Alabama Wants to Create Identity This Saturday: 'Show People That We're Still the Standard'

A key theme from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide players is establishing an identity for the new team in the season opener.

Katie Windham | Aug 29, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — What is the biggest challenge for the Crimson Tide this Saturday according to Nick Saban?

It's not maintaining focus. It's not determining who will be the starting quarterback moving forward. It's not turnovers, or penalties or a million other factors. For the Alabama head coach, the main challenge is creating an identity as a team.

"We're concerned about how do we establish an identity for our team in terms of how we compete and how we play, regardless of who we might play," Saban said during his opening statement Monday.

Saban used some form of the phrase "create an identity" four times in his first press conference of Middle Tennessee week. Safe to say it's something that he's been emphasizing with the players leading up to the season opener.

It's a statement echoed by senior running back Jase McClellan on Tuesday when asked what he was most excited about for the first game. How does Alabama do that on offense? By being physical and balanced with both the rushing and passing attacks.

"Doing everything possible to be the standard still," McClellan said about. "Show people that we're still the standard. This is Alabama."

The Blue Raiders might not be the marquee opponent Alabama fans have become accustomed to in season openers, but with the Texas Longhorns coming into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week Two, creating and establishing an identity in the first game is critical.

For junior defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry, the identity is something that No. 4 Alabama has been developing all offseason, but will be put to the test and forged in the fire during the first game Saturday night against Middle Tennessee.

"I feel like we've been working on that identity that we want to be as a team," McKinstry said. "I feel like Saturday, we'll get to show that identity that we are and make sure we have that identity that we want to have as a team."

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.

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