Alabama Crimson Tide College Football Pregame Quote, 12/29/2021

Good morning, y’all. Thank y’all for having me. I know we’re excited. Hope y’all are excited for Friday. It’s going to be a good game, good times. And I’m excited. And I know y’all are too.

With Bryce Young, we see him, we get him on Zoom, we talk to him a little bit, but we don’t really get to know I guess the full Bryce Young. Are there stories, is there a moment that stands out to you that people wouldn’t see of him that would explain who he is?

A good story I would say is just I’ve watched film with him before. And just in watching film. And just seeing how he sees different teams’ coverages and how he looks at film the way he does, you realize how smart of a player and how instinctive he really is. And he kind of gives you a backside of, like okay, well, this makes sense on why he does so well during the game, because he studies the game so well. And he sees different things that not many people can see, watching film on another team.

Quick question for you, going back to the Texas A&M loss. Obviously, Alabama doesn’t lose a heck of a lot of football games, but can you walk me through what practice was like following that week? And do you feel like that was really a turning point for this team because you guys have seemed locked and dialed in since the moment you lost.

I feel like practice didn’t change much when it came to how we did things. I think definitely our mindset was a little different. Maybe that’s kind of what you’re asking. We all said, like, we didn’t want to forget how it felt to lose that game. So we knew that we had to go out every day, you know, so forth, practices, whatever, every game, and not forget what happened. Not forget that feeling and continue to come out and practice every day like it was our last game because you never know when it’s going to be your last. Because we weren’t expecting to lose that game, but it happened. So thankful that we got back on the right track and got back on the right mindset after that game.

I wanted to ask about the wide receiver room and the progression of many young guys within that room from fall camp through the regular season, obviously moving to now and what you have seen from a number of those guys being highly productive this year.

Right. I feel like a lot of those guys have done a good job. They’ve all improved throughout the season from the beginning. They’ve seen firsthand that all it takes is one guy to go down and the next guy needs to step up. Like in the Auburn game with Jameson [Williams] going out after the first half with the targeting and also [John] Metchie going down in the SEC. Anything can happen. And everyone has to be ready. So I feel like that’s kind of got these guys going a little bit more because now they know, that anything ‚Äì if there was something to happen, the next guy can be up, so they’ve got to be ready. But they’ve done a good job with that.

What’s been the impression in the receiver room of Ahmad Gardner, the Cincinnati cornerback, and just as a group how aware are you of him not allowing a touchdown since he’s been at Cincinnati?

When we’re looking at film and looking at any team, whether it’s Cincinnati or teams we’ve played in the past, looking at the coverages and how they play different receivers and the leverages and all that stuff, with Cincinnati obviously both corners are very athletic. They’ve done a good job all year. And we have to be on our best game and be the most prepared we can when going to face them. Just like we have been all year. And that’s what we do every game.

It used to be that you would hesitate if you were a coach counting on a true freshman to come through and make a big play like [Ja’Corey] Brooks did in the Iron Bowl. What is it about these guys, you come in and they’re just so ready for big moments like that now?

I feel like it all comes with how we prepare. And I feel like we’re going against the best defense every day in practice so, that also prepares us for moments like that. And also you got Coach [Nick] Saban on the field every day at practice. So, you know, if you could do well during that, I feel like that’s harder than actually going out there and playing in the game. So that also could be a good reason. But Ja’Corey did a good job, stepped up in a big moment. Happy for him. But we’re continuing to improve from that.

So obviously, all of you players that come to Alabama, you know what to expect and you want to be here in postseason, but I’m just curious, from the outside looking in, we can only imagine. What is it truly like to be in the dynasty that we’re all getting to watch? And is it something that you expected when you came here?

Well, I was expecting and also hoping that’s how it would be. Now, this is my third time being in the semis, and I’m only thankful and blessed for that. But it’s a very ‚Äì you know, I’m very thankful for these games and being able to be in this position and just continuing to say that we’re not done yet. And we still got this game, and hopefully everything works out the way we have planned all year.

I’m just wondering, at the start of this year, this season has been different because players around the country have been able to have access to the vaccine that they didn’t have last season, but these last few weeks with the latest variant, I’m wondering, did you sort of think that you were past the worst of this, or not even the worst of it, but just that you had to worry about positive tests and outbreaks. And I think now we’ve seen, like, seven schools that have not played in bowl games.

Yeah, I mean, I never know when it’s actually going to end. I hope it ends as soon as possible. That would be great. But you never know when it’s going to end. So I feel like we’re just prepared for the worst. And we have the best doctors and trainers, to me, in the world. So I feel like if I know ‚Äì I’m going to trust in them. And I don’t feel like they’re going to steer us wrong. So I know that we’re going to do our best to handle any kind of situation that comes to us, and I feel like we’ve done that to the best of our ability all year and last year. And I think we’ll continue to do that as well.

I just wanted to ask you about your Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien, what your relationship with him has been like this season, and kind of what kind of experience he’s been able to pass on to you considering his impressive resume.

Right. It’s been great having Coach O’Brien this year. I feel like it didn’t take long for us to connect as an offense with him. And I feel like it’s only improved, the chemistry throughout the season. And we all trust when O’Brien’s play-calling, and we know that he’s going to put us in the best position. And the best thing about Coach OB is he wants success for us and he wants us to do well more than him. So he’s going to try to put us in the best situation that he thinks. And we all trust and believe that that’s the best as well.

I know you don’t really like talking about yourself, but do you kind of feel like you’re a little bit underrated, and does that create a little bit of a chip on your shoulder where you’re out there?

Yeah, I try not to think about it. But there’s a lot of people, you know, when I was getting recruited, said that I would never play at Alabama, that I never should have came to Alabama. And then I started playing, and then, oh, he’ll never start. And then I started. So yeah, there’s always something else, you know, he’ll never do this or that, but it’s okay because I enjoy it.