Nick Saban enjoying success from Jermaine Burton

Heading into the season, the premier transfer for Alabama was former Georgia wide receiver Jermaine Burton. Up until Saturday night, he had not been effective for offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. That has changed Saturday, with Nick Saban discussing his impact.

Saban said since Alabama likes to move their receivers around so much, it can be hard to settle into the offense. He said since they have decided to keep Burton on the outside, the success has come against Vanderbilt.

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“I think we’re trying to play 7-11,” Saban said. “Three outside. We move these guys around so much that it’s hard for them to get any continuity on what they’re doing. So, they’re playing well today.”

While Burton is not the leading receiver going into the halftime break, he is easily having his best night in a Crimson Tide uniform thus far. Burton has gone for 94 yards on just four receptions and finally being the threat under Bryce Young everyone wanted to see.

Nick Saban discusses perimeter defense

On the defensive end, Saban says the key for Alabama has been perimeter defense. He thinks early on, the Vanderbilt offense did a good job blocking the Crimson Tide’s nickel defenders. After getting into the flow of the game, Saban has been happy with the results.

“It’s been good,” said Saban. “They moved us around early because they kind of stayed in big silver — two tight ends. We got two little guys playing nickel so they blocked them, hit some perimeter plays. Guys settled down, started playing the perimeter better, playing block protection and little better and we did okay.”

Vanderbilt was limited offensively throughout the entire half, only getting three points. But as we know, Saban has different expectations of his defense on a weekly basis. The Alabama head coach will still be looking for improvement during the second half.