Everything Nick Saban said at his final press conference before the Sugar Bowl
Nick Saban and the No. The No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats in Saturday’s Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans
Coach Saban spoke to the media on Friday, before kickoff tomorrow to talk about his team and the matchup against the Wildcats.
Coach Saban will open the proceedings with an opening statement. He would like to wish everyone a happy new year and to thank everyone for making this event so special.
Here’s everything Coach Saban had to say at his final press conference before the Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup versus Kansas State.
Opening statement
“First off, I would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year. It was a great year to be grateful and look forward to the next. And I would also like to thank all the people involved with the Sugar Bowl for the opportunity to play in a great, traditional bowl game and for the hospitality that they’ve offered our players.
“I think games like this are about the players, and it certainly has been a great experience for our players to be a part of the Sugar Bowl in the city of New Orleans. We appreciate this more than you realize.
“I’ve been pleased with what our players have done in preparation for this game, as well as how they’ve represented the University of Alabama while here at this game. We have the opportunity to play an extremely, really great team.
“Kansas State is probably playing as well as anybody in the country at the end of the season this year, winning the Big 12 title, as well as beating a playoff team to do it.
“So this is going to be a tremendous challenge for our team, and something that I think if you’re a great competitor, you always welcome the opportunity to play in big games against great teams. So preparation has been good and the attitude has been good for our players, so hopefully, it will turn up on the field in the way we play.”
Q1: What is the difference between teams that are able to close out games and players who can make big plays in big moments?
“I think that’s kind of a tough question because I think if you can stay focused on the moment — there was an old statement that I read once that Michael Jordan said: When I play at the end of a game, I never change. I keep my eyes on the play at hand and focus on the moment. I also take advantage of other people’s changes.
“So saying all that to say this, some people have the ability to do that because they have the maturity as a competitor that allows them to stay focused on what they need to do in that moment. It’s not the circumstance of the moment. It’s how they respond and being able to stay focused in that moment to make plays.”
Q2: How do you prepare for this bowl game?
“Well, we’ve been in the playoffs so many times here in the last 10, 12 years. There’s only been a few occasions where we have a circumstance where we haven’t gotten in the playoffs. And I think it’s more challenging when that’s sort of a goal for what the players work for all year long and came up short to sort of recenter.
“Your circumstance doesn’t really define who you are. It kind of reveals who you are in terms of how do you respond to the challenge that we have and the circumstance that we’re in.
“So it’s always a little more challenging, but I think that our players have had the right disposition and the right mindset about how they’ve approached it.”
Q3: Your gratitude for the year and your gratitude to God were topics you discussed. You’ve been to Sugar Bowl several times and talked about the enjoyment that your players have from this moment. What about you? How do you feel about the Sugar Bowl every year?
“Well, I think that the big thing for me is, not me personally in terms of how I enjoy it, but the fact that the players get a lot of positive self-gratification for having the opportunity. I think that’s what bowl games are all about.
“It’s one of the great things about college football, is if you have a good season and you get rewarded by going to a first-class quality bowl game like the Sugar Bowl, that’s a great experience for the players.
“And I think my enjoyment comes from seeing them having the opportunity not only to play a great team, but also have some time to enjoy and have an experience that they have surrounding the bowl game.”
Q4: In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about college football players leaving. Kansas State does not have opt-outs. What is the importance of that mentality and thought for a team? Which would you rank?
“Well, I think it speaks volumes of the character of the players on your team who choose to play, because they’ve been great leaders of the team. They’ve been great contributors. They’ve set a good example for their teammates. They care about their team.
“They’ve been somebody that the players on the team can emulate by the example they set and how much they care to try to help them be successful for their benefit.
“And I think it’s a great example that the best way to create value for yourself as a player is to play football. A lot of people say, I’m getting ready for the NFL. What you’re really saying is you’re getting ready for the combine. You don’t have to do the same things at the combine as you do while playing football.
“And that’s why some people get drafted in the sixth round, because maybe they didn’t do such a good job at the combine, but there’s some really significant things that they can do to play their position.
“I use the example of Tom Brady, who didn’t run fast at the combine, didn’t jump high, didn’t bench press a lot, didn’t do all of the things that they measure at the combine, but he can play quarterback.
“I think the way I try to approach it with our players is, the best thing you can do to create value for your future is to play really well against really good teams. And I think that’s what our players have an opportunity to do. I’m very pleased that they chose to do this.
“But I think we have a responsibility and an obligation to take out as much risk as possible in terms of how we ensure the players so they don’t have to do it with a lot of concern.
Q5: Do 12 team playoffs provide the solution that college football needs? If so, why?
