TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama got its first taste of SEC action over the weekend, easily dismantling Vanderbilt 55-3 inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium. This week, the No. 2 Crimson Tide will face a bigger challenge as it continues conference play at No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Monday, Nick Saban opened the week by speaking with reporters ahead of the matchup. Here’s a transcript of what he said as well as my take on what it means.
Opening statement
“We had a good start in the SEC. I think we played better in the last game. Paid better attention to detail. Had more success when we did. And when we didn't, we probably didn't have as much success, but we were very consistent for the most part in how we executed offensively, defensively and on special teams.
“Still things that we need to improve on. We need to show that we can sort of build on this and show progress as a team, individually and collectively. This is a very dangerous team we're playing in Arkansas. They have a very, very good team. Coming off a tough loss.
“They make a lot of explosive plays. KJ Jefferson is dual threat-wise big, strong, really good passer. They've got a lot of quarterback runs, which create another gap on defense. And to go with that, they have great play-action passes. They make a lot of explosive plays. Sam's done a great job there, to me. They play with toughness. They run the ball effectively, stop the run on defense. I mean, their guys play hard. They've got a real culture there that shows great intangibles.
“Their defense is good. So this is a really, really good all-around team. And it's going to take great preparation on our part to go on the road and be able to play the way we need to play against a very good SEC team.”
Tony’s take: Saban continues to speak highly of Alabama’s 55-3 victory over Vanderbilt. However, the 24-hour period has come and gone, and the Crimson Tide will now need to turn its attention to a much tougher test in Arkansas.
Last season, the Razorbacks kept things close against the Crimson Tide, falling 42-35 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Treylon Burks, who led Arkansas with eight receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns during that game, has moved on to the NFL. However, the person throwing him those passes, K.J. Jefferson, returns as well as sophomore running back Raheim Sanders, who leads the SEC with 508 rushing yards.
Arkansas also leads the nation with 20 sacks, four more than second-place Middle Tennessee State. As Saban pointed out, the Razorbacks are a “very dangerous team.” They are also coming off a heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M last weekend and will be looking to make amends in front of what should be a raucous home crowd Saturday.
On Alabama’s offensive identity
“I think you build an identity over a season. And we're going to continue to try to do that so that we have balance and we feature the players that we have on our team so that they have the best opportunities to be successful. I think there's been times that we've done that extremely well. There's times that we haven't. We made a lot of explosive plays in the last game, which we want to continue to be able to do, utilize the skill players that we have and run the ball effectively when we need to.
“We're still building on that identity but I think the players are making really good progress.”
Tony’s take: We know Bryce Young is elite and Jahmyr Gibbs is explosive. We also know that Alabama’s receiving corps features several players who could have a big game on any given day. That’s about all we know about this year’s offense though.
Alabama leads the nation averaging 7.34 yards a carry on the ground. However, the offense seems to move best when Young picks apart offenses through the air in tempo. There are times when Alabama busts big plays on the ground and others where it can’t pick up crucial yards when it needs them most. The passing game has had the same inconsistencies as the Tide entered last week with just eight completions of 20 yards or more before piling up seven such plays against Vanderbilt.
All that said, Alabama has scored 55 or more points in three of its four games this season and ranks sixth in the nation averaging 48.3 points per game. An identity will develop over time. Right now, Saban’s just focused on improvement.
On Drew Sanders’ improvement
“Drew was a good player when he was here. Unfortunate injuries. And he's certainly playing well for them. It's good to see that he's doing a good job for them. We're happy for him and his family.”
Tony’s take: Last month, Saban stated that Drew Sanders “would have probably been a starter” at Alabama had he not transferred to Arkansas in January. Through four games, it's easy to see why.
Sanders is tied for the nation’s lead with 5.5 sacks and is Arkansas’ second-leading tackler with 31 stops through four games. While Saban would certainly like to still have the hard-hitting defender on his roster, Alabama isn’t hurting at the linebacker positions where starters Will Anderson Jr., Dallas Turner, Henry To’oTo’o and Jaylen Moody have all performed well this season.
