Nick Saban Discusses Daily Testing, Player Excitement for Missouri
In the first Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference of the 2020 season, Alabama coach Nick Saban spoke briefly on a variety of topics from questions fielded by reporters.
Saban opened his segment of the teleconference with an opening statement concerning the Crimson Tide's season opener against Missouri.
“I think we’re all excited to get the season opener in front of us and the players I think are very excited to have the opportunity to play,” Saban said. “We have a lot of the respect for the team we’re playing, Missouri. They’ve got a lot of good players, a really good defense, good quarterbacks so this’ll be a challenge for us. There’s some unknowns when you have a new coach as to exactly what you’re going to see but it’s fun to have the opportunity to go compete and I think we’re all really looking forward to it.”
Last week Saban revealed that his staff are testing his players on a daily basis for COVID-19 in order to reduce the spread. As of today, the Crimson Tide remain the only team that has publicly announced that it is conducting daily testing.
Saban expanded upon the reasons why his team has begun to be tested daily.
“I think the number one thing we wanted to do it for was player safety,” Saban said. “Number two is it gives players peace of mind on a daily basis that the players that are going out and practicing against on the field don’t have an issue. Number three I think it does by doing this on a daily basis [is] minimize — ‘Ok now you gotta go social trace somebody for what they did the last three to four days as opposed to what they did in the last 24 hours.”
In a season unlike any other in history, it is now more important than ever for teams to develop consistency in how they handle personal health and safety both on and off the field. So far this season we have seen different rules and procedures implemented to combat the coronavirus.
When asked if he had spoken to colleagues on how they were handling games and their approach to the season Saban responded that while he hasn't spoken with anyone on the matter, he has been quietly observing.
“First of all I haven’t talked to any colleagues about it,” Saban said. “I have observed some of it but I think the biggest thing is you don’t have the same kind of continuity in terms of you may have a couple of players out this week, maybe you had a different several players out last week. So you don’t have the same continuity and that can affect any unit on your team. It could affect you on offense, it could affect you on defense, a certain position it could affect you on special teams when you have to implement new players who may not have the same knowledge and experience at that particular position. I think that’s the biggest thing.
"I think the way we’ve practiced and prepared with the guys that are available to practice has not been different. The things that we’ve had to do off the field are very different but I don’t really think that affects your on-the-field performance. Wearing masks, staying distanced in meetings, things like that. Even Zoom meetings. I don’t think those things are as big of an impact as just the fact that you don’t have the continuity in personnel day in and day out.”
For Alabama's first opponent in Missouri, coach Eli Drinkwitz enters his first season as head coach of the Tigers. Drinkwitz conducted his first season as a college head coach last year at Appalachian State, where the team finished 13-1 with a 31-17 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl victory over UAB.
Saban said that while he doesn't know Drinkwitz well, he does respect what he's been able to accomplish at his prior programs.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for him,” Saban said. “I don’t know him extremely well. We’ve had several discussions, been involved in a lot of Zoom with the SEC so you feel like you get to know everybody a little bit but it comes mostly from observing his team especially Appalachian State who we did a lot of work on relative to what they might be doing at Missouri. I think he’s a really good coach, his team certainly execute and play well, lots of discipline and go out and do things the way that we would hope that our team could do so we have a lot of respect for him.
"I think he’s a very bright guy and I think he’ll do well in his program at Missouri.”
