Nick Saban responds to ‘deez nuts’ comments

On3 imageby:Tim Verghese09/16/21

TimVerghese

Nick Saban has responded after Alabama safety Jordan Battle revealed earlier this week that the Crimson Tide head coach still loves a good “deez nuts” joke.

“It’s up to anybody’s imagination what ‘this is,’ what ‘these are,’ Saban said on Hey Coach & The Nick Saban Show on Thursday. “So it’s whatever you think it is. Now, if you think it’s something bad, then it’s something bad, aight, but it doesn’t have to be anything bad.”

During a press conference Tuesday, Battle said that Saban has extended the “deez nuts” joke to the defensive side of the ball, after the joke appeared to be originally reserved as playful trash talk with offensive players during practice.

“He has so many [quips], but there are a few I like,” Battle told reporters. “He’s always talking about ‘touch deez’ or ‘suck on deez’ or all that.”

Ole Miss head coach, and former Alabama assistant, Lane Kiffin revealed it was Baltimore Ravens star cornerback Marlon Humphery who introduced Saban to the “deez nuts” jokes in his time at Alabama.

The running joke between Saban and his players was first brought to light by former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs during a pre-draft interview on The Dan Patrick Show.

 During a pre-draft interview with radio host Dan Patrick, Jacobs shared his favorite story about Saban.

“What people don’t understand about him is he’s actually very funny,” Jacobs said in 2019. “He’s definitely a players’ coach. I remember one day at practice I was just catching a lot of balls — and you know he works with the defensive side so he’s always on the offensive players.”

He continued: “If I was catching a lot of passes that day, he would try to say something like, ‘Hey Josh, you keep catch all these passes, how about you hold deez?’ or something like that. Just something funny for a coach to try and translate and get to know to each player.”

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa later confirmed the information to Patrick in a radio interview. With multiple sources confirming the bizarre Saban story, Patrick could not help but ask Nick Saban about it.

“Well, I like to have fun with the players,” Saban said at the time. “I think that it’s good that they see you every now and then in a little bit of a different light. Since I am a defensive coach, and I probably get on the defensive players a little bit more ferociously, it’s a little bit easier for me to be more lighthearted with the offensive players.”