Alabama isn’t scheduled to make their appearance at the SEC Media Days until Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t come up — in fact, they have multiple times.
Whether it was quotes from coaches or players, the Tide has made good on their nickname — subtly drifting in and out of the conversation. If it wasn’t already obvious, it’s now clear that Alabama sets the gold standard in the SEC.
Here’s a clip from Arkansas DB Kevin Richardson II discussing when he was forced to miss the game against the Tide last season due to injury:
With five SEC championships and four national championships in the last eight years, Alabama has reached a point where they’re going to get every opponent’s best. If an injured player can go, he’s going to if it gives him a chance to be a part of knocking off the No. 1 football program in the country.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of people on our schedule that are very, very good football teams. So, we can’t just point to Alabama, but they are the benchmark” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron was quoted as saying during his press conference on Monday afternoon.
Orgeron went on to talk about how LSU must be able to recruit on a high level to compete with the Tide.
“I think the way to beat Alabama is to recruit on their level. They are recruiting at a high level now, and they do a great job of evaluation.”
The Tide’s football program has developed into a perfect storm. One that can out-recruit, outcoach and outplay any opponent they go up against. Finding a chink in their armor has become next to impossible, and the momentum that Saban has built since joining the team in 2007 has gotten out of control.
It’s been known for awhile now that Alabama is the king of the hill, and every other team in the SEC — maybe even every other team in college football — is trying to figure out how to slow them down.
SEC Media Days is only the start in trying to figure out how teams will attempt to go about that.
Clint Lamb is an associate editor for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
