Nick Saban Previews Miami in Final Preseason Press Conference
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Heading into the final days of preparation for No. 1 Alabama football's season opener in Atlanta against the No. 14 Miami Hurricanes, head coach Nick Saban addressed the media publicly one final time before Saturday's Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
On top of revealing that defensive back Jalyn Armour-Davis is back and completely healthy after noting that he was "banged up" last week, Saban also addressed the difficulties that the Crimson Tide offense will face this weekend against a staunch Hurricanes defense.
"They're very aggressive in the way they play," Saban said via Zoom on Wednesday evening. "They run a lot of corner cats, they play a lot of clamp coverage, not that I expect anybody to know what that is. But their corners can be very aggressive. They play very aggressive in the backend. They play man-to-man, and they're very aggressive in their style on defense.
"I think that's contributed to their success in the past. And we're going to have to do a good job of executing against some of the pressure things that they do so that we eliminate negative plays, which is what they're trying to create."
Miami is ranked No. 14 heading into the season for a reason. On top of a troublesome defense, the Hurricanes also possess a solid offense led by quarterback D'Eriq King.
In front of King in the trenches is one of college football's most-experiences offensive line units. This season, all five of the team's 2020 starters return, bringing a combined 190 starts of experiences between them to the front.
Saban noted that Miami's offense will no doubt present yet another challenge for the Crimson Tide defense.
“These guys are obviously a very good unit," Saban said. "We’ve got some returning guys up front, too. I think the big thing with these guys is they have very good skill players to go with it. They have a very good offensive line — all the starters are back — and I think we’re going to have to play with a lot of discipline up front, run and pass, because quarterback’s got a great ability to extend plays as well as run and their offensive line is going to be a challenge for us to be able to get the kind of rush and push the pocket like we need to to affect the quarterback.
"They’re also a very good running team. They had great balance last year which is obviously a tribute to the offensive line so our guys need to be up for the challenge no doubt.”
Miami has the ability to create all kinds of issues for Alabama on both sides of the football. Combining an aggressive defense with an experienced offense is, in many ways, a reflection of the teams that Saban has been able to build while in Tuscaloosa. If the Crimson Tide is to triumph on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, it will not be an easy task.
All of that being said, Saban stated that both he and his program are excited to start another season against a high-caliber opponent in just two days' time.
"We’re obviously looking forward to the first game," Saban said. "I’m sure the players are very much excited about having a game to play, trying to create an identity as a team, create value for themselves individually for how they compete, how they play.
"Sometimes unexpected things happen in first games — things that you weren’t prepared for — so I think it’s really important that everybody can keep the right mind-set. I also think that from this time on, mental focus, mental practice, mental preparation, is really a big part of eliminating errors in a game."
