Nick Saban issues challenge to Alabama players after blowout win over Utah State
By Keith Farner
Published:
Nick Saban is never satisfied after an Alabama win, even against an overmatched non-conference opponent like Utah State.
The Alabama coach laid out a challenge to his players about how to respond following games like Saturday, and how to find an edge going forward.
“There are things that we need to improve on and get better at,” Saban said, “and players need to understand the importance of sustaining the kind of intensity, whether it’s in preparation, practice, so that we can build and improve as a team because – no disrespect to Utah State, their players played hard, they’re a good little team. We’re gonna play teams that are much more physical and aggressive and talented than what they are, so we’re gonna have to do things correctly. And it’s gonna be important that guys can understand that.
The message goes for players up and down the roster, regardless of experience.
“I told all the young players on the team, I said, ‘If you get an opportunity to play, are you gonna be able to take advantage of that? Are you prepared to go out there and take advantage of doing your job, knowing what to do?’ They go out there and get 5 or 6 penalties, wrong formations, holding calls,” Saban said. “Defensively, we played a lot of players. They made some mental errors, too, on some of the things.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
