It’s not the College Football Playoff, but the Citrus Bowl is still important to him.
Alabama safety, Jared Mayden was one of two players available for interviews on Tuesday. The message he spoke on was making sure this team has the ‘right mindset’ going into the matchup against Michigan.
Even though the likes of Terrell Lewis and Trevon Diggs decided to skip out on the game, the words from Mayden were to take this situation seriously.
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Although it is the first time for the Crimson Tide not being in the playoff, it has encountered seasons under Nick Saban where it did not reach a national title game. During the years of 2008, 2010 and 2013, Alabama played in a bowl game and two of those three years did not go well.
The mindset was not where it needed to be in 2008 as it got dominated by Utah in the 2009 Sugar Bowl and in 2013, when Oklahoma won the 2014 Sugar Bowl game. Per Mayden, he said Scott Cochran showed players the film from the 2011 Capital One Bowl versus Michigan State.
Mayden saw how that team handled the circumstance correctly and ended up with a win.
He is not trying to get embarrassed in his final game as a senior and he wants his teammates focused in.
Mayden chimes in with 53 tackles, three pass breakups and a team-high four interceptions.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
