Alabama players: If Saban has confidence in QB, we have confidence in QB
By Chris Wright
Published:
HOOVER, Ala. — New quarterback? No problem.
New running backs? No worries.
One by one, Alabama players expressed complete confidence Wednesday in the direction of the 2016 offense, even if they aren’t sure who will be driving or running it.
Jonathan Allen said only one thing matters: Nick Saban’s opinion.
“Right now we don’t know who’s going to be the quarterback, and I play defensive line, so I definitely don’t know,” Allen told reporters gathered for Day 3 of the SEC Media Days.
“But whoever the quarterback is, if coach Saban has trust in them, then I have 100 percent trust in them. I have no doubt that coach Saban is going to make the best decision for this team.
“So whichever guy he goes with, the whole team will rally around him and support him.”
But Alabama isn’t merely replacing its quarterback — something it’s managed with much success recently. Those teams that broke in Blake Sims and Jacob Coker last year had the luxury of handing off to proven running back stars.
This year’s team has no such luxury. Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman or Jalen Hurts will hand off to Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris. Granted, both were prized recruits, best-in-the-country types that Alabama attracts, but they combined for just 261 yards and two touchdowns last season.
It won’t matter, Allen insisted.
“I’m not concerned at all with our offense,” he said. “I have the utmost faith in coach (Lane) Kiffin. I know he has something up his sleeve.
“We haven’t gone against the offense too much. From what I’ve seen, definitely it’s explosive. It can be just as explosive, if not more explosive as it was last year.”
Alabama averaged 35.1 points per game last season, fourth-best in the SEC. They scored 38 and 45 in the two playoff games that produced their fourth national championship in seven years. As much talk as the defense received last season, the offense put on a show during that run.
Nobody more so than tight end O.J. Howard, who again will be working with a new or newer quarterback.
“I think each quarterback is doing a great job right now, of doing what the coaches are asking them to do,” Howard said Wednesday. “Each guy is doing good right now. I think we’ll be fine. Each year, the past three seasons, we’ve had a new quarterback. We’re in the same shoes. We’ve been fine those years, so I think we’ll be fine again this year.”
Part of that confidence stems from his belief in Kiffin’s ability to build a game plan for each quarterback.
“It says a lot of about coach, about how smart he is,” Howard said. “What he can do to allow the quarterback to adjust to the offense and players around him. That’s why I’m not really concerned about this year.
“We’ve done it before and I know what our quarterbacks are capable of doing.”
Chris Wright is Executive Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at cwright@saturdaydownsouth.com.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
