Alabama Football Update: Saban encourages fans to come early for Senior Day;

Rails on reporter for question about AJ and SI cover

By Hunter Ford

In his Wednesday evening press conference, Nick Saban reminded fans about Senior Day, and railed on a reporter who asked about AJ McCarron’s Sports Illustrated cover appearance.

If you have followed coverage of Saban press conferences, you will be familiar with his mantra of “consistency” and “doing the little things right.” You’ll also be familiar with his intolerance of silly questions.

A classic example occurred this evening.

A reporter stated that he had two questions regarding McCarron’s cover. “One, how does AJ look as a cover boy?”

“You think I sit around and look at magazines all day?” Saban retorted. “Every week you ask me about something I don’t know about. You need to come here and follow me around for, like a week. I watch the weather channel for about 10 minutes in the morning while I’m having my morning coffee…aight?…to see if we need to practice inside or out.”

Saban conceded that AJ probably looked fine, and said he was happy for him to get the acknowledgement.

After a few more animated comments toward the reporter, Saban left the press conference less than 10 minutes before it started. Needless to say, the reporter never had a chance to ask the second question, and Saban didn’t field any more.

Before that, Saban reminded fans that Saturday’s game against Chattanooga is Senior Day for 16 Tide seniors. He asked that fans come early and show their appreciation for one of the most successful classes in Alabama football history.

Saban said that, this time of year, most every college player in America, after 10 games, has “bumps and bruises” and may not feel like “going out there every day.”

He said there has to be a certain amount of “pride” and motivation that “comes from within.” He said players should ask themselves after every practice– “Did you improve today?”

NOTABLE NICK SABAN COMMENTS

Saban said that his defense has progressed well this year. He said the Tide practices using a fast paced offense at times, to give the defense the experience of playing against a style that is used by many of its opponents.

“We don’t choose to do it as a team,” he said of the hurry-up offensive style. “We could do it if we had to or if we wanted to,” he added.

On injuries: Tight end Brian Vogler and running back T.J. Yeldon are still not 100 percent and will be evaluated day-to-day. Saban said both players status could be game time decisions for Saturday.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley has played “fantastic all year” and has shown great leadership. Saban praised Mosley for his “intensity” and “consistency” both in games and in practice.

Cyrus Koundjio, a junior offensive lineman, has “a lot of football ahead of him.” Saban said Koundjio has improved greatly from last year, and has the ability to continue to improve.

Saban was asked about Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, who worked for Saban at LSU.

Saban described Fisher as one of the best coaches that he has worked on his staff.

“If you look at the whole body of work, they (Florida State) are arguably the best team in the country right now,” he said. “They weren’t that when he got there.”

5 thoughts on “Saban rails at reporter; urges fans to attend Alabama Senior Day”

  1. If you listen to the reporter’s question as coach Saban cuts him off, it sounds like he’s actually trying to ask coach if he saves SI covers.

    Earth to reporter: NO!!!!!

    That reporter blew a perfect opportunity to ask a more pertinent question.

    “Coach, AJ made the cover of SI and the article asks if he should be considered among the best college quarterbacks of all time. Should he, in your opinion, and how do you feel about AJ getting that kind of recognition?”

    Coach Saban’s response would’ve made for much more interesting reading.

  2. I got a dozen text messages with the AJ Sports Illustrated cover. Looks sharp.

    How many times is it this year an Alabama player has been on the cover of SI? Is this three?

    In any case, I sure wish I could be there in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record here, but we’ve got a ton of guys who are gone next year; good guys who have done a ton and would be superstars on other teams, like McCarron or Norwood. Dunno where this season alone went, but I’ve had a blast watching these guys for years.

  3. All things considered Coach Saban didn’t need to get so upset about such a small comment. The man can be so uptight at times.

    1. The key to this is “every week you….. ” In other words this has been building up. One thing is for sure, a person has to listen closely to every word CNS says to really understand what he is saying, that is the type personality he is. Was he being a little too up tight? Yeah probably. Did he for whatever reason feel justified? Absolutely, this is psych 101 stuff.

  4. Everybody thinks the Barnturd’s have way too much luck. Well, their fucking luck just ran out. Here’s some stuff you can put in your pipe and smoke. Awbies week off is going to hurt them while it is going to help Bama. Here’s why: Awbie has a team full of skinny legged little pussies. It will be IMPOSSIBLE for them to assemble a scout team with even a remote resemblance to what Bama’;s team actually is. They don’t have the size, weight, toughness or talent. You saw what their offense was like last year when Loeffler tried to run a power offense with these same guys. Bwaa Haww Haww. On the other hand, Bama plays UT Chattanooga this week. Guess what? Chattanooga is a FCS playoff team and they run Auburn’s offense. They run exclusively the read option, the zone option and the inverted veer. So Bama gets to play an actual game against Awbie Lite. Now if that’s not luck, what is? Not that we need any. RTR!

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