Everything Ryan Grubb Said about Alabama's Offense against Kentucky

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama's coordinators do not speak to the media immediately following a game, but they do hold press conferences every Monday during the regular season.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb spoke Monday morning about the Crimson Tide's 45-17 victory at Kentucky over the weekend. Here's everything he had to say:

Full Transcript

Opening statement

"Morning, everybody. Yeah, just, you know, obviously a great win on the road. SEC is something that, you know, as a starting point for our guys as a young offense, being able to go up there and get a win against a team that was pretty fired up to play us. And, you know, the obvious statement is early operation. And that's the part we've got to just keep diving into and. And quite frankly, we got to be massively better at that. And, you know, was disappointed for the guys and with ourselves just in how we unfolded early in the game, you know, and certainly for Keelon, there's a bunch of plays he wished he could have back. I think he's learning quickly that that's, you know, not an option and he's going to have to play better earlier in football games and he knows that. He's a tough kid, he's resilient, and I think that shows, you know, just at halftime how he's able to kind of get mostly calm down and then come back out there and do a great job. I thought he at halftime, one of the things for him was his teammates honestly rallying around him and supporting him through what they knew was going to be a big moment, coming out of the tunnel and showing that we could be a dominant team in the second half, which they did.

"Once we eliminated negative plays in the second half, we ripped off a bunch of scoring opportunities there. I think that was something that the guys really needed is just to be able to stay ahead of the sticks. Our run game got behind early in the game because we had so many second and longs and penalties put us in a really, really bad spot. Obviously, the first three plays a game couldn't have went any worse, literally. So that was something for us. I just remember walking out after halftime, I was like, well, this is going to be huge. It's either going to be these guys coming out and figuring it out and understanding what it takes to win football games in this conference, or we're going to have way more work to do than we even think.

"So hats off to the guys that did all the work. They responded awesome. They were really, really tight. They never flinched, which I think says a lot for such a young group of guys. But it was fun to coach them and see them in that moment and respond the way they did."

On how the helmet comms issue in the third quarter affected Keelon Russell...

"Yeah, it was, I'll be honest, it was hard on the kid and we were right in the middle of a scoring drive. It was difficult. We have operations and protocols in place to take care of that as far as signaling stuff with the guys and we did, but not being able to, especially in that moment, be able to talk to Keelon was a little bit, you know, out of the norm. But those things happen. And I thought, you know, the coaching staff did an awesome job responding on the sideline, helping Keelon out. So we navigated those waters and it's good to have happen, honestly. I mean, it sucks. But being able to have the operation and talk to the guys like, hey, when this happens, remember these are things we have to do to be able to overcome that. So just another step for us growing."

On Keelon Russell's comfortability in RPO situations...

"He's very comfortable. I think he had three decisions that were really poor in a football game, which is uncharacteristic of him. I think those are plays that are fairly simple for him. He really just has his eyes in one spot. So he typically tees off in those moments. And there was a couple of out of character moments where again, just Keelon learning from. We've got a really good football team and he doesn't have to do it all. There was one that got tipped, I think on the 25 yard line or so going in and we were running power off of it and there's a guy off the edge.

"The handoff would have been really big hit, you know, and I don't put, I never want the quarterback, you give him a run pass option. You have to live with, you know, part of that and understand there's a trust piece there. So I never want to say, oh, you should have handed it off. We had two or three duo hits that would have been 15 yard gains if he'd have handed it off. But the re-throw is there there for him and he took it.

"But for him, I think one of the parts with the quarterback is that they don't have that regret and like, oh crap, what if I don't do this? And he handles that really well. He's just got to make better decisions on a couple of those and understand the coverage structure a little quicker. "

On his communication with Keelon Russell after drives...

" I talked to Keelon after every drive on the headset. He puts it on and we sit there and talk and go over the iPad, what he's seeing from coverage structures and cadences and things he's got to improve on. For us, it's seeing what he's capable of from even motioning -- we obviously saw the one where he put Josh [Ford] in motion, snapped it a little bit late and the ball hit his leg. Things like that, but we're gonna play other teams on the road this year and have to be on silent [count]. Getting familiar with those operations -- I just kept telling him, we practice this, you know how to do this, you operate really well in this. Let's just stay positive, stay the course. He was able to rally back on that. Right now, the biggest thing for Keelon post-game is just reminding him the expensive lessons that happen during a game. For us as an offense, we got to grow a lot more during the week in our process in practice, and less during games. It's kind of an obvious statement, but for the guys, that was one of the things we're gonna challenge them with. I meet with them right after this, and just talking to them about Tuesday vs. Thursday. We had a really, really good Tuesday. Probably the best Tuesday I could remember in a long, long time. The energy was great, the focus, the detail. They were ready to go. I felt that wane a little bit on Thursday. I did not think we had a great Thursday, and I thought some of those operational things showed up in the game. We worked our tails off to correct those in the critical 48 [hours] leading up to the game, but you know, if you don't have a great practice on Thursday it's hard to think that things are gonna go perfect.

"As far as protecting Keelon, we got a lot of measures in place and plays that I know that I got to stay away from and that frankly I didn't call in this game because we just couldn't get to them. Those are things the guys know some of the cool stuff we want to do, and that's a get-to thing. We got to be able to do all the little things and operate as a normal offense before we get to do some of the really, really fun stuff."

On Daniel's Hill development and 100-yard performance...

