Nick Saban lays out heartwarming plan for Thanksgiving dinner

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban revealed his plans for the team’s Thanksgiving celebrations ahead of Saturday’s Iron Bowl.

“I think this is a time of year when we should all have gratitude for all the things we have in our life,” Saban said. “Family, friends, relationships, opportunities that we’ve been given that sometimes seem like a burden but yet they’re a blessing.

“Our plans for tomorrow for our players are, we moved practice up an hour, some guys can get out early enough to go home and have dinner with their family. The coaches have the rest of the players come to their houses to have dinner and be a part of our families. We’re going to have a group at our house, which Mrs. Terry always enjoys.”

Nick Saban’s keeping the annual tradition alive for his 2021 squad. The Crimson Tide are hoping to finish the regular season strong with a win over the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl. An upset would derail their College Football Playoff hopes, however, they’re 19.5-point favorites on the road.

Nick Saban provides updates on Drew Sanders, DJ Dale

Ahead of the big game, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban provided updates on two injured players on Wednesday.

Linebacker Drew Sanders has been dealing with a wrist injury and is playing with a cast on his hand. But Saban said the sophomore is getting used to it.

“Drew’s doing fine. It’s a little bit tougher for him to use that hand, especially when he’s playing with that cast on his hand. I think he’s getting more accustomed to it, he’s getting more confident [with] it.”

Defensive lineman DJ Dale is also dealing with an injury after hurting his knee in warm-ups before last week’s game against Arkansas. He didn’t end up playing, but Saban said he practiced on Wednesday — although might not be 100% just yet.

“He practiced today,” Saban said. “Probably wasn’t 100%, but I think this is something that will get better and better. So we’ll just see how he progresses.”

In Dale’s absence last week, freshman Dallas Turner stepped in and handled it well. Saban acknowledged Turner’s performance during his update on Sanders and Dale.

“Dallas Turner has done a really nice job for us, being a freshman,” Saban said. “He’s getting a lot of confidence, a lot of experience, he doesn’t make a lot of errors in the game. He’s a smart guy, prepares the right way.”

On3’s Nick Shultz contributed to this report.