On how Bryce Young has improved the most
“Well, I think the big thing is that he’s got a lot of new people around him. And I think that it creates tremendous value for him as he did in the last game, when he makes it work with the players that we have now. And I think each week we've done a little bit better job of that, and I think to have continued growth in that area is important for him and for us.”
Tony’s take: As mentioned above, Alabama’s offense has been a bit of a roller coaster over the first four games. The one constant for the Crimson Tide has been Young, who has been able to get the ball to whoever has the hot hand. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the junior is just in his second season as a starter for Alabama.
On the importance of the off-field personnel to the program
“Well, you can't have success without ‘em, I can tell you that. We have a great team here. Everybody contributes in a really positive way. Our training staff is tops in the country. Our medical staff’s tops in the country. I think our players believe and trust in those people. We have a great nutrition program for our players that we're constantly trying to get them to take advantage of. The equipment guys, these guys have to do more to get ready for a game than probably anybody, and it goes pretty much unnoticed by everybody except us. So I don't think you could have a great program if you don't have great people in all those support roles.”
Tony’s take: There are a lot of people behind the scenes at Alabama who don’t get the credit they deserve. Saban is always quick to show his appreciation for the unsung heroes that help in the shadows.
On keys to the run defense
“You’ve got to beat blockers on the line of scrimmage, and everybody's got to do their job and fit the run right. So far we’ve done that fairly well. The challenges in this week’s game are going to be far greater than anything we’ve faced to this point because they have a really good scheme, a lot of quarterback runs involved in it. So it's gonna take a great week of preparation for us to be able to play the run well this week.”
Tony’s take: Alabama ranks fourth nationally, holding opponents to 62.5 yards per game on the ground. The Crimson Tide limited five-star running back Bijan Robinson to 57 yards on 21 attempts in Week 2 and was a play away from holding Vanderbilt to single-digit rushing yards over the weekend. Alabama will have another chance to flex its muscle this week as Arkansas ranks ninth nationally averaging 243.75 yards per game on the ground.
On scouting teams after a loss
“First of all, I don't see their team after they lost. You know, I see the game. I see how they lost. I'm sure they're very disappointed. I’m sure they’ll be upset with the way the game ended, the outcome of the game. Whether it was the fumble where they had a chance to go in and score a touchdown and got returned 98 yards or whatever for a touchdown, which is like a 14-point swing. But I don't really control how the other team thinks or what they do. I think the key for us is to play the best that we can play and not allow the other team to get well when they play us because of how we play. I'm sure they've got their goals and aspirations for how they wanna play.”
Tony’s take: Saban is only concerned about the Arkansas team he’s facing this week, not the one that lost on a late missed field goal to Texas A&M over the weekend. The Razorbacks could come in fired up over that defeat, or they could let it linger as a distraction this week. Regardless, that’s not something Saban can control. Right now, he’s only focused on what he can do to make sure his team has the best opportunity to win Saturday.
On how the team rolls out its playbook throughout the season
“Well, we have a playbook. And it’s a lot of plays, more plays than we could ever run in the game, and you have to pick and choose. And you try to do even before the season starts, these are the weapons, these are the things we need to be able to go through the season and the players to understand. You know I’m gonna play certain types of teams that do certain things, and these things are better against other teams. And then you try to change the presentation each week so that maybe the other team has a more difficult time recognizing what you're doing and what you're trying to do.
“But you don't take the whole playbook, nor do you sort of reinvent the wheel every week for what you want to do because it’s what the players know, and it’s what they can execute. I think you tweak it from week to week— you add some things, you do some things that you haven't done in the past couple of weeks. And we do self-scout ourselves each week, a cumulative of what we’ve done throughout the season so that we can see if there’s some tendencies that we’re creating and how we can maybe break those in future games and future game plans.
“And yes, I do meet with the offense about that. I meet with them about a game plan. I meet with them about the openers that we have in each game, how we’re gonna start each game philosophically. How do we want to go about attacking the other team? Like in the last game, for example, we thought spreading Vanderbilt out and making them play in space would be an advantage for us, so that’s what we did. It might not be the case against another team.”
