Jordan Battle, Alabama DB, explains Nick Saban's 'hateful competitors' comment

Nick Saban was none too thrilled with Alabama’s close-call win over Texas on Saturday.

The narrow win was the latest in a string of too-close calls on the road. Last season the Crimson Tide snuck by Florida, Texas A&M and Auburn in games that most expected to not be as close as they ended up being.

Talking to BamaOnline this week, Saban explained that the Tide previously played better on the road because they had “hateful competitors” on their team.

“We used to play better on the road around here, aight, than what we played at home, aight, because we had some hateful competitors on our team, and when they played on the road, they were mad at 100,000 people, not just the 11 guys they were playing against. They wanted to prove something to everybody. And as time has gone on, I think that maybe just winning the game is the focus.”

On Tuesday, Alabama DB Jordan Battle explained what Saban meant by his comment.

Jordan Battle on Nick Saban's 'hateful competitors' comment: "Just trying to trying to get back to that standard. He likes to see the away stadium empty. I can still remember that feeling last year when we played Miss. State … I saw him smiling towards the end of the game."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 20, 2022

We’ll see if Alabama can get back to their ‘hateful’ ways as they visit No. 10 ranked Arkansas on Oct. 1.