Nick Saban addresses Florida QBs ability to run
The Alabama Crimson Tide defense and Nick Saban will have their hands full Saturday against Florida quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson. Effective passers and effective runners, the two quarterbacks will keep Alabama on their toes.
“When quarterbacks are good runners, they have an extra blocker,” Saban told media on Wednesday. “So you have to be plus one in the running game all the time and when you do that, you can’t be plus one in the passing game so players have to be really disciplined and you got to do a good of keeping people cut off, keeping people cut off, keeping people in front of you. Have a good understanding of what we’re playing and what we’re doing.”
Saban continued.
“I think you do have to do a good job of pushing the pocket,” he said. “I mean it’s a team defense thing. These guys can throw the ball. I’ve never ever said they weren’t good passers, I just said they were really good runners. They are very effective passers and they’ve got good skill guys and they can make big plays. That’s what makes them one of the best offensive teams in the country. And we’ll have to play really well as a team to slow them down.”
Florida has run with a two-quarterback rotation through the first two games of the season. The starter, Emory Jones has completed 31 of 49 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns to four interceptions. On the ground, Jones has rushed for 155 yards and one touchdown on 23 attempts.
In a more limited role, Anthony Richardson has put himself at the center of a quarterback controversy after completing six of 11 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns through two games. On the ground Richardson has rushed for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts, averaging 25 yards per carry.
Richardson is receiving treatment on his hamstring through the week after coming up holding his hamstring after a 70-yard touchdown run in Saturday’s win over South Florida. He did not return to the game after sustaining the apparent injury, which was later diagnosed as mere hamstring tightness.
In the win, Anthony Richardson became the first FBS player in the last 25 seasons to rush for over 100 yards, pass for over 150 yards and complete every pass he threw.
Fan have pressured Mullen to use Richardson as a starter rather than Jones. But Florida head coach Dan Mullen has pushed back.
“Obviously, Emory is our starter as we get the experience, we roll the guys through,” Mullen said after Anthony Richardson’s week one breakout for Florida. “We did that tonight and it was good to see them both make some really explosive plays.”
Jones has waited his turn for four seasons, sitting behind Feleipe Franks and then Kyle Trask, making Mullen’s willingness to hand the reins over to Anthony Richardson ahead of the Gators matchup with Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide all the more complicated.
No. 11 Florida will take on No. 1 Alabama and Nick Saban on Saturday