Football vs. Louisiana Postgame Quotes
9/29/2018 2:51:00 PM | Football
Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening statement
"I was really pleased with the way our team came out and played today. We have been working on having an identity as a team and playing a little more physical and being a little more aggressive as well as being able to have a better balance on offense, and I thought we did a good job of that. I thought that both quarterbacks played really well and executed well in the game. The offensive line had a lot of movement up front, and we had four or five backs that all did a good job and we still made some explosive plays in the passing game.
"Defensively, I thought the first unit played really well, and I think everyone responded and competed in the game like they should, but I was a little disappointed that we didn't play better with the second defense when they were in there for more than a quarter of the game. We have too many guys on that group that really have to learn how to compete, they have to learn how to prepare and they have to figure out what it takes to play major college football. We are going to work on that and it's going to be important to our team that everybody on the team buys into doing the things that they need to do at the standard that we want to do them. We have a whole of guys on this team that are doing that right now, but we have to get everybody all in.
"We played really well in the first half, but we missed a couple opportunities in the second half when we drove the ball down there. We probably would have gone for it on a couple of those fourth down situations, but we wanted to see if the kicker could develop confidence and he missed two pretty easy field goals, so that is not what we had planned for him.
"I know there has been a lot of talk around here about guys transferring and the transfer rule, but Jalen has obviously handled this extremely well, relative to being a great team player and leader, respecting his teammates and sticking with the program here. He played very well today and took advantage of when he does have an opportunity to play, he plays well and tries to create value for himself, which I think would be the message that I would send to all players out there who are trying to take advantage of this new rule."
On Jaylen Waddle's dynamic abilities
"Jaylen really made some explosive plays; great punt returns today. He is a really explosive guy as a receiver and really has added depth to that core. We are really pleased with his development, and I think he is a great addition to the depth of our team in terms of guys that can make explosive plays on offense. We are pleased with the progress he has made to this point and want him to continue to work on improving and be a little more consist in other areas when he doesn't have the ball."
On Jalen Hurts' progression and passes down the middle
"I think he has a made a lot of improvement in that area. He did make some really good throws. He stuck in the pocket, read the coverages and made some really good plays. I think that's one of the things he realized because of our offense, and the job that Mike's (Locksley) doing and having Dan Enos as a quarterback coach can really continue to help his development for the future."
#71 Ross Pierschbacher, OL
On how you feel the offensive line performed
"We made improvement. I think we had a really good week in practice, good preparation going in. We had kind of a chip on our shoulder coming in, and we just wanted to prove to everyone that we can run the ball. One week of play doesn't mean we can't run it, so I think we're going to just stay true to ourselves and play the game of football."
On if there is a different feel being able to run the ball
"Yeah, Coach Saban said it best during the week with the RPO game and everything else like that. It's just a different game than it used to be. We've got great skill players on the outside; Tua (Tagovailoa) is really slinging it, all the quarterbacks; and it's just a really talented offense. We, as the offensive line, need to do our job and execute more."
#15 Xavier McKinney, DB
On the overall defensive performance in today's game
"We have a lot of stuff we still need to improve on. I feel like we could've played way better than we did, but as an overall unit I think we did a good job. I'm proud of the way we limited them early, but there were some mistakes late that we need to correct and get better before next game."
On how much it helps when the offense scores, and how the defense can then set the tone with a lead
"It gives us a lot of momentum (when they score early). We appreciate them every time that they put up points for us, and we want to make sure to help the offense out by getting some stops on defense and them do their job. That helps us when they score, though, and it really gets us in the jive and ready to play."
Head Coach Billy Napier
On the biggest difference playing a team like Alabama
"It's a product of lots of hard work is what it is. I'm not just talking about how they practice, how they train and how they prepare, but it's a product of recruiting at a really high level. It's a product of precision in how you evaluate players, not only the physical dimensions - the speed, the measurables, but also the intangibles. It's a product of consistency and routine. It's a product of years and years of improving routine from player development. The precision that they play with is pretty special. The margin of error they play with out there is small, so that wasn't built in a week or a month or a couple of months or even a year. That was built in several years. There's a lot of talented players over there – not just the players but the coaches. There's great leadership at the top, and there's tremendous leadership at the university, so what you see out there is a product of a lot of people's hard work. There's a lot of people who you don't even know their name, but they work every day in that building. They make a difference in that team and that program."
On the special teams' mistakes early on in today's game
"Well, that was probably one of my bigger concerns going into the game. I think they're dynamic and their return game, we were able to neutralize their kickoff return, but like we expected, the punt returner can create some issues for you. 17 (Jaylen Waddle) is a true freshman. He's dynamic. I've been hearing about him for a while. Even going into the game, you watch on offense and defense, and then one day you go into that special teams meeting and you watch those two returners, and I probably lost more sleep this week thinking about that than I did anything else. Those guys are hard to tackle. They do a great job with their technique. They've got a good sound plan. I think Coach Banks has made a difference there in terms of their special teams. I promise you we're going to go back, and there will be things we can improve in terms of leverage, angles, better techniques, better ball placement, but to some degree they're going to expose you. When you've got that much ability, they'll expose your issues and your limitations."
#6 Corey Turner, DB
On if speed or toughness of Alabama's offense was harder to handle
"Before the game, we knew it was a tough team, great team to play. We just want to get better as a program and keep improving. We went into this game knowing what we wanted to do as a team and that's to keep getting better as a program."
On the strides made against Alabama
"We still have improvements to make, but we want to grow with less mental errors."
#7 Andre Nunez, QB
On how difficult it was facing Alabama's defense
"For the most part, my O-Line did a nice job. I knew the pressure was going to come, so it was just a matter of getting the ball off quick."
On the difference between Alabama and other teams they've faced
"It shows that they're the stronger, faster team than some of the teams we've faced, but that doesn't mean we can't execute to the level we want to."
