ESPN's David Pollack Believes Jaylen Waddle is the Difference Maker For Alabama Against Georgia
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The news of University of Alabama coach Nick Saban contracting COVID-19 this week has overshadowed the biggest game of the college football season and rightfully so.
Pending on if Saban isn't able to test back in with negative results, then he will miss Saturday's game against the Georgia Bulldogs and be forced to not communicate with anyone on the team 90 minutes prior to kickoff until the final whistle blows.
ESPN's College Gameday is in town for the matchup and David Pollack told reporters on Friday just how big of a loss Saban's presence would be for the Crimson Tide.
"This is a guy that is a control freak," Pollack said via Zoom. "Everything runs through Nick. From talking to Alabama coaches, I've been blown away by how much detail actually goes through him — from coin toss, to defending certain directions, to hash marks, to plays, to two-point conversions, to overtime, to fourth-down decisions. I think it's a big deal. You don't take away one of the most experienced and best coaches in the history of the sport and tell me that it doesn't affect it.
"He sees through a lens that none of us could even come close to comprehending, including his own coaches."
This contest between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs pits the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation against the No. 2 total defense with Georgia, an unstoppable force colliding with an immovable object some would say.
Pollack went on to praise Alabama's offensive unit, noting that senior running back Najee Harris is the one who makes the engine run.
"There isn't a weakness," Pollack said. "There is nothing missing from this offense. It's very complete. I think Najee Harris makes it go to be honest. When he started on campus several years ago to where he is now, is night and day, credit to him for developing, and not only is he a threat in the running game, but he's a weapon in the passing game. You see the wheel routes from him and he is going to go up and get it like he's a wide receiver, even though he's a big, huge man. It's important to have a great offensive line. It's important to have Mac [Jones], and those weapons, but I think having Najee sets the table for everything on that offense."
All eyes have been on how the Crimson Tide's defense bounces back from a putrid performance against Ole Miss, allowing a school-record 647 yards to the Rebels.
The former Bulldogs linebacker says the keys to fixing the defense woes is really easy in his eyes.
"It's really simple for me," Pollack said. "It's communication and over communication and when I say that, when you watch a tight end go across the formation, go back and come back, you see 3-4 Alabama guys move back. By the way, I can go to Missouri and watch that game, I can go to Texas A&M and watch that game, and then Ole Miss and show you clips of how the motion across the formation confuses some of the defensive backs and linebackers and it leads to big plays. In every game, I can point that out. So, I think that's been an issue. They have to get it figured out in this game. If I'm Georgia, I'm attacking them that way. It's a chess match on both sides.
"I see a lot of miscommunication and busts from the defense."
All in all, Pollack said the x-factor in deciding this game and the matchup he'll be watching the most is Alabama's Jaylen Waddle versus Georgia's physical defensive backs.
"Georgia has a bunch of corners and experience that they have in that position group," Pollack said. "I don't worry about the outside as much as I do the inside. I think this game is decided on the inside part, that being the nickel backs versus the slot receivers. [Jaylen] Waddle is that guy on the inside a lot of the time for Alabama. He has a ton of juice and can out run just about everybody. Going against [Mark] Webb, against [Tyrique] Stevenson, that's the matchup for that decides the game, for me."
