Nick Saban Discusses Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, Defends Offensive Line
Alabama football coach Nick Saban spoke to members of the media on Wednesday in the SEC's weekly coaches teleconference.
The Crimson Tide is currently preparing for its road trip to Oxford, Miss. to take on head coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.
Saban first highlighted Ole Miss sophomore quarterback Matt Corral and the problems that the Alabama defense could face as it takes on the Rebels this weekend.
"I always think when you have a quarterback that is a very efficient passer, which he obviously has shown that he is one of the best in the country relative to pass efficiency," Saban said. "He's a very good athlete who can extend plays and also if you do get them covered, can take off running it. And then also is very efficient in the quarterback runs. When you have quarterback runs, they're using all 11 guys to block, so you need to use all 11 guys on defense, which is really, you know, you don't always have all 11 of them up there. You've got to try to keep somebody back to play pass defense. So a combination of all those things, I think, make it very, very difficult when you play dual-threat guys who are really, really efficient in both parts of the dual threat, passing and running."
Through two games so far this season, Corral has thrown for a collective 715 yards and seven touchdowns. Corral also has a quarterback rating of 94.8, the best in the SEC.
Saban reiterated that Corral's biggest threat is his skills as a dual-threat quarterback and being able to both run and pass effectively.
"I think that's what Matt has been really good at, especially this year, relative to how they use them, what they do," Saban said. "And they've got the right kind of skill players at other positions that are very challenging as well."
Ole Miss' Kiffin of course served as Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2014-2016. Since departing the Crimson Tide, Kiffin served as the head coach at Florida Atlantic before taking on the job at Ole Miss this past offseason.
Saban outlined Kiffin and why he was such a benefit to Alabama as well as what he expects from him at Ole Miss.
"We always had a tremendous amount of respect for Lane," Saban said. "He's a great coach. He's a very good offensive play caller. He's got a great feel for the game, really understands what the defense is trying to do and how to take advantage of it. We wanted to get (???) more into sort of spread but keep a pro-style passing game. Lane was well versed in the pro-style part of it. I think we all kind of grew together, and the whole RPO, spread world, that was new for all of us. Did a lot of research on it. Did a great job of implementing it, learning it, and he's doing a great job with it right now, and he did a great job for us here."
Alabama needs to work on two things heading into its game this Saturday, first and foremost plugging up the holes on defense, especially in the secondary.
Secondly, the Crimson Tide's running game also needs some attention. Through two games, Alabama's stable of running backs have amassed just 111 and 115 yards against Missouri and Texas A&M, respectively.
Alabama redshirt-senior center Landon Dickerson told the media on Tuesday that he has been disappointed with the offensive line and the running game so far this season. However, Saban came to the defense of his big guys in the trenches during his phone call on Wednesday.
"I don't really think they're missing anything," Saban said. "I think basically in these first two games we've seen probably a lot more movement up front than we were actually prepared for, if you know what I mean by movement. People like slanting, moving, stunting. That really wasn't A&M's MO and they come out right away in the game and start running a lot of line games on run downs. We probably didn't prepare as well as we need to face that kind of stuff. We improvised and adjusted in the games and I think they did well.
"I'm not at all disappointed in the way the offensive line has played. I think we need to do a better job as a staff to make sure we're preparing them for what they're going to see. And then they can respond better to it in the game."
Alabama enters the game against Ole Miss as first in the SEC West with a 2-0 record. The Rebels are 1-1 but still present a threat due to its proficiency on offense and due to the lackluster defense that Alabama has exhibited so far this season.
Saban left no doubt when discussing the challenges that Ole Miss presents to Alabama this weekend.
"I think this is going to be a very challenging game for us," Saban said. "These guys have scored a lot of points. They're fourth nationally in pass offense, and averaging almost 40 points a game. I'm sure that it's going to be a real challenge for us and our defense. I think our offense has to do a good job, I think, with the tempo of the game. They really play fast, which is going to be something that our players are going to have to adapt to. It's hard to simulate in practice.
"Very, very difficult game. These guys have got some really good skill players. The quarterback's really playing really well and No. 8, No. 9 and the rest of their receivers are really, really good. It's going to be a very challenging game."
