Everything Nick Saban Said on Wednesday Ahead of Tennessee

Live updates from Saban's final official press conference of the week ahead of facing the Volunteers.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On Wednesday evening, Alabama head football coach Nick Saban met with reporters one final time as the Crimson Tide gear up for its trip to face No. 6 Tennessee.

The Volunteers have amassed a 5-0 record to start the season, while the Crimson Tide is sitting at 6-0. The last time that the two programs faced each other with undefeated records was all the way back in 1989, with the last time the two teams being ranked in the top 10 when meeting being back in 2016.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout Saban's press conference. Video as well as a full transcript will be added soon after the conference's conclusion.

Live Updates

• Saban's press conference is slated to begin at 6 p.m. CT.

• There has been an emphasis this week focused on players and coaches working at a level that people respect. Not just fans, but also other opponents.

• Bryce Young is on a pitch count and Saban expects him to do even more tomorrow.

• Saban said they don't play all three members of the cheetah package (Anderson, Turner and Braswell) in run-down situations. Said that there's a break point where they put them in the game.

• Jaylen Moody has been practicing all week after suffering a bruised rib.

• More mature competitors understand what it takes to have the psychological disposition to have success. It's a challenge to be the best version of yourself every day, and it's a choice according to Saban.

• Saban says that he believes his defense has done a good job of stopping the quarterback on third down. "It's a combination of all 11 guys doing what they're supposed to do."

• Mental errors and missed assignments are the key reasons when Alabama makes a mistake on defense.

• "I don't want him to think there's any pressure or anxiety," Saban said of placekicker Will Reichard. Said that he and the other coaches have confidence in him.

• Saban's press conference has ended.

Nick Saban Transcript - October 12, 2022

Opening Statement

”I think our emphasis this week has been on everybody self assessing. Coaches, myself, players. Do you think you're really playing to the level that people respect? To the standard that we have here? That your teammates respect? The discipline, the toughness, the effort to finish, focus on the next play, accountability to do your job. Those are basic, fundamental things that are very, very important to being successful. That's something we really emphasized. I think the players have done a pretty good job so far this week so we got a tremendous challenge against a really good team on the road. SEC game, Gameday, all the things that make great games so if you're a great competitor you love great challenges. This is certainly going to be a great challenge for us in what we expect to be a difficult environment.

“Bryce continues to practice a little bit more. We’ve got him on a little bit of a pitch count just to ween him back into it and see how it goes. We expect him to do even a little more tomorrow. That’s all I really have to say about that.”

On getting used to road atmosphere…

"I think the first time you do it it's probably a little bit of a challenge for players that have never done it before, especially at certain positions where being able to communicate and hear, whether its snapcount, whatever. Probably inability to communicate on defense if its loud. Those things probably affect inexperienced players a little bit more than the guys that have done it before. But I think by this time, we played a couple road games, you hope that experience has enhanced the guys on the team's expectations of what's going to happen, how it's going to be, what's going to happen, how they need to play, how they need to focus in that kind of environment." 

On stopping the run/‘cheetah' package…

"We don't really play those guys all together in run down situations. We play two of the three and obviously that's part of it but I think until you get to third down, and every team has kind of a break point of when they're not running the ball on third down very much. We can still stop the run with stunts but there is different kind of runs on third down too that you have to stop. We work a little each week on those guys being in the game and being able to stop the run. It's a speciality package for passing situations so more difficult to play if there's a threat of the run on a down and distance. We have a break point, we'll put them in the game. We're always prepared if we can't substitute on third down to play with the nickel people that we have in the game. Most of the time it's at least two of those guys."

On the status of LB Jaylen Moody...

"He's practiced all week. So he hasn't had any complications so I think he'll be OK." 

On being mentally and physically fit...

"Well, I think that's always a challenge. I think it's a challenge for each player. I think it's a challenge for each and every one of us to make a choice. You've heard me talk before about 'you gonna do what you feel like doing or are you going to choose to do the things you need to do to accomplish the goals that you have, have the success that you want to have.' I think every player's gotta make that choice, and I think more mature competitors really understand how important that is to maintain a psychological disposition to do things the way you need to do them to have success. That is a challenge. It's a psychological challenge for every person, every player. I mean, you all. I don't care what your job is. It's a personal challenge to be the best version of yourself every day, and not accept less than that. And that's a choice. When you say 'I don't feel like going to work today' or 'I don't feel like practicing today,' obviously you're not going to be playing to the level that you need to play to. So we're constantly trying to get our players to understand how you have to edit your behavior, make the choices and decisions that are going to help you accomplish the goals that you have. And all these guys want to create value for their future. So that also creates value for them as well."

On what he's liked from the defense on third down...

"Well, I think that we've done a good job of affecting the quarterback, which is always beneficial on third down. I think we've done a pretty good job of disguising and mixing things in the backend, done a fairly good job of covering. So it's a combination of all 11 guys doing what they're supposed to do that I think helps you be effective, and understanding the situation and playing the situation that you're in and everybody doing what they're supposed to do. Most of the time, when we haven't had success on third down, it's a mental error, a missed assignment or something like that. The offensive team we're playing this week's going to be much more challenging, so everybody's gonna have to play as well as they're capable of playing and do it all together as a unit for us to be successful against this group."

On if he says anything to Will Reichard or kickers...

"You know, Will's been kicking for us for a long time. We've got a lot of confidence in him. Nobody can make every kick, but I just don't want him to press. I don't want him to feel like there's any anxiety or pressure for him to do something. He obviously made the game-winning kick at Texas, and he's been a very consistent guy for us. We have a lot of confidence in him, and I don't usually feel like there's any reason to go sort of -- when I talk to the guys, it's usually to tell them they did a good job. And if they don't hit a good one, punt a good one, kick a good one, it's 'hey, forget about it, focus on the next one' because those guys aren't like players. They don't play 70 plays in a game. They're like assassins. They got one shot, they got to make it count. That's the mindset they have to have. To focus and be prepared to do it the next time is probably the most important thing."

See Also:

Bryce Young's Status Heading into Tennessee Week

Everything Tennessee Coach Josh Heupel Said About Facing Alabama

Tennessee's Good, But Are The No. 6 Vols for Real? All Things CW

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