Nick Saban weighs in on players faking injuries and quickly re-entering games
By Adam Spencer
Published:
It seems that there are more players faking injuries to slow down opposing offenses this season.
On Wednesday night, on his weekly radio program, Alabama coach Nick Saban weighed in on the strategy, and, needless to say, he’s not a fan of it.
He said it sends the wrong message to the opposing team, adding a story about how he jogged off the field when he was hurt during his playing days:
Saban: "I get mad at our players when they lay on the field. I tell our players, 'If you lay on the field, you're telling the other guy he's kicking your ass.' … Now you jump up and run off the field and you're ready to go back in in two plays. I mean how really hurt were you?"
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 28, 2019
Saban on players faking injuries on the field: "I get mad at our players when they lay on the field. I tell our players, 'when you lay on the field, you're telling the other guy he's kicking your a**.' If you just lay out there on the field, that's what you're telling them."
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) November 28, 2019
Saban continued: "When I played, I broke my ankle and my leg and ran off the field, because our coach said you can't lay on the field. You can't let the other team know they're beating you. You can't tell them that. So I got up and ran off the field. Was that dumb or what?"
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) November 28, 2019
As long as teams are running fast-paced offenses, injuries suffered by defenders are always going to be questioned.
We’ll see if the NCAA does something about it, or if it just remains part of the game.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
