Terrion Arnold Responds to Ainias Smith's 'Personal' Comments

Alabama's sophomore cornerback discussed the conversation to come with the Aggies star receiving corps.

The Alabama football team is heading out to College Station, Tx. this weekend  to square off against the Texas A&M Aggies in a game for sole possession of first place in the SEC West. 

Aggies senior receiver Ainias Smith said during his Monday press availability that the matchup was more personal to him, due to his older brother's time playing for, and transferring away from Nick Saban and the University of Alabama. 

"I feel like this game is always more personal, every time I play them," Smith said. "I don't know -- what had happened, that's in the past now. I'm not able to control it, but every time I do look on that sideline, I do think about what had happened. I definitely be thinking about it. So it's more personal, for sure."

Smith went on to comment on the Tide's yearly expectation for championship level football and his desire to disappoint the Alabama head coach.

"I know what Nick Saban wants, and we're gonna mess that up. You know what I'm saying? If them boys don't got no momentum for real, we're gonna have to take that away, immediately, for sure."

The game got more intriguing on Tuesday as Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold was asked his thoughts on Smith's comments and his penchant for talking to opposing wide receivers.

"I seen something that says he knows what coach Saban wants. And when I seen that I was kind of like, 'what does coach Saban want?'. I mean, I’ve been here three years and I don’t know what that guy wants. So I don’t know. If we’re being honest, I don’t really even know," said Arnold.

The redshirt sophomore has developed into a stalwart defender in the Alabama backend after spending most of 2021 as the easy target. During Saturday evening's game against Mississippi State the ESPN broadcasters revealed that Arnold has had a habit throughout his time on the field carrying on conversations with opposing players.

"That’s something that I’ve kind of been doing ever since I was younger. I would say most people, when you see someone’s head bobbing or you see two guys talking, you might think they’re talking trash, but I mean, a lot of times, just be out there having a conversation," said Arnold. "Like I know when y’all see this game, me and Evan (Stewart). Me and Evan, we have a great relationship. When he came down here to Alabama, I thought he was actually gonna come here. Great guy. So you’ll see me talking to him like ‘Hey, I’m gonna man-to-man this rep, you gotta win.’ Or he could be like, ‘Hey, I’m coming, I got this type of route,’ and he’s that type of guy too. And I will say, when I like up, it’s just kind of friendly competition and something to keep yourself motivated during the game."

Arnold and Stewart had a hotly contested matchup in 2022 in Tuscaloosa in which Stewart came down with eight receptions for 106 yards, but when the game was on the line it was Arnold who came away with the winning play, swatting the final pass away. 

The corner from Florida was asked to elaborate on his on-field conversations and how expects this weekend's discussion to go and Arnold did exactly that.

“If you had another reporter, and you felt like he was asking you certain type of questions and trying to get a reaction out of somebody else and he was coming at you, how would you take that? So if I’m in the game and he’s saying that he knows what my coach wants, I mean obviously when I go out, I’m going to be like, ‘You know what Coach Saban wants, huh? Dang. What he want?’," said Arnold.

“Just little things like that. He plays in the slot primarily. If Malachi [Moore] goes out there and gets a PBU on him, you walk beside him like, ‘Hmm, you know what he want.’ Just little things like that. Little things, trying to get in somebody’s head.

“Obviously, you see what kind of competitor somebody is. If they shut down, then you know they can’t play 60 minutes of football, and that’s the type of person they are. But if they keep going, it really gets you going. It makes the game entertaining for the crowd. It makes it entertaining for you. I mean you have a chance to really got out there and put on a show.”

The Crimson Tide and the Aggies square off at Kyle Field on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. CT with the game being aired on CBS.