According to an Alabama football player, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is telling players that the postseason begins this week for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama tight end Marshall Pritchett shared how Grubb is responding to the Tennessee loss and what his message is for the offense.
“His message was, ‘Look, the playoffs start now,'” Pritchett said. “For us, round one is Texas A&M. There’s no more room for error. We all took accountability for what happen in this game. Nobody was perfect. I’m just excited to get back out there.”
The losses to Georgia and Tennessee have not eliminated the Crimson Tide from the College Football Playoff picture, but Alabama is currently on the outside looking in. The good news is the Crimson Tide control their own destiny, and winning out would put them in a great situation to compete in the postseason.
The AP poll has Alabama ranked No. 13 this week, and there are five games left on the Crimson Tide’s schedule. Alabama will host Texas A&M, Chattanooga and Auburn. The Crimson Tide will also visit LSU and Vanderbilt.
Starting this week, head coach Kalen DeBoer said things are going to be uncomfortable for the Crimson Tide because there is no room for error. Teams that lose three games in the regular season are unlikely to make the College Football Playoff.
Pritchett still has a lot of trust and confidence in Grubb as the offensive coordinator and Keelon Russell as the starting quarterback ahead of Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.
“Obviously I trust in Grubb, and I trust in Keelon,” Pritchett said. “It’s up to me to go out there and execute.”
Right tackle Michael Carroll weighed in on how Grubb has been in practice and in meetings this week.
“He’s said we got to take it back to the simple things and work our way back up,” Carroll said. “We got to work hard.”
Alabama will host Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on ABC.
