Nick Saban is starting to see what he wants from this Alabama team.
The players had a great week of practice, but Saban’s concern was would it carry over into games? He’s been wondering about the leadership of the team all season. During press conferences, his statements would be on how the Crimson Tide is trying to locate leaders.
Alabama suffered its first loss in almost two years to Texas A&M, and it fired someone up in team meetings this week.
RELATED: Nick Saban once again highest paid college football head coach
Saban’s message on playing to a standard has finally gotten through.
“I had a player stand up this week and say, ‘I came here because of the Alabama standard,’ challenged other people to say, ‘Is that really what we’re doing here?'” – Saban said Thursday on “Hey Coach.”
No one knows who the player was, but Crimson Tide fans are happy it happened.
It could have been Will Anderson Jr., Phidarian Mathis, or Brian Robinson Jr., but the message has taken root. A leader on the team has spoken, and it did not take Coach Saban prompting the conversation. He spoke about how players cried in the locker room after the loss to the Aggies because it hurt them badly.
Alabama got its wake-up call, and now it is prepared to respond.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber-only content!*
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.
