What Saban Said on His Weekly Radio Show
Instead of a full hour, Nick Saban spoke just 15 minutes Thursday night with Eli Gold on Saban's weekly radio show during Alabama's bye week. Here's a look at what the Tide coach had to say.
On Nate Oats' players in the NBA
"That's great. Lots of people asked me if I was going to watch the Tua/Jalen Hurts match Moday night. I did warch it. We had eleven players on the two teams.
"Nate's been able to recruit and develop a lot of those guys. It's great they're in the NBA."
On the Bama offense in the second half vs. Tennessee
"The key to the game was we got the ball in the second half and had an explosive run on the first play and an explosive touchdown the second play. There was electricity in the stadium after that. I was pleased with the way we played in the second half.
"Hopefully we keep developing and growing because we've got some tough games coming up. It's going to take that kind of effort to achieve success."
On what he said at the half
"I told them everybody has a choice in everything you do and the standard you do it to. How important is it to you? Are you going to let people come into our house and play the way we played in the first half? They responded really well to it.
On LSU quarterback Jaden Daniels
"The guy's an outstanding athlete. A dual threat quarterback and a really good passer. They have good skill guys and great balance on offense. They have triple option plays you have to defend and a lot of explosive players,. Offensive line's good. This is a really good offensive football team."
On injuries
"We've probably got a half dozen guys that didn't practice this week because of injuries. They needed time to try to heal up. It's too early to tell how they will respond and be ready to go next week. We are hopeful they'll be ready.
"That helps other players get more reps. The emphasis in a bye week is improve yourself. I thought we got lots of work on those things."
On keeping his mind on the job while at the lake for three days
"I won't do anything this evening. I'll watch film here of practice, LSU and recruits. I 'll probably spend eight hours a day here working on football. The rest of the time I cxan kick back a little bit.
"When you change the atmosphere and environment around you, work doesn't seem like work. You can recharge your batteries.
"The grind of new game plan and sustaining to perform at a high level makes people [mentally] tired and physically tired. I want the players to enjoy their time off and come back ready to work because we're playing a good team.
Saban's Final Word
"I thanked the fans after the game. They had a huge impact. That energy affects our players. We're going to need the same kind of energy next week. Myself, our staff and our players appreciate that enthusiasm. They had a lot of time on what transcended on the field."