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AJ McCarron rips into ‘different era’ of Alabama players with emphatic NSFW comments
By Paul Harvey
Published:
AJ McCarron knows all about playing for Alabama and the pressures players face in Tuscaloosa. However, he also knows all about living up to the standard set by head coach Nick Saban, and McCarron believes that standard has definitely shifted after the legendary coach retired.
In a recent appearance on the “McCready and Siskey” podcast, McCarron was asked about the perception of the new era of Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama program. The national title-winning quarterback did not hold back, ripping into players that he views as “worried about f—ing TikTok” and personal gain through NIL.
“I think it’s definitely a different era. I don’t think you’ll see the same standard from discipline, just things that the team seems to do. And it’s a new day and age,” said McCarron. “Everybody’s worried about f—ing TikTok and having a reel and being on highlights from their personal self and personal gain and how much money they can get from NIL.”
McCarron did clarify later on his comments were not a shot at the current coaching staff or DeBoer. However, it’s a unique set of problems McCarron does not believe his generation worried about.
According to McCarron, the players he saw with the Crimson Tide were all worried about playing as a team with an understanding that winning was the path to eventual personal gain:
“We just didn’t have that s— back then. It was a team sport. You came together as a team because you had one common goal because you knew that’s how you were going to make your money was by winning,” McCarron explained. “Winning attracts people to that program, it attracts scouts, GMs, ownership to allow yourself to have that opportunity… You can just tell, it’s not the same.”
McCarron’s comments begin around the 12-minute mark below. Warning that NSFW language is included:
While fans do need to adjust to a new era, it’s also true that DeBoer and his staff have too much talent to be content with some of the recent performances on the field. With 2 losses already, the pressure is on to turn things around at least remain in the College Football Playoff conversation down the stretch.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
