The global crisis, known as the Coronavirus, has not affected the newest rivalry in college football. Since the 2016 national championship game, Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have had four battles against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The series is tied at two, with the Tigers winning the 2019 College Football Playoff national title matchup.
Should we have a football season, both schools will be predicted to make the playoff.
On Thursday, Saban spoke to reporters via teleconference and discussed how the program’s schedule has changed since the outbreak of COVID-19. One of the things he mentioned was the proactive approach of coaches David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea in sports performance.
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The duo has installed a training mechanism where players can activate their daily workouts on their phones or apple watches. With the SEC allowing this, Saban said the team has responded well to having the coaching staff monitor the well-being of these student-athletes.
He also stated that Ballou and Rhea have been ‘huge positives and ‘very beneficial’ to the program at this time.
When it comes to Clemson, Swinney prefers the old fashion way of doing things.
According to Anna Hickey, who covers the Tigers for 247Sports, he said he doesn’t need an Apple watch to track his players.
Dabo: “Our guys are putting the work in, I don’t need an Apple watch to track them”
— Anna Hickey (@AnnaH247) April 3, 2020
Competitiveness still looms, even during this time.
Saban looks to obtain his seventh national title overall, which would eclipse Paul W. “Bear” Bryant and cement him as the greatest of all time.
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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.
