Nick Saban Plus Three
Speak At 2017 SEC Media Days
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| UA Football's (l to r) Bozeman, Saban, Fitzpatrick & Ridley Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
HOOVER, Alabama - As usual they came. By land. By air. By sea. Literally. People poured in from all over to be able to catch a glimpse of University of Alabama Crimson Tide head football Nick Saban at the annual Southeastern Conference Media Days event being held at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham - Regency Hotel.
It happens every year. The large crowd on hand to see the representatives and coaches that make up the Southeastern Conference. That crowd swells greatly on the Wednesday that Saban and Company show up.
Saban was introduced by Greg Sankey, Commissioner of the SEC. Coach promptly greeted everyone and said, "You know, I'm kinda proud of the fact that this is my 16th SEC Media Day, the 11th at ALABAMA...which I'm sure that there's nobody in this room thought that would ever happen when it started out 11 years ago.
"It's been an outstanding experience. I think this is probably the best league from a competitive venue standpoint. I've been a lot of places and coached in a lot of different leagues, including the NFL, but the SEC is one of the best competitive venues in terms of all the good programs that we have, all the challenges it presents. And, you know, the way our administrators run our league to create tremendous competitive balance on the field, but also do things that help our players and young people and student-athletes have the best chance to be successful off the field.
"That's probably one of the things that I'm most proud of as a coach is our program at Alabama and how we've helped people be more successful in life for having been involved with the program,... whether it's personal development and personal development programs - mental conditioning for success, peer intervention, behavioral issues, leadership, communication, how you brand yourself - or having an academic program that has actually been one of the most successful academic support programs in terms in graduation rate, APR, usually nationally ranked as tops in the country - the fact we've had 101 players with degrees playing in bowl and playoff games in the past four years, which is each year more than anybody in the country."
Saban went on talking about how Alabama helps the student-athletes to develop careers. He believes it's important for them to be prepared to function successfully in society after their sports careers end.
Turning to football, Saban said he was excited...because of the challenges the season presents, starting with the opening game against the Florida State Seminoles and continuing right on through to the challenges faced with the teams in the league and division that these SEC teams always present.
Saban said that he was "pleased with the team's progression through this summer." He also commented that the team was "working very hard," and doing a good job of "individually staying organized." He said this has really helped the young players, and that this would be "one of the youngest teams we've had probably since maybe 2012." He continued that it would be important to replace so many on defense, where the team had "lost a ton of really, really good players." It would be a real challenge to replace the defensive players where Bama would be very young "on that side of the ball."
Concerning quarterback Jalen Hurts, Saban said he has done a good job this offseason of becoming a better passer.
Saban said that one of the reasons he and team have been so successful is "the culture of accountability we create for our players."
Concerning new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Saban said Daboll has "done a really, really good job."
Saban commented that Bama's three Media Days representatives (Bradley Bozeman, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Calvin Ridley) are "all guys that the program is very proud of and who have done a fantastic job of representing the program on and off the field."
Concerning last season's National Championship Game, Saban said "we weren't able to finish like we needed to, and there were a lot of lessons to learn from that."
Saban said that both Bo Scarbrough (leg) and Shaun Dion Hamilton (knee) have been a "full-go this summer" and should "be a full-go when fall camp starts."
When asked about Alabama turning the SEC into a one-team league, Saban said he has a lot of respect for a lot of the teams in the league and that he thinks there's a lot of parity in the league.
Saban said that coming out of the spring "we felt like we had four players capable of playing winning football along the offensive line."
Concerning Mack Wilson, Saban said that he has had a good summer. Saban also commented that Wilson was so athletic "that maybe we can develop him as a rusher."
When asked about what it takes to stay at a program as long as he's been at the University of Alabama, Saban simply stated, "Win."
Concerning the challenges facing the triple-option offense, Saban said one of the most challenging things about college football is "the diversity in the offenses that you faced." He spoke of how difficult it is to prepare for that offense in a week because of how different it is from what Alabama typically faces.
Saban said that Florida State "probably has as many good players returning as anyone in college football." He further commented that FSU "is built like an SEC team." He said State is "fast, but also big and tough and play good defense."
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Nick Saban Press Conference
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| Click HERE to view press conference |
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Alabama's Mr. Football Shuns The Tide
Chooses Mississippi State Bulldogs
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| Photo Credit: sports.usatoday.com |
The state of Alabama's reigning Mr. Football won't be playing in Tuscaloosa. Four-star Class 5A student-athlete La'Damian Webb from Beauregard announced his commitment to Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Webb rushed for 3,242 yards and the state of Alabama record for 53 touchdowns as a junior. This also makes him the first junior in the state to win the title of Mr. Football.
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