Inside Nick Saban’s school of QB development, from practice field

Alex Scarborough, ESPN

• Personnel WriterDec 31, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close Covers the SEC.Joined ESPN in 2012.
• Graduate of Auburn University.Greg McElroy remembered waiting till after his freshman year in 2007 to ask Alabama coach Nick Saban for a favor. McElroy figured Saban didn’t require the whole backstory about his daddy’s long-lasting dream to see him use Joe Namath’s number, so he pulled Saban aside one day and asked him straight up for the modification to No. 12. “You understand,”Saban stated,”that’s the number I wore.”McElroy said he shot back,”

Yeah, that’s of course why I want to change to it. Namath, [Kenny] Stabler, those guys have nothing to do with it. It’s really about you.”Saban obliged, but the lodging featured expectations. Due to the fact that Saban not only used No. 12, he used it while quarterbacking his high school to a state championship in 1968. It’s a reality that every Alabama quarterback who spoke to ESPN said they were aware of– even Bryce Young, who wasn’t born till 3 years later on. Young smiled and said Saban will “inform you about the West Virginia days, for sure. “A previous Monongah High colleague, Walter Baranski, said Saban was “the top pet out there.”

Jim Pulice, another teammate, included, “He might abandon the field and see a defense and capture it all. “Tua Tagovailoa said Saban would boast that” he’s the very best athlete.”

Saban was well rounded, all-state in basketball and baseball as well. If he wasn’t a few hairs shy of 6-feet, he might have lasted longer as a quarterback at Kