Besides 2015, Saban views 2023 Alabama as most improved team 'we've ever had'

What has Nick Saban learned about his Alabama football team from the first week of the season until now, as the Crimson Tide gets set to face Georgia in the SEC Championship Game?

He was asked that on his Thursday evening radio show, and not for the first time this fall, Saban harkened back to Alabama’s 2015 team that shared similarities to this group – losing early in the year and being unsettled at quarterback before righting the ship for a successful run.

“I think besides that team, this team is the most improved group that we’ve ever had,” Saban said, “in terms of their passion, the fun that they have, the practice, focusing on trying to improve. I mean, this team has went through a total transition as a football team in terms of their confidence, their ability to execute, their faith, trust and confidence in each other, and really just became a team, just became a team over time from the Texas game. 

“That kind of galvanized us a little bit. We went through the quarterback thing, gave some other people some opportunities, settled on Jalen (Milroe). Jalen figured out, ‘This is what I have to do to be successful at this position.’ Tommy (Rees) did a really good job with him, as our offensive staff did, and the whole team just transformed itself in terms of believing in themselves and they had a lot to prove. They had a lot to prove.”

Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC) now has a chance to add what would be arguably the best win in the nation to its resume with a matchup with No. 1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0) next on the schedule. Many wrote the Tide off after a Week 2 loss to No. 7 Texas and a shaky showing at South Florida the following week, but Milroe and company rallied to put UA back into the playoff hunt.

“I see these letters up – what’s it say? – let all naysayers know. Something like that. I don’t know. Yeah, I think that’s what it stands for,” Saban said. “So they had a lot to prove, and they put a lot into it. And I’m really, really proud of them in terms of creating this opportunity that they’ve created for themselves to play in the SEC Championship Game.”

The Tide will look to continue its upward trend Saturday, Dec. 2, when it faces the Bulldogs in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC title. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. CT on CBS.

Final word before SEC Championship

To conclude the show, Saban offered a parting message to fans before Saturday’s game.

“I think this is all about maximizing opportunity,” Saban said. “I mean, I think it’s important in games like this to be able to turn your passion into execution. You don’t want to be so emotional that you can’t make good choices and decisions, you can’t play with discipline, you can’t execute and do your job. But you’ve got to have confidence. You’ve got to believe in yourself so that you can go play your best, you’re well prepared, you understand before you ever get there exactly what you have to do. 

“And if our fans and the people out there can do anything to help us do that, that’s what we need. That’s exactly what we need. These guys have worked hard all year. I told them on Monday, ‘You got six days. We need six days, aight, for you to get through. Don’t think about how you feel because you’re going to be able to recover for a couple weeks after that, regardless of what happens after this game. So we’ve got to have six days because you’ve got to prepare well because you’re going to play like your practice, aight. So don’t get into your how you feel, aight. Get into what you want to accomplish and what you want to do.’

“And I think that’s what it takes in a game like this to be able to impose your will on a really, really good team. I believe in our guys. I am very proud of the progress that they’ve made to create this opportunity for themselves, and I’m excited about trying to do the best job I can do to help them have success in this game. And I think that everybody that supports Alabama should do the same.”

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