|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL: OHIO STATE v ALABAMADecember 31, 2014Nick SabanNEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA THE MODERATOR: We're joined by coach Nick Saban from the University of Alabama. COACH NICK SABAN: First off, on behalf of the University of Alabama and our entire football family, I'd like to thank all the people at the Allstate Sugar Bowl who have worked very, very hard to create an atmosphere and environment here for this great competitive venue for the players. The hospitality has been outstanding. And the city of New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl folks have done an outstanding job of creating an atmosphere and environment for a college football playoff that is conducive relative to the competitive venue that we have. And we want to thank everybody for that. I've been pleased with the way our players have been able to maintain a focus on the importance of the game that we're playing against a very, very good Ohio State team, who, in their own right, has had an outstanding year and won the Big Ten championship, as well as playing very well at the end of the season. So this is certainly a challenge that all competitors look forward to. And it's great to be a part of. But our players have stayed focused, worked hard and kept their nose where it needs to be in terms of what they need to do to be able to play what everyone needs to look at as our best game of the year. And that's a challenge technically to every guy at every position to play with the kind of discipline that you need to play with to do that. So I wish everybody out there a very happy new year and we're looking forward to a great game. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. I was wondering with the news about Coach Harbaugh, it's interesting you're one of the few people who can speak to what he's going through going from the professional leagues back to the college ranks. Wondered if you had any thoughts on what's most respectively difficult about coaching professional ball versus coaching college ball and what if any collegial advice you would offer him about that transition. COACH NICK SABAN: To be quite honest with you, as a coach, I'm really kind of focused on being a good coach for our team. I think what you want to do as a coach is make sure that you have done the best possible job to help your players go out and be most effective in what they need to do to play in a big game that they worked hard all year to earn the right to be in. So, I don't really have a lot of thoughts right now on what another coach at another school needs to do to make a transition. I think there's definitely things that are different about coaching pro football and coaching college football. And I think if you have experience in both of those things you should draw on those experiences and develop the program wherever you are in either league that is most accommodating to the challenges that you have. Q. How do you combat the complacency keep it sharp as an individual. And as a coach for these players, every year there's a lot of coaches that would love to know your secret, but what is it when you look in the mirror each year and how do you keep it fresh for these players to keep them at this level competing for a championship, potential championship? COACH NICK SABAN: I think that our entire staff and all of our players have responded very well to the standard that we sort of try to set for the way we want things to be done and how we they need to be done so you can have success. And I think everyone buying into those principles and values is certainly a key to being able to maintain that standard. And I think the players should be given the credit for making the commitment, doing the work, overcoming the adversity, staying together as a team, so that they created an opportunity for themselves that they worked hard all year to try to create. So we can sort of establish the standard, but the team, the team chemistry, the family of people involved with the team, you know, all have to be all in to doing the things you need to do to be successful. And we've had that kind of buy‑in, and I think that's been a real key to our success. Q. This is obviously the first year of the playoff. How did you go about preparing your team this week, knowing that there's another game and this is obviously very different. Normally you guys would be playing for a national championship this week. Now potentially another one. Have you changed anything, have you treated it as a normal bowl week? COACH NICK SABAN: No, we haven't treated it like a normal bowl week. But this is the only game that matters. We played 13 games. And since the Ole Miss game, we've sort of been in a playoff of our own kind. We were always one negative experience away from being out of the mix relative to getting in the college playoff. Now that we're in the playoff, the circumstance is really no different. So everything is about this game. I use the term be where your feet are. Everybody needs to be focused on what they need to do for this game. We prepared for this game like it is the only game that matters. And I think once we get an outcome of this game, we'll focus on what comes next, whatever that might be. Q. Have you gotten a feel for Ohio State's quarterback situation? Obviously Cardale Jones will be the starter, he's got one game and then their backup looks like it's going to be their hybrid back, Jalin Marshall, how did you get your team prepared for that? COACH NICK SABAN: Well, we sort of thought philosophically that they would have a two‑quarterback system, because there's quite a bit of quarterback run‑type plays that they would implement even if it was a non‑quarterback at quarterback, which we feel No. 17 has done that some in the past and is a very, very capable player and was an outstanding player doing that in high school. So