“When you say fix, I don’t know — what’s broke? Let’s talk about what’s broke first, and that will determine whether a 12-team playoff fixes it. What’s broke?”
Q6. Why aren’t many players playing?
“Even though we didn’t have any opt-outs, we have 10 guys that got in the transfer portal. I gave them all the opportunity to play in the game if they wanted to and they didn’t. So I don’t know if that’s a good thing for player, not to have to stay committed to their team for the entire season.
“So there’s a lot of things in college football. The transfer portal has presented us with a challenge in managing rosters. Name, image, likeness are great things for players if we keep in mind that they have the ability to do so. Then we use it to attract guys to schools based on their financial resources.
“I’m not sure that’s the reason you go to college is to create value for your future. So that’s going to trickle down into high schools, in terms of some guy is going to say I’m not going to play for my team in high school because I’m going to get this much money to go somewhere to go to college.
“So I think those things are much greater issues that need at least some parameters. And I think that having the 12-team playoff — I said this when we went to a four-team playoff — it will minimize the importance of bowl games to some degree, and hopefully the bowl games will still be a part of the 12-team playoff to some degree.
“I think from a fan perspective, there will be 20 teams people will be interested in towards the end of the season, because there will probably be that many teams that have an opportunity to get into the playoffs. And it seems from your standpoint, from a media standpoint — I don’t mean this in a negative way. All the attention is on the playoffs, and who has the chance to win the national championship.
“So how that gets implemented, I’m not sure. However, this seems like a positive thing from a fan’s perspective. But I also think that fans relate to players, and if players don’t have a commitment to a team, that’s going to impact how fans relate to a team as well, I think.
“So all these things are probably issues that need to be addressed in the future. I’m not sure what the solutions are, but I’m sure there’s people in positions, whether it’s conference commissioners or even the federal government, because some of these things have been created by laws and lawsuits. And there’s a lot of good in them, but there’s also some guidelines that we probably need to institute.”
Q7: Looking back at the players who have not opted out, what message does that send to younger players? Even the recruiting class, with players like [Will] Anderson Jr. and Bryce Young participating in this game
“I think it goes back to a simple question: Why did you come to Alabama? You came to Alabama to become the best person, student and player you can be. This is your chance to achieve that goal in a very competitive setting against a very high-quality team.
“But I do think it sends a very positive message to teammates when the leaders of the team — both guys are captains. His teammates vote for the best player. One player is voted the most valuable by his teammates.
“That they choose to continue to be a part of the team and put the team first, I think it sends a significant message to all players on our team in terms of the kind of commitment that they have and the example that they set in a positive way for what you can accomplish and what you can do.”
Q8. You know that there are specific parameters when it comes down to recruitment. You might be wondering if you find Deuce Vaughn, a running back, entertaining to watch even though film studies are serious business.
“I think pound for pound, he’s probably one of the best players, greatest competitors, toughest guys.
“So when we say we have parameters, that’s all that it means. It doesn’t mean that there’s not an exception to every rule. You can say a cornerback needs to be 6-foot tall, but there are guys who are 5’10” and 5’9″ who go to the Pro Bowl.
“It’s a parameter. It’s not a killer. And there’s a lot of things that you look at, whether it’s what are the things you do well to play your position? What are the key factors? What’s the criteria? It’s not just about the speed or size.
“Character and intelligence and all those things are a big part of how you evaluate players. And there’s no one that we play against all year long that has better competitive character than the guy you just mentioned.”
Q9: They moved up the early recruiting, and I’m sure they had valid reasons. It’s now the signing period, which has become a part of the recruiting day. How difficult is roster management during this time of year, in light of and in relation to the transfer portal?
“Well, I think roster management is difficult year-round, because what’s going to happen after this game? What’s going to happen in the end of April? You can change any of these windows by the players.
“How many do you know are going to do it or you think might do it? And how can you replace them. It’s difficult year-round, not just now.
“But when we started and said we’re going to have an early signing period, many people said, including myself, that that would become the signing period or signing date, which it really kind of has. So there’s only a few guys left out there that are going to make a decision in February.
“So I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Because of this, we had to move our entire recruiting calendar up to allow more men to visit the site during the season.
“So the normal time when people used to visit, December and January, is almost obsolete in terms of — we may have one player that’s going to visit in January as of right now. I’m talking about high school players.
“So it is what it is. You have to be able to adapt to all these things if you’re going to continue to be successful. And that’s what we’ve tried to do.”
Last words
“I would like to thank the media. You all do a great job of giving our players positive self-gratification and reinforcing their positive performance.
“And I know they appreciate it, but as a coach who always is interested in the players, I think what you do for them is outstanding, and we appreciate it. Thank you.”
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