After passing its first three tests of the season, Alabama will now move into SEC play as it hosts Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. 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
“I was really pleased with the energy that our players played with in the last game. They could have come out and just said, 'Look at who we're playing' and not played to the standard that we're trying to create, which we tried to emphasize. I thought the energy and enthusiasm was good. I thought the execution was a lot better. I thought we played a lot smarter.
“We're still working toward _ and each and every player can do this, each and every coach can do this, I can do this _ toward total consistency in playing to the standard that we want to play to. The choice is, is do you want to build on the challenges of the future? Now, we're getting into SEC games and certainly this first game is going to be a challenge.
“It's an SEC game. Vanderbilt's 3-1. Much, much-improved team over last year. They have like 14 starters back, but they're scoring 42 points a game and they play two quarterbacks. Both of them are very, very capable. Very good athletes. They run the ball. They run some options. Very capable passing.
“Fourteen (Will) Sheppard is one of the leading receivers in the SEC. Offensively, they play hard, they're tough. They've given up some yards in the games but they've played well enough to be able to be effective in winning three games. The kicking game is good. The punter is one of the leading punters in the country in terms of a 48.9-yard average. Joseph has done a good job of kicking for them.
This is a good all-around team and it's going to be a challenging game for us.”
Tony’s take: Heading into last week’s matchup against Louisiana-Monroe there was plenty of talk about Alabama’s need to play with discipline and take its Sun Belt opponent seriously. While the Crimson Tide’s 63-7 victory over the Warhawks had its slipups, the Alabama players approached the matchup the way their head coach had hoped.
Vanderbilt isn’t a high-profile SEC opponent, but the Commodores have been solid this season, getting off to a 3-1 start while averaging 42 points per game. Alabama shouldn’t struggle Saturday, but it will still need to remain locked in moving forward.
On transfer portal changes affecting offseason scouting
“Well, I think it only affects it from a personnel standpoint. It doesn't usually affect it dramatically from a schematic standpoint. You know, technically what does the other team do? Their offense or defense doesn't change dramatically unless they change philosophies, change coordinators, change personnel in some way to do that. But you don't know for sure who the players are going to be in a lot of cases, and how they're going to use those players.”
Tony’s take: While the comings and goings of players obviously have an effect on teams, Saban makes a good point here by pointing out that the overall offense or defense Alabama is preparing for does not. Saban might be downplaying how much the transfer portal affects offseason scouting, but it isn’t much of a concern for him and his team.
On remaining positional battles
“I'm not going to speculate on players and positions. Everybody's in competition. Nobody's entitled to a position. Everybody's got to go out and compete every day and play well and do the things they need to do to play winning football. And the more guys we get to do that, the better off we're going to be.
“There's no personal matchups or battles that I care to discuss.”
Tony’s take: The deeper Alabama gets into the season, the more it will have to make decisions on who its starters will be at certain positions. Saban isn’t going to announce winners in those battles as he is always looking for competition between his players. However, you might begin to see Alabama begging to settle in with regulars at contested spots.
At the moment, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold appear to be the two winners for the cornerback roles. The offensive line is a bit more uncertain as it appears Kendall Randolph, Javion Cohen and Tyler Booker are competing for the left guard spot. It will also be interesting how the wide receiver position shapes out once JoJo Earle and Tyler Harrell return from their foot injuries next month.
On what he liked about Tyler Steen when he was in the transfer portal
“He's a very athletic guy. He's got really good power for his size. And is a good pass blocker. Very smart guy. Understands how to play fundamentally, use his hands, and has played pretty consistently for us in the three games that he's played. Has certainly not disappointed us in any way, shape or form. He's got a lot of experience, which I think helps. We're very pleased that we're here.”
Tony’s take: Saban isn’t about to slate one of his players publicly, especially not Tyler Steen as the Vanderbilt transfer prepares to face his old team this week. That being said, the left tackle struggled against ULM, allowing two pressures including a sack on 21 pass-blocking snaps while also failing to provide much push as a run blocker.
All of the attributes Saban listed of Steen are true. The graduate transfer also brings much-needed experience to the unit. Alabama will just need him to be more consistent moving forward.
On watching Will Anderson and his pick-6
"Will's got great passion for the game. He plays with great energy and enthusiasm. You love coaching guys like that. I think it's infectious to other players on the team. You know, you see the reaction from his teammates when he has success and scored a touchdown. We need to do more of that. Not just Will, but everybody on defense. Create more turnovers, make more big plays, make explosive plays, score on defense. I mean, those are really, really fun things for any defensive player, so I know it was really fun for Will and his teammates to see him do it."
Tony’s take: There’s a reason why Anderson was voted as a permanent team captain last year. Along with his playmaking ability, he’s also the heartbeat of the defense. It’s hard to imagine him not cracking Saban’s top-10 list of favorite players he’s coached.
On Khyree Jackson leaving the stadium in a walking boot
"Yeah, he sprained his ankle on a punt return. I think the one that Brian Branch ran back for a touchdown. I don't think it's significant, but when you have an ankle injury, you gotta go day-to-day and we'll see how he does this week."
