Nick Saban held his final press conference before No. 1 Alabama’s game against Texas A&M on Saturday. Here’s a transcript of what he said as well as my take on what it means.
Opening statement
"I think this time of year, with these kinds of challenges coming up it's so important, and I talked about it last week, about maintaining intensity for the entire game. I think the important thing about that is you have to do it in practice. If you could do it in practice even when you get tired, even when you don't feel like grinding on, it gets easier to do it in the game because you're creating a mindset basically, enough is never enough. You want to keep on working, try to improve and get yourself ready to learn from what you did today and do it again tomorrow so that you can keep making progress. We're playing a very good team this week that has a lot of good players, they're very well coached. This is going to be a very challenging game for us so we're working on it."
Tony’s take: Saban came into the room joking with sports information director Josh Maxson about baseball, so he appeared to be in a good mood regarding today’s practice. After fading in the third quarter against Arkansas, Alabama’s emphasis this week is on maintaining intensity throughout the game. Given Saban’s mood, it appeared as though Alabama maintained intensity throughout practice Wednesday, so that should be a good sign heading into the weekend.
On Jalen Milroe 'winning the team
"I think the players have responded really well to what he's had to do. What we try to get our guys to do is focus on doing your job and if everybody does their job, we're gonna have a chance to be successful. It doesn't really matter who's in there playing. I got to do my job. And when I get the opportunity to do it, I got to get prepared to do it and go do it well. Sometimes that's harder for guys to do who aren't starters but I think it's a real test to your character if you can do it so you can take advantage of the opportunity when it comes. Which I thought Jalen did a pretty good job of last week and hopefully we can build on that if he has to play this week."
Tony’s take: Alabama players have all expressed total confidence in Jalen Milroe this week, and the redshirt freshman appears to be a popular figure inside the locker room. Milroe responded well when thrown into action against Arkansas. Alabama appears confident in his ability should it need to call on him again this week.
On Bama OL physicality
"I think in the last game they showed signs of it. They showed signs of it at times throughout the year, I just think your whole body of work is based on consistency and performance. That's what defines success so that's what we gotta keep working on with them and I do think we're making progress and I do think that this last game was probably the best that they've been all year."
Tony’s take: Last month, Saban called on his offensive line to show more physicality. Last week, this unit did just that, clearing the way for 555 yards, including 317 on the ground. Earlier this week, Saban said the offensive line had its “best game” all year against Arkansas. He doubled down on that statement Wednesday, commending the line for the improvement it has shown.
On Antonio Johnson, A&M secondary
"Their secondary is good. They're big, they're physical. They're very athletic at corner. They're long. They got good size. Tackle well. Antonio is a really, really good player so they move him around some, he plays some different spots. But they've got, they're a good defensive team. A really good defensive team."
Tony’s take: Texas A&M defensive back Antonio Johnson has been one of the Aggies’ top defenders this season, recording a team-high 46 tackles, including a sack, to go with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. He’s part of a strong Texas A&M secondary that has held opponents to 188.4 yards per game through the air this season.
On DL batting passes
"Obviously we work on matching a hand in pass rush all the time. Trying to get guys to do that. We emphasize it. I think it's a batted ball, it's just like defending the guy and knocking the ball off him. It's a very important play and it can create turnovers. I think you do it best when you push the pocket in the middle so you're closer to the quarterback when it happens and you're defending the middle of the field so he can't see. You try to match the hand where he's throwing it and that's where you get batted balls. That's something we emphasize all the time."
Tony’s take: Alabama has yet to have a defensive lineman record a pass breakup through five games. That’s something the Crimson Tide will look to improve on as it has recorded just two turnovers so far this season.
On how Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold have separated themselves from other defensive backs
“I think both guys have played well. Haven’t given up a lot of big plays. I think that’s the key to the drill: keeping people cut off in the deep part of the field, playing the ball in the deep part of the field. They’ve been good tacklers, they’ve played the ball in the deep part of the field and they play man-to-man fairly well. So those are probably the most critical factors for them to be successful and the other guys are doing fine, too, but these guys have been the most consistent."
Tony’s take: McKinstry has been especially solid of late. Against Arkansas, he was targeted nine times, allowing just two receptions for 13 yards. The week before that against Vanderbilt, he was targeted six times, giving up a pair of receptions for 24 yards. Through five games, he leads the team with seven pass breakups.
According to Pro Football Focus, Arnold leads Alabama with an 80.9 coverage grade. The redshirt freshman has allowed nine receptions for 105 yards on 18 targets through five games. He’s also yet to be flagged for a penalty.
On corralling Texas A&M running back Devon Achane
“Well, it’s hard. First of all, a running back is a mismatch position in the passing game and they do a great job of running them on difficult routes to cover, especially if you’re trying to play man-to-man. He’s very elusive, he’s got great speed and he’s a great returner on kickoff return. If this guy gets in space, he’s got a burst so you gotta do a great job playing team defense against guys like that and try to minimize the opportunities where he gets mismatched on somebody. I think that’s the biggest issue, but the guy’s really, really a good player and a good receiver, good runner — he’s a good all-around player.”
Tony’s take: Achane is far and away Texas A&M’s biggest weapon. Through five games, he ranks third in the SEC with 466 rushing yards to go with three scores on the ground. He’s also a pass-catching threat out of the backfield, reeling in 15 receptions for 92 yards and a score through the air.
On top of his offensive production, Achane is averaging 34.26 yards on eight kick returns, including a 95-yard return for a touchdown against Appalachian State. Alabama is fully aware of his threat as a return after allowing him to score on a 96-yard return during the Aggies’ 41-38 upset win last season.
On Jaheim Oatis
“Jaheim is a guy that has a lot of power. He’s got pretty good quickness for his size. He’s gotten in a lot better shape so he’s moving better and he did a really good job in the last game of pushing the pocket, being involved in a couple of sacks. But it’s important that you have more than one guy doing it so you don’t get imbalanced in the rush especially if you’re playing against a really athletic quarterback like last week and probably this week. So I think pass rush lanes are important. Guys can push the pocket, know when to turn, speed to power so they don’t get pushed by the quarterback and stay in the lane — all those things are really important and he’s learned to do that more and more effectively all the time.”
Tony’s take: Oatis had his best game to date against Arkansas, recording eight tackles, including his first sack of the season. The true freshman defensive tackle has started Alabama’s last three games and is one of the Crimson Tide’s biggest inside-pass-rushing threats.