Tony’s take: Of course, Alabama tweaks its game plan depending on the opponent. However, the Crimson Tide isn’t going to make drastic changes for anyone. There are certain plays and packages prescribed for teams that set up in different ways. Most of that is figured out during the offseason. During game weeks, it's more about deciding what pieces of the playbook fit best against the upcoming opponent.
On Drew Sanders switching to inside linebacker at Arkansas
“That was probably what we were going to do, but never worked out. It is what it is. It's good for him that he can play both positions and that he's doing well.”
Tony’s take: Sanders set up primarily as an edge rusher for Alabama but has moved to Mike linebacker at Arkansas. Had the junior stuck with the Crimson Tide this season, he would have likely made the same switch as Alabama’s three-headed monster of Anderson, Turner and Chris Braswell keeps it well-stocked with outside linebackers.
Sanders is playing as well as any defender in the nation, so it’s foolish to say he wouldn’t have found his way into Alabama’s starting defense this season. The question is where would he have lined up?
Moody has stepped in nicely at the Will linebacker position and leads the team with 25 tackles through four games. To’oTo’o has also been impressive in his second season as the signal-caller at the Mike linebacker spot, recording 23 stops, including three for a loss with a sack.
On Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson
“I mentioned before what a dynamic player that he is. Big, strong guy, hard to tackle, hard to sack, hard to get on the ground, can push the pile and run over people when he runs quarterback runs. Very physical, player. So all those things that you mentioned are certainly things that we want to emphasize this week. But you can't minimize the effectiveness of this guy as a passer. He is really, really good. He's got strong arm. Throws the deep ball well, and they make a lot of explosive plays because they run the ball extremely well, they have really good play-action passes, but he executes it both ways very, very well.”
Tony’s take: Last season, Jefferson completed 22 of 30 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama. While the 6-foot-3, 242-pound quarterback was able to show off his arm, the Crimson Tide kept his running ability at bay, holding him to 22 yards on 13 attempts.
Jefferson has been Arkansas’ biggest offensive weapon this season, completing 69.1% of his passes for 941 yards and eight touchdowns with just one interception while adding 274 yards and four more scores on the ground. Alabama will likely have to guard against both aspects of his game on Saturday.
On freshmen receivers
“Yeah, well, those guys are talented guys, and they're also smart guys. They've been able to learn the offense and make really good, incremental progress week in and week out. And we knew that those guys were good players when we recruited them. But we also knew that we needed some of the younger players to be able to develop into roles on the team that gives us the kind of depth that we need at the wide receiver position. So we've been very pleased with the way that has sort of transpired to this point. But again, for every position on the team, how they can build on continue to improve will be a real key for us down the road.”
Tony’s take: Kobe Prentice leads Alabama’s freshmen receivers with 12 receptions for 119 yards, but he isn’t the only impressive newcomer at the position. Isaiah Bond has four catches for 36 yards while Kendrick Law has a pair of receptions for 22 yards. Alabama also appears close to welcoming in five-star talent Aaron Anderson into the mix in the near future. Anderson is currently nursing a knee injury but was fully suited up and moving well with the receivers during pregame drills over the weekend.
On defending back-shoulder throws
“Well, I think that if you're got to a guy cut off, which means you're in good position, you probably can defend the long ball because you're in that position. So the quarterback and receiver throwing it to the back shoulder, makes it difficult for the defensive back when he's in good position to be able to turn in the guy and play that ball. It's kind of a timing throw, but it's something that we work on quite a bit. We didn't always play great it in the game, which you've got to give some credit. Their No. 14 is a pretty good player too. And we didn't give them the over-the-top ball which is probably even more important.”
Tony’s take: Defending back-shoulder passes is one of the toughest things defensive backs have to do, especially when it comes to guarding bigger receivers. Arkansas has several of those as its top three wideouts— Matt Landers, Jadon Hasselwood and Warren Thompson — all stand in at 6-foot-3 or taller.
Landers (6-foot-5, 197 pounds) leads the Razorbacks with 230 yards on 15 receptions. Hasselwood (6-foot-3, 213 pounds) is the team’s top pass catcher with 18 receptions for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Thompson (6-foot-3, 198 pounds) has also been solid, tallying eight catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
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