Terrion and Terry are ‘Buddies’

After Alabama beat Kentucky Saturday, cornerback Terrion Arnold told reporters that "Every team needs a Miss Terry [Saban]."  Turns out there's a story there, and Nick Saban discussed that and much more in his Monday press conference. Here is a transcript.

Opening Statement

"Obviously that was a great win for us. Really good for our team to come out, start fast and the game play fast, obviously ready to play. I think the big point of emphasis that we'd like to make moving forward is we still got to stay focused on execution. It's not just about making plays and most of the issues that we have in games — offense, defense, [it] doesn't really matter come down to are we communicating and is everybody on the same page? When we do that we seem to have really good results, and sometimes when we don't we give up plays that we probably shouldn't give up. So that's going to be the big point of emphasis in watching the film today with the players is to get them to really sort of focus on the importance of communicating and everybody being on the same page whether its who we're blocking upfront, how we're covering and adjusting to motions, in secondary, whatever so that we get on the same page."

"Chattanooga obviously has had a really good good season. The players play hard, they compete well — Rusty Wright has done a really good job there. I think they're like second in their league, 7-3 record, only lost two games in their league. One of the most productive offensive teams — they've got a good quarterback, they got good receivers and run the ball with good balance. They're really well coached defensively, this guy Jay Person has got lots of sacks and lots of tackles for loss and these guys play hard and like always, this is a great opportunity for these guys to play in a game that they probably dreamed about."

On how Miss Terry helps with the team

"Her and Terrion [Arnold] are really kind of buddies. I know she sort of texts with him and all that. I kind of get on him. It's just kind of like raising your children. I'm the guy that's always trying to get them to do right, and she's the momma who's always trying to make them happy. [laughs]. That's the way it's been for a long time."

On Chris Braswell's improvement/leadership

"[Braswell] is a really good competitor, a hard worker. Really works hard in practice to get it right. I think a lot of guys that play outside 'backer for us, when they come here they don't have a lot of background and experience in standing up and playing. A lot of them play with their hand in the dirt in high school. So the whole idea of standing up and playing, dropping some, how do you rush off the edge when you're standing up rather than in a three-point stance? I also think that opens up a whole panorama of knowledge of the game, coverages and things like that. And I would say that [Braswell] has certainly improved physically because of how committed he is to being a good player. But I think from a mental standpoint, that's where he really has a much, much better understanding of all the things you need to do to play that position."

On how the offensive line played at Kentucky

"They played really well. I think Kentucky's big up front. We talked about trying to be the most physical team. I think they did a good job of that. I think we ran the ball in the second half better than we did in the first. And some of that was just how were they playing. But I was really pleased, especially in the second half, with how we controlled the line of scrimmage. I think for the most part the pass protection was a little better, and we want to continue to improve in all those areas."

"We've talked a lot about how this team has been able to show great resiliency and perseverance, to really stick with it. They want to be good. They want to be coached. They've stayed focused on what we need to do to continue to get better. And I think by doing that, the confidence has built, the respect and trust has built, which helps confidence. And I think we've got a lot of guys that are playing really good football now. And we had a lot of guys that really stepped up in this past game and played well, like at receiver. We had two receivers out. These guys played really, really well, I mean, the receiver group. I mean, I think you've probably got that we took the whole group and said, 'You guys are the players of the game.' We had a couple of guys that had to step up on defense, with some starters missing. But it just seems like, whether it's been on special teams or however it's been, every guy is kind of all-in to try and do what they can to try to help the team. The leadership has been good and the transformation has shown in terms of how we've been able to execute week in and week out."

"Tim Keenan’s a good leader up front. Deontae Lawson is a really good leader at linebacker. Dallas is a good leader at outside backer. Malachi’s a good leader in the secondary. We have some guys at each position that set a pretty good example in terms of how you need to prepare for a game, how you need to try to practice, and [Chris Braswell] is one of those guys as well. He’s on the leadership because of the example that he sets in how he goes about what he does."