Football vs. Mercer Postgame Quotes
9/11/2021 7:17:00 PM | Football
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening statement
"This was a good win. Proud of our players for the way they played some of the time. We probably didn't play to the standard that we like to play to. I mean really what we are trying to do is create the kind of habits that create consistency in performance so that you can stack performance and get better and better and better. I think some guys did that today, and I think some guys probably didn't. I think it is probably attributed to how you prepare, how you practice, the things that you do because that's when you create habits, that's when play fast. Practice fast, you play fast and good things happen.
"I thought our defense did a pretty good job until the end of the game. We got to play a lot of players and they made some mistakes; they gave up some plays. I think the experience will do them well.
"Offensively, we got to play a lot of players. Obviously, the experience will help them as well.
"All in all, it was a good win. You have to give a lot of credit to their team. It is kind of their team's dream to play in a game like this, so they are going to play out their dream. They played hard and they played really good and they had a good plan. Their players competed their tail off in the game, and we have got to give their coach and their team a lot of credit for that. We have to get ready and look forward to the things that we have to do to try and improve ourselves to be able to play next week at Florida. It's an SEC game. We are going to go from there.
"We had some guys out today. (Josh) Jobe didn't play. Jalyn Armour-Davis didn't play. LaBryan Ray still didn't play. Will Anderson went out. Checking out his knee. He is questionable as to what his circumstance will be here for the upcoming week."
On Kool-Aid McKinstry's first start
"I thought he did a good job. I really did. He knew the game plan. He prepared well. He played well in the game. On the long touchdown pass, I'm not sure if he should've been on the back half or if he should've followed his guy over. I know he crossed into the back end on that one, and he busted on the other touchdown pass that they threw too. One side's doing one thing, the other side's doing something else. We have nobody in the deep part of the field. But I thought he did fine."
On JoJo Earle as a receiver and his performance today
"Well, we're trying to get JoJo experience and we think he's an explosive player. He played some last week on a couple of the shorter passes, and then working him as a punt returner, trying to get him to gain confidence. Slade (Bolden) is very dependable out there, but JoJo can be very explosive. The one thing you have to have is you have to be disciplined as a player. You have to have discipline as a player. And you have to maintain your intensity so that you can have good discipline. That's how you create the right kind of habits. We had five penalties on special teams last week, and I don't know how many we had today. It's ridiculous."
Mercer Head Coach Drew Cronic
Opening Statement
"It's an honor to be here. You go into a game like this, and you just want to find small victories and find ways to improve. I think we're going to find that. Obviously, when you're playing against a team like that, everything is magnified, every mistake you make is magnified. But I appreciate where kids can fight the battle and find ways to make a few plays, and I felt like we left some things out there, I really do. When you play a team like that, you have one positive thing happen and then you take a step backwards.
"The first half we couldn't put anything together. Our defense held them a couple times in the redzone, made them kick field goals and that showed a little character right there. The main thing for us is we wanted to walk out of here today feeling like we gained ground and made improvements and didn't lose any momentum.
"My second year here, I really believe in these kids. I believe in this football team, and our ability to go play in the Southern Conference and have some success. I wanted to walk out of here feeling like we took a step in that direction. We're proud of the kids. I'm sure we're going to find some stuff that had nothing to do with Alabama that was screwed up. Okay. But then there's going to be some times when a big dude just whips you and it's all you can do to stay just to stay in front of them, you know, so all those things are reality. We will live in reality, and at the same time it's never okay to lose. We are going to expect to win every time we show up. I want to turn on the film. I'm going to watch it on the bus on the way back. I can't wait to watch it. I'm going to watch it, I'm going to grade it, and we're going to come in Monday and get better. We're going to work one day at a time and see how good we can get."
On what some positives and challenges were from today
"Put yourself out there and continue to compete against those kids and learn that when I do things the right way, I give myself an opportunity to be successful. That's what we talked about. I don't blow smoke at them. I tell them the truth. They're better than us. They're the best team in the country. Can you go hang in there? Can you go show them that you belong in the same field as them and find ways to get it done and make some plays? I felt like some kids did that. I'm sure I'm going to turn on the film, and I'll be pissed off about some things because there were some things that we screwed up that had nothing to do with them."
On moving forward preparing for Furman
"Let's go have a good workout on Monday, and then Tuesday we'll have a good practice; and just take it one day at a time and get better. That's all."