we've kind of looked at that as something that is a great possibility and tried to practice some of those scenarios. Now, what they do and how they do it, we have no real clue other than what they've done to this point. But we do have respect for both guys and what their abilities are and what they can do. And I think our players are going to have to adjust to both the players in the game. And I think one of the points that I made about staying focused and keeping your intensity level up and expecting the unexpected in a game like this and playing with discipline are all things that are going to be a real key to being able to adapt to a situation like that, because whatever they choose to do may be a little bit unexpected in terms of what we've been able to prepare for. So we're going to have to‑‑ our players are going to have to adapt and adjust to that. But we have seen it enough that they at least have an expectation of what could happen in both those scenarios. Q. As you get further along in your career, do you‑‑ obviously this wouldn't be the week to do it‑‑ but do you ever take a time and look at what you've been able to accomplish and kind of savor it or appreciate all of the things that you have been able to do, particularly since you've gotten to Alabama? COACH NICK SABAN: I really haven't and don't, because all the things that we talk about like be where your feet are, focus on what's happening now, and nothing that's been accomplished in the past is going to have any effect on what happens in the future. And I think as a coach, you're always looking for the moments to come. And you're always looking for the next game, the next challenge, how do we prepare our team the best so that they have the best opportunity to have a chance to be successful in the game. And, again, you always want to send your team out there and say they were well coached, they were well prepared, and that doesn't mean you're always going to win. But it means that you at least gave them the best opportunity to go out there and have a chance to execute and be successful against whatever challenges the opponent presents. So, none of that ever gets thought about in the past tense. It's always in the future tense of what the next challenge is and what the moments are in the future that you're going to have to adjust to to try to continue to be successful. Q. T.J. Yeldon has been coming off the ankle, hamstring. How has he looked in practice this week? COACH NICK SABAN: He's been able to practice each and every day that we've been here, and he's looked better and better each day and we're very hopeful that he's‑‑ it will probably be a pre‑game decision, which with all injured players they're always involved, whether they're able to go out and do their job effectively and we'll make that decision at that time, but we're very hopeful that he'll be able to make a contribution in this game. Q. The four teams that got into this playoff are some of the best known teams in the college football world. How much do you think that branding has to do with it, and how good or bad is it that these four teams got in versus, say, TCU and Baylor being included in the mix? Do you think that branding had anything to do with it? COACH NICK SABAN: Well, alls I can say is I think that all four teams that are in this certainly earned their way into this by how they played, what they did, the accomplishments that they were able to make over an entire body of work, and how they finish the season probably had something to do with that, whether it was win a conference championship or play very well at the end of the season. So, I have no opinion about who should or who shouldn't have. I don't see all those teams play. I don't know. I think that we have a system and however flawed that system may be we can criticize it. But it is what it is, and I think that you know that in terms of what your team has to do to be able to get in a game like this, the kind of teams you need to play, the kind of competition you need to succeed against it. And I think all the four teams that are in this were able to do that. That's not to say that other teams did not do it. But there's no debate to me that the best teams, four of the best teams in the country got into this. And I think that it's going to be very challenging now that these teams are in it to try to get your team to stay focused and play their best football at this time of the year. Q. If Yeldon is limited, does that mean increased opportunities for Jalston Fowler and Tyren Jones? COACH NICK SABAN: I don't think there's any question about the fact that we've always played more than one back. And we have a lot of confidence in all the players that you mentioned. Jalston Fowler has played many roles for us this year and has always been very effective in whatever role that has been, and probably has as much diversity as a player as anybody that plays on our team. And he's certainly done an outstanding job this year and Tyren Jones, when he's had an opportunity has done a good job for us and Derrick Henry has played better and better as the year has gone on and played some of his best football at the end of the season. So we're very confident in all those players, that they have an opportunity in the game that they're capable of going in and doing a very good job for us. Q. Really at the start of camp, one of your prime messages was the need to improve this team as the season goes along. How have they done that? Is there an area, too, where you can point to that, Yeah, we are much better at this point than we were starting? And have you seen the same from Ohio State, an improvement over the course of the season? COACH NICK SABAN: Well, to answer the second question first, I think that Ohio State has made a tremendous amount of improvement throughout their season. They have some very, very good players on their team and some of those players