"I'm glad you asked that. I think Daniel is -- and I pointed this out to my offensive staff -- and credit to Coach Gillespie, he's done such a great job with Daniel, but when I got here, there was question marks around 4. He was injured and what's this guy all about, and all the normal things with young players. Daniel went through his first spring ball, played with an injured shoulder all the way through and had surgery afterwards. And then just to watch Daniel at a walk-through or a practice, and his communication skills, his leadership, his attention to detail, understanding I'm on the ball, in an empty formation, signaling it to the receiver. It's awesome. That's the stuff you want to coach for is to see guys like Daniel Hill that No. 1 grow in their role and earn it, quite frankly. Daniel has come in and nothing has been given to him, and he earned every carry he got in the football game, and just to watch the confidence he runs with. His footwork, his detail on his read, and then his decisiveness in the hole is honestly one of the things I thought he improved probably the most in the offseason. He really -- when you see Daniel take an 'A' gap or winding back into the 'C' gap, keeping shoulders square and running a guy over -- that's what we know he can be really, really good at. There's plenty of runs in the first two weeks, not just yesterday -- or excuse me, Saturday -- where Daniel is making contact and running guys over for 5, 6, and 8 yards. Those are things you wanna see late in the football game where I thought between the combination of how Daniel was running the ball and what the offensive line was doing, where you're watching the wide copy of the game and you're just watching the line of scrimmage move every play -- that was exciting and a cool moment, for sure."

On the tight ends so far...

"The touches certainly haven't shown up yet. I know Marshall had a nice catch, he got called back on an illegal alignment. We just weren’t off the ball far enough. But he makes a huge play on a third-and-long, and that's the thing. For us at practice, that's what we see Nine do all the time. He's got great hands, he's competitive when the ball's in the air, and he's got great savvy. So that showed up a little bit, but maybe not as much as we've seen. And then you just see it in some of those fourth-quarter moments, or run the football in the second half, where we're just leaning on him. And you see Josh Ford knocking out a C gap and collapsing two people. We're celebrating that on the sideline; guys are seeing it. It's just, I think there's a physical piece that they've added to the edge of the offense, outside the line, where that C and D gap. They take a lot of pride in what's going on out there. And I just - Dan, 87 was in there a ton too. Danny Lewis, just seeing him out there healthy, whathimand Josh [Ford] can do together, I think is exciting. And just think about the things that come with those guys and how they can change the course of a box for the offense and really dominate the edge of them has been really fun to see. So I think all of them contributed. Jay Lindsey was in there on a goal-line play twice, had great blocks, had sprung them for touchdowns two times. So everybody in the room is contributing as well. So it's a fun group for sure."

On the offensive line performance without Michael Carroll...

"I thought they did great. I think Mal's one of those guys that you can plug and play. And he's an excellent communicator. He's tough; he's physical. He showed up in the run game, and he is a confident kid just in how he plays. He doesn't get overwhelmed in a moment. And I thought him being able to do that, and a big tip of the cap to Will [Sanders] to be able to jump over and play on the right side; I thought the guys didn't miss a beat. I'm very impressed with how they're able to establish that and just get their communication down with their tackles. It's not just one guy being out. Now all of a sudden you gotta make a big decision about two pieces moving, not just one, and that's a big deal up front. But they did awesome. I thought it was a testament to the guys. Racin Delgatty, I thought, played great. Showed up communicating again, finishing guys on the ground, and really, really starting to show up as what I think can be a really, really good center in this league.

Is Alabama surprised by EJ Crowell's production after missing the spring and most of the fall?

"No, no, I mean, I think we're not just because the belief that we have in EJ, the type of player he is, is really high. And for him, I don't know, it's just nothing seems too big for him. He certainly needs to clean up a few things, just understanding game plan. That part, for any freshman, I think is always a build. And that's what EJ is still working towards is how you get him on the field more and get him more involved as his knowledge continues to build and understand, that's where the touches and more opportunities will come. But for him, it's been a little bit more of a slow build because of that, for sure. Especially with the setback in fall camp, and now, he's just done a great job here the last couple of weeks embracing his role and attacking it."

On Rico Scott...

"Rico, one of the things that probably not on the stat sheet, I was excited to see how he blocked. And it's probably off the screen a little bit a few times, but there's a couple of touchdown runs where he's finishing a guy in the back of the end zone. Rico's a physical player, and so when I see him show up like that, I know his confidence is really high. When I see him playing like that without the football in his hand, I know he's really, really confident. And we feed off that; just seeing his enthusiasm for a game, like when it starts, it fires me up. Cuz he's a pretty level-headed guy, but when he lets it rip, he's an excitable player. And so just to see him get that big play down the sideline and an opportunity to catch a touchdown, I know all the hard work that Rico hasput in. And his belief to stay and be here with us with the Tide is just exciting to see. 'Cause I think I was talking to a couple of recruits, honestly, last night. And I was just telling them, what a great place to come play football. But if you're trying to think about being a high school player, look at all the players that were recruited to this program thatwere high school players that were on the field playing at Kentucky. Of course, you're gonna have transfer portal players, and that's part of the whole system now. But you look at the number of guys that were recruited to play at Alabama as high school players, are out there in starting roles, and it was pretty significant. So he's just one of them that really stands out that way, too. His stick-tuativeness and earning that role, again, much like Daniel Hill, a guy that hasn't thought of it as I'm waiting my turn as much as I'm just gonna keep working as hard as I can to go get more reps."

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