emotion but we don’t want them to be emotional where they don’t make good choices and decisions. Josh has worked on that. I think he’s made progress. I think he’s aware. He’s played with a lot more poise, and he’s been a lot more consistent so far in this camp because of it."
ON WHY FOOTBALL IS IMPORTANT...
“I don’t think we have 101,000 people coming to the games if it wasn’t important to them,” Saban said during a Zoom call with reporters. “A lot of people have a lot of pride in their institution all over the Southeast Conference and all over the country. People love football in the Southeast I think whether it’s high school football -- that can be the social center of the community. I know that sports tied our town together when I was growing up in Monongah, W.Va. The last guy turned the lights out because everybody went to the game. Everybody to the football game on Friday night. Everybody went to the basketball games. They closed the pool room. They closed (the place) where we used to play pinball and they played cards all night. So, they closed all those places because everybody went to the game.
“So, why is that so important to people? They love sports. People identify with competition. A lot of the principles and values that make you a good player in sports, whether it’s pride in performance, personal discipline, your ability to sustain effort and toughness and persevere and overcome adversity. It’s been a part of our society since back in the Greek days. That’s why it’s important. Now, is it more important than public safety? No, I don’t think so. Is there a way that we can do that and keep people safe? I think a lot of people are trying to do that, and if we can do that I think we can play. If we can’t do that then I think someone will make the decision that maybe we shouldn’t play. But I don’t think that we should not try.
“I really appreciate the fact that we have a lot of people out there working hard. This is about the players. Everybody acts like we want to play for the money. We want to play for the players. I want to play for the players. We have a lot of guys on our team that can create a lot of value for themselves by playing this season, and we can create a lot of value and these guys have worked really hard to try to create and accomplish something as a team. All those things, to me, are important to the players. And I want to play for the players. I know it’s important to the fans. I love our fans. I love the way they support our team. They’re a part of our team. We want them to continue to be a part of our team in whatever way they can. But this is really about providing an opportunity to the players if we can do it in a safe way.”
"I hope everybody’s safe and really doing the right things to keep you and your family safe out there. We have a lot of great supporters at the University of Alabama, so we’d certainly like to keep all those folks to be good supporters of us in the future.
"We just put pads on for the first time today. I think the acclimation period is certainly a positive for players when it comes to -- you know, they have two days in just a helmet, two days in shoulder pads and then today was the first day in pads. I thought our players responded and reacted to it pretty well. Obviously the most important thing at this time of year is, how many guys can we develop to play winning football on this football team. I think probably more than ever the depth of your team, the experience of your team, is critical, because we may have more issues just from a personnel standpoint just by the nature of where we are than maybe we’ve had in the past, even though all of our efforts are to keep our players safe.
"But you know this all comes down to everybody’s personal discipline to sort of manage their bubble. We don’t have a lot of issues when the players are here. They all wear masks. We practice social distancing. They stay separated in meetings. We keep them arm’s length apart on the field as much as possible. It’s OK when you leave here, what kind of decisions do you make in your own personal bubble? Because that probably is the biggest challenge for us, and that comes to everybody’s personal discipline to make the kind of choices and decisions that they won’t have issues. Because I think this is everybody’s personal choice.
"We had the Surgeon General speak to the team on Monday, and he said what I’m saying loud and clear to the players. You manage this for the safety of your family, you manage it for the safety of yourself in terms of how you practice all these things. That’s an opponent that we have to deal with, but I think this is an important one for player safety, and that’s something that we think certainly have done a really good job of. I think our medical staff, Jeff Allen and his staff of folks, our doctors, have done a really good job. I think the SEC medical task force has done a really good job in all those areas.
"So we’ve had a lot of heavy installation so far on the field. This is very challenging to young players. But I think the 10 days, well, we used 10 days, where could have sort of a minicamp type of atmosphere, where we had six hours a week on the field, six hours in meetings. I think those walk-throughs were very beneficial in helping the young players understand. I think all the Zoom calls that we had helped them gain an understanding. They’re picking it up on the field a little quicker and with a little better understanding than maybe what they normally would because we’ve had so many so-called chalk talks, walk-throughs, those types of things that I think have really enhanced their development.