Tony’s take: While Saban said Jackson’s injury is not significant, the small setback makes it even more unlikely that he jumps either Arnold or McKinstry in the pecking order at cornerback this week.
On Jaheim Oatis
"He's done a good job. He's a young guy but has played really, really well. He's powerful. He's hard to block. Thought he probably played the best he's played the most consistently probably in this last game. So hopefully he'll continue to develop and we can develop some other guys in the defensive line that will provide more depth for us as well."
Tony’s take: Saban has been asked a lot about Oatis this season. Last week, the true freshman made his first career start, recording two tackles, including one for a loss, with a quarterback hurry.
On a running tempo offense
"We have been an effective tempo team. That's something that's been good for us. It's something that we work on that you really got to get the players to get up and down, get ready and go. I think Bryce likes it when we do that. I think it's also beneficial when we spread the other team out and do that. So we just got to keep working on it and hopefully continue to make it an asset for us in the future in terms of how fast we play and how we execute."
Tony’s take: Alabama’s offense does better on a deadline. While the Tide’s attack has experienced lulls the past two weeks, it’s been able to answer the bell when it has needed to, putting together a last-minute drive to beat Texas and scoring right before the half against ULM.
Alabama isn’t going to change its entirely to hurry-up, but we could see more tempo moving forward.
On Clark Lea’s culture change at Vanderbilt
“Well I think he’s changed the whole culture of the program. Their players play really hard. They play with confidence. I think they believe in what they’re doing offensively, defensively, special teams, and culture is the biggest thing you try to establish in the program. They’ve got some pretty good players. They got some experienced players that are back from a year ago. They’ve got better skill guys than they normally have, better quarterbacks. They're doing a really, really good job of coaching them, and they've got really challenging systems to defend against.”
Tony’s take: Vanderbilt still has a ways to go, but second-year head coach Clarke Lea looks to have the Commodores heading in the right direction. After posting a 2-10 record last season, Vanderbilt has already notched three wins and appears to be much improved in various areas. Although, that isn’t too hard of a feat considering last year’s team.”
On his message to fans in Mexico
“We appreciate all the fan support that we get in Mexico, and I wasn't aware of all these places that watch us. But I do know that we have an iconic brand that sort of spreads, not only throughout the United States, but in some of the bordering countries in Europe. So I think that's a good thing for our program, and I know it's a great thing for our players. But we appreciate the support. We love that you love Alabama, and I’ll just say Roll Tide to you.”
Tony’s take: Mexican reporter Oscar Clériga was in attendance as he looks to get a look at the Crimson Tide in person this week. Oscar is one of the nicest people in college football, and it’s neat to see him contributing to growing the game across borders. He announces games for 17 Spanish-speaking countries from Mexico into South America.
On the progress of Deontae Lawson
“He’s doing a good job. He’s much more confident in knowing what to do and how to do it. I think he’s playing with more confidence. I think it takes players a while to develop that, you know, systematically in terms of understanding what's required of me on this play. A lot of guys, maybe in high school, they just ran and tackled the guy with the ball. But we try to play a systematic defense where everybody has a job to do. And the way you get challenged offensively in college football now with the kind of plays people run, everybody’s got to be really disciplined in how they read the plays and how they fit the plays. And I think when linebackers sort of get confident in that, then they start playing a lot faster. And I've seen that in Deontae in his play.”
Tony’s take: Jaylen Moody leads Alabama with 22 tackles this season, but the next man up at Will linebacker isn’t too shabby himself. Redshirt freshman Deontae Lawson ranks fourth on the team with 10 stops. He recorded five of those against ULM while also tallying a pass breakup
On JoJo Earle’s status
“I don’t recall saying he was day to day. Hopefully, he’s going to start doing some dry-land running and things this week. But that's a medical decision. So when he gets back, I don’t know for sure, can’t comment on. I’m hoping sometime soon, but I don’t know when that might be.”
Tony’s take: The hope is that Earle will be ready to go by next week’s game against Arkansas. However, he isn’t expected to feature this week against Vanderbilt.
On improvement in blocking on punt returns
“It really comes down to judgement. We coach punt returns very similar this year to the way we did last year. You know, clamp the guy, stab and lag the guy, sit and fit the guy, don’t clip, don’t blindside hit anybody. Pull off the clip if you have to, which means you just try to shield the guy, don’t hit him in the back. We’ve coached all those things ever since I’ve been here. So, players make good choices and decisions because they play with discipline and they understand the consequences of making bad choices and decisions. One of the things we want to improve on is to be able to play penalty free and eliminate penalties. Even though we still got a few too many penalties in the last game, it was better than the game before, and hopefully we can continue to eliminate that.”
Tony’s take: Special teams penalties cost Earle a few big returns last season. While Alabama isn’t doing anything differently in practice, that hasn’t been an issue this year — especially not over the weekend when the unit racked up a school-record 262 yards and a touchdown on eight returns.
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