Nick Saban Outlines Kentucky, Emphasizes Importance of Following COVID-19 Protocols
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It's the first day of a new game week in the Southeastern Conference and we already have one postponement between Ole Miss and No. 5 Texas A&M due to COVID-19 issues within the Aggies program.
As far as the University of Alabama goes, it looks to get back on the gridiron Saturday against Kentucky inside Bryant-Denny Stadium at 3 p.m (CT) on the SEC Network, after having the last two weekends off.
During his Monday afternoon press conference, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban stressed how vital it is for his staff and players to be focused on following the guidelines and protocols related to COVID-19 and ignoring the outside noise.
"I think that the future of Alabama football this season, you have to ask yourself, what do you want? What do you want to invest in the season? I think staying in compliance with some of the issues relative to health and safety with the players has got to be of the utmost importance, and we’re going to continue to emphasize that to keep the players out of the virus’ way," Saban said.
"And the second thing is you really have to deal with what’s in front of you, knowing that there’s been a lot of things that have happened that create some changes. But this is the way you play. You focus on the next play. You focus on today. You focus on this game. And I think that’s really what’s important for our team to do right now. I think they’ve done a really good job of doing that. We had a good week last week. Everybody stayed focused and on point. So we want to continue to do that."
Saban revealed last week on the SEC coaches teleconference that there was one positive test within the Alabama program, but made it clear Monday that the Crimson Tide will be ready to go ahead of Saturday's kick, putting any doubts of another postponement to bed.
"Well, we really have never revealed how many guys we’ve had test whatever," Saban said. "It’s not something that we really want to start now. But we’re fully prepared to be able to play the game, and we’re going to coach the players that are out there with us every day and try to keep them safe. That’s basically where we’re at. But we fully intend to be able to play this game, and we certainly have enough players that are healthy and able to do that."
With the SEC's new scheduling protocol that allows the league to reschedule a contest or even change opponents up until Monday night at 8 p.m (CT) of each game week, it can be difficult for teams to change gears in preparation.
Alabama tight end Miller Forristall commended the Crimson Tide coaching staff on how they began preparing players for the Wildcats, last week, after the postponement of the LSU game.
“I think it’s always hard when you go into a week preparing for one opponent, especially such a big game every year, LSU," Forristall said. "I think everyone was really looking forward to that but because of this year [and] how crazy it is, we have to be ready to kind of shift gears and get ready for another good Kentucky team. So I think it says a lot about our staff and our coaches and the players that have done such a really good job of being able go 180 in their mindset and get prepared for an entirely different team — another good team in Kentucky — so we’re looking forward to that."
On the year, the Wildcats are 3-4, rank second in the conference in rushing offense, and have defended the pass exceptionally well, only allowing 214 yards per game.
Saban noted that the crucial element for the Crimson Tide defense will be stopping that high-profiled rushing attack that includes many designed quarterback runs from Terry Wilson.
"I think Mark Stoops has done a really good job at Kentucky," Saban said. "They have a good team. They have 15 starters coming back from last year’s team. They’re, I think, first in pass defense in the SEC. They’re second in rushing. They run the ball really effectively. They have really good running backs. The quarterback is very athletic and can run. They create a lot of quarterback run issues for you. No. 6 Ali is a really good receiver, very good return man as well. They have really good specialists.
"So all around this is a really good team. They’ve been in every game this year, and they could have won a couple of more as easily as not. So this is a team that’s a little different in terms of what we’ve seen in the past. We have to be able to stop the run and be able to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball because that’s going to be a real key to the game."