"I think one of the things that’s really important on every team -- I talked to our team about this the other day -- is what kind of humility do you have as a person and as a competitor. Because people who have humility are always working to get better. People who don’t have humility are always looking for ways to think that I’m entitled to not have to do what everybody else does. And I think when you have that, it’s hard to develop team chemistry and I think it’s hard to have your best players be the best competitors on your team. We’ve obviously had two opportunities -- Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan -- the last two years that our players have had the opportunity to talk to. They were very loud and clear on the fact that they were never satisfied. They had lots of humility. They always respected their opponent. They were working hard to get better every day, and I think that’s really, really important. When you don’t have humility, it can cause a little complacency which creates a great disregard for not doing what’s right, because you feel like you’re entitled to something. And that’s not good for team chemistry.
"Obviously we’ll work hard for the rest of this week. We’re kind of doing these first two weeks like spring practice so we’re practicing Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. It gives us a good chance to teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays and still be within the 20-hour sort of work week to try to get these guys ready to go out in the scrimmage on Saturday, so that we can evaluate and see how especially some of the younger players, if they’re mature enough to go out there and compete when the coach is not standing right there behind them kind of helping them along. That’s kind of the next step of what we’d really like to do.
“I know you’re probably going to ask me about what the mayor did today. Look, this stuff is about people. People are affected in a lot of ways. It’s not just about football. So, for people to make the right choices and decisions to wear their masks, do the things when they’re out publicly, respect the rules, respect the virus, that’s important. And when people don’t do that, I guess there’s consequences. Those people that make those decisions certainly know more about it than me. I feel bad for the business owners and the people who are affected by this in a negative way. Not the people who really don’t have the personal discipline to do things the way they’re supposed to do it.”
ON THE OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS...
“I’m impressed with all the young players that we have. I think all four of those guys have shown some promise in what they can do. I think a couple of them probably are going to add depth to our team. I think they have some pass-rush ability, they’re high-effort guys, they’re really good athletes. So, a couple of those guys are going to be able to contribute to the team. I don’t know for sure which ones yet. There’s still a work in progress in terms of the evaluation, but I’m encouraged by that group.”
ON GUYS LEARNING MULTIPLE POSITIONS...
“We’re actually doing that right now, trying to get guys to learn multiple positions. Haven’t really had anybody cross the ball. We’ve met with a couple guys in case that becomes an issue, but we haven’t really practiced anybody that way. Hopefully, we’ll be able to develop enough depth internally that we’ll feel good about every position.”
ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM LAST SEASON...
"I don't think there's any question about it. Me personally, I'm not pleased with the way we played last year. Yeah, we had a lot of adversity as a team: we lost good players with injuries, but there were other opportunities for other players to step up and be able to play and play with discipline, give better effort, play with better intangibles, play better together as a team, have better leadership on the team. I do not think that last year's team reflected the culture of what we're trying to develop here, what has made this program be as successful over time [as] it has been. There's no question that we're trying to emphasize the fact that we want to make sure we re-established that culture, and it comes from the buy-in of every player to believe and trust that the things we're asking them to do is gonna help them have success individually as well as collectively as a team."
ON FREDDIE ROACH, COACHING CONTINUITY...
"Well, I don't think there's any question that the continuity has been a real asset for us this year. I'm excited about having Freddie Roach on the staff. He's an Alabama guy, he's brought great energy and enthusiasm, he's very knowledgeable, he's got great pride in his performance in terms of what he's trying to do, the players respond to him really, really well. So I think it's very helpful to the chemistry of our staff to have that kind of personality added to the defensive staff."
ON HOW DIFFERENT PRACTICE IS DURING A PANDEMIC...
