TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It’s fall camp in name only. Alabama’s practice Wednesday was held under 93-degree heat in the midst of a brutal Tuscaloosa summer. Just five days ago linebacker Dylan Moses was helped off the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, needing the aid of two trainers as his body cramped up under him.
Wednesday was Alabama’s first practice in full pads as the Crimson Tide continued what head coach Nick Saban described as an “acclimation period” leading up to the rigors of the coming season. Saturday will mark Alabama’s first scrimmage and will require players to push themselves even further.
Fall camp, or whatever you want to call it, isn’t supposed to be comfortable. It’s a time where Saban aims to push players past their “breaking point” through sweat and toil. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be enjoyable — at least to a certain veteran linebacker.
“It’s just such a fun time,” redshirt senior Christian Miller said. “You’re around your brothers; everybody’s enjoying each other’s company. We are with each other morning and night for about a whole month. We just enjoy it, and it’s important that you take it seriously. You don’t take it for granted.”
Running back Damien Harris rolled his eyes when hearing of his teammate's assessment.
"Typical Christian response,” Harris said with a smile. “I mean, there are two different ways to look at it. Actual being out there for practice and it's 120 degrees on the field, no, that's not fun. But being able to be out here with these guys and just the excitement level to be back out there on the field and actually play real football again, it's an exciting time for us. And we're looking forward to the rest of camp.”
Miller obviously takes the latter approach.
“You got to understand why you play this game,” he explained. “You play it because you love it or you play it for the lifestyle. If you play it because you love it, this should be a fun time of the year. All you’re doing is playing football, and if you look at it like this is the sport you played growing up that you love it shouldn’t be too hard. It’s a job, it is. But as long as you maintain your body, you’re smart about it; you go in there with a good, positive mindset, it should be fun.”
That’s music to Saban’s ears. The head coach’s renowned process is an ode to the grind of daily sacrifice for the greater good. It’s why at 66 years old he’s still as passionate as the day he took the job at Alabama more than a decade ago. To see that same passion mirrored in one of his players is always a special treat.
“I really love it when I hear players say something like that,” Saban said with a beaming smile. “Christian Miller has always been one of the hardest working, best teammates, best guys on the team. But sometimes the question gets asked, do you love the game or do you love the lifestyle? Do you really love the game or do you love all the attention that the game gives you because you're playing at Alabama and you've got lots of girls on Twitter and all that, or do you love the game? Do you love to play? Do you like to go out to practice and try to get better and are you excited about the things that you need to do to play winning football and the challenges that the team has relative to the competition that you have to compete against every day in practice, as well as what we're going to compete against when we go into the game.
“I love to hear that players love to practice and they love the game, and it's not just about the lifestyle and the Twitter and an opportunity to wear somebody's T-shirt and all that. It's about playing. It's about playing well. It's about feeling good about the self-gratification you get from doing something extremely well on a consistent basis.”
Alabama will have two more practices until its first scrimmage Saturday at 2:30 p.m. inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium. During that time, Saban is hoping a few more players take on Miller’s mindset.
“What we’re looking for on Saturday in the scrimmage is who can go out there an have the maturity and focus, mental toughness, mental discipline to be able to stick with good play, bad play, play the next play,” Saban said. “Keep their poise, and that’s goes a long way into telling you whether a guy is emotionally really ready to play. Physical talent is one thing, but emotionally mature enough to be able to do it with consistency is another thing that I think has to be evaluated.”