are young players who certainly gain confidence as the season went on. And they played their best football, I think, at the end of the season. And that's why they're here. From our standpoint, I think our team came a long way in overcoming a lot of adversity. If you really look at what happened during the course of the season, I mean, when we lost to Ole Miss, you know, not only did everyone sort of discount this team totally and completely, it wasn't just that this team wasn't going to make it, it was that the whole era of what we've been able to do at Alabama was done, gone, didn't work anymore and all that. So our players really responded to the loss and did the things that they needed to do to develop into a pretty good football team that played some of their best football at the end of the season as well. Are we a perfect team? No. I don't see a perfect team out there. There aren't any real perfect players, and there's really not a perfect team. So to compete to play together for everybody to be responsible to do their job and to work to do the things that you need to do to improve, I would say I'm very pleased with what our team has been able to do throughout the course of this season. Q. What have you done this week specifically working with your defensive backs, knowing the pension for the long ball from Ohio State and trying to keep people in front of them and cutting off routes, that kind of thing? COACH NICK SABAN: It's the same thing we always do when we play against really good receivers. They certainly have good receivers that have made a lot of explosive plays this year. And I think that's going to be one of the key matchups in the game for our guys to play really good technique in the back end, to keep their players cut off, to stay in good position, and it usually goes back to eye control, technique, so that you are well prepared to be in a good position when you have those opportunities present themselves when they run down the field and play the ball aggressively. So we played against a lot of good receivers all year long. Sometimes we've done a good job against those guys and sometimes we've given up some plays that we wish we wouldn't have. And I think big plays are going to be probably a key factor in this game and that's probably one of the things that we need to do extremely well in this game is play well in the back end, keep people cut off, and minimize their opportunities for big plays. Q. You mentioned that what you've been able to do at Alabama. How much pride do you take in that in a time when college football is increasingly competitive, that your program has been able to stay up at the top and set the standard for the rest of the country? COACH NICK SABAN: Well, I think there's a lot of good programs in the country, and a lot of people have had a lot of success. And we have a so‑called vision of what we want to accomplish, and we have a process that we think is effective when people buy into it, and we try to create the discipline for the people involved to be able to execute that sort of process. And I think that's been the key to our success. I also think that from a program standpoint and from a total administrative standpoint, from a university standpoint as well as from an athletic department standpoint, we've been able to create a program that provides a lot of value for players in terms of how we try to use this process to help them be more successful in life for some of the things that they learn in the program. The importance of getting an education, developing a career off the field, doing the things that you need to do to develop as a football player so that you may have a career as a football player some day if that's your goals and aspirations but always keeping being a good person, developing a career off the field and developing a career on the field, relative to the importance of how is that going to help you be successful in your future. And that's something that I'm very thankful that our institution has done everything they can to help our players have the best chance to be successful long term in their life. And it's very‑‑ there's a lot of self‑gratification in seeing that happen for young people developing the kind of characteristics that will help them be successful on and off the field. Q. From an outsiders's perspective and media perspective your quarterback seems to be everything that's right about college football, the tenacity, the drive, the willingness to do whatever it takes, wherever he's placed. I'm interested in your thoughts from a coach's perspective and somebody who is close to him and has intimate knowledge of him? COACH NICK SABAN: I don't think there's any question about the fact that Blake Sims has done a phenomenal job for our team this year. And I think he deserves a tremendous amount of credit, not just for his accomplishments, but all the things that he did to become what he is, because there was a lot of people that didn't think that Blake Sims could ever be the quarterback at Alabama. And he worked extremely hard to overcome every deficiency that he had, whether it was improving as a passer, improving his ability to game manage the team. And I think that going from a guy who most people thought could not be successful as a quarterback at Alabama to a guy who set the single season passing record and the total offensive production for a season at the University of Alabama, that includes a lot of really good football players in the past, I think is an accomplishment that holds great significance and should be recognized based on what a great job he did in making that happen for himself and for our team. And then to go back and be the most inspirational player on the team as MVP of the SEC championship game, I can't say enough about all that Blake Sims has done to contribute to the success of our team. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|