"I really don't see anything. We practice, we still do the same footwork drills, receivers run the same routes, quarterbacks got the same reads, offensive linemen gotta block, defensive players gotta tackle, everybody's gotta key and read the right thing. So when we're out there on the field, everybody's focused on, 'What do I have to do to be a good football player?' The wearing of the mask, the staying apart when you're not in there [are different], but when you're in there playing, it's your turn, it's your rep, we expect you to be 100 percent focused on doing your job and doing it the right way. So I don't see anything different. There's no difference for me except this thing around my neck that I wear that, when I put up here, I can't seem to get the same emphasis that I'd like sometimes. I mean, I look like Jesse James robbing a bank. And I can't get on people like I like to. It muffles the sound a little bit. So when we need to get someone's attention, we have to come out of bank-robber mode."
ON NAJEE HARRIS, BRIAN ROBINSON...
"Those two guys have done great. They've really worked hard; they've had great camps so far. Trey Sanders has done extremely well. The young guys have done really, really well. I see them all contributing and I think those guys can all have a role on our team. That's an area on our team that I really like the depth. I like the experience we have with two seniors, and then there's some young guys that have some really, really good ability to contribute. And these guys are all really good special teams players. I think when you have depth at linebacker, running back, tight end, skill positions, wide receiver, DB, that really, really helps you on special teams because those guys take up a lot of roles on special teams, and I think those guys are going to make a real contribution in all those areas as well."
ON BENEFIT OF A COLLEGE FOOTBALL COMMISSIONER...
"I think that it’s important — at least I look at it as if it’s important that we have something or someone, some organizational body who can bring everybody together. And I don’t know if that’s a commissioner, if it’s some council, I don’t know if it’s a committee someplace. I really don’t know the best way to do that, but I do think that it would benefit college football if the five major conferences could always sort of come together on what’s best for college football. I’m not saying they don’t all have those intentions. They do. But sometimes they don’t all sort of marry up, which is kind of the situation that we have this year. Do I think it would be beneficial if we had some way we could tie all that together? The solution to that, I’m not sure what that would be."
ON JOSH JOBE CONTROLLING HIS EMOTIONS...
"I think he’s done a really good job in that area. Josh is a real competitive guy. He plays with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and he gives great effort. We always say we want guys to play with emotion but we don’t want them to be emotional where they don’t make good choices and decisions. Josh has worked on that. I think he’s made progress. I think he’s aware. He’s played with a lot more poise, and he’s been a lot more consistent so far in this camp because of it."
ON WHY FOOTBALL IS IMPORTANT...
“I don’t think we have 101,000 people coming to the games if it wasn’t important to them,” Saban said during a Zoom call with reporters. “A lot of people have a lot of pride in their institution all over the Southeast Conference and all over the country. People love football in the Southeast I think whether it’s high school football -- that can be the social center of the community. I know that sports tied our town together when I was growing up in Monongah, W.Va. The last guy turned the lights out because everybody went to the game. Everybody to the football game on Friday night. Everybody went to the basketball games. They closed the pool room. They closed (the place) where we used to play pinball and they played cards all night. So, they closed all those places because everybody went to the game.
“So, why is that so important to people? They love sports. People identify with competition. A lot of the principles and values that make you a good player in sports, whether it’s pride in performance, personal discipline, your ability to sustain effort and toughness and persevere and overcome adversity. It’s been a part of our society since back in the Greek days. That’s why it’s important. Now, is it more important than public safety? No, I don’t think so. Is there a way that we can do that and keep people safe? I think a lot of people are trying to do that, and if we can do that I think we can play. If we can’t do that then I think someone will make the decision that maybe we shouldn’t play. But I don’t think that we should not try.
“I really appreciate the fact that we have a lot of people out there working hard. This is about the players. Everybody acts like we want to play for the money. We want to play for the players. I want to play for the players. We have a lot of guys on our team that can create a lot of value for themselves by playing this season, and we can create a lot of value and these guys have worked really hard to try to create and accomplish something as a team. All those things, to me, are important to the players. And I want to play for the players. I know it’s important to the fans. I love our fans. I love the way they support our team. They’re a part of our team. We want them to continue to be a part of our team in whatever way they can. But this is really about providing an opportunity to the players if we can do it in a safe way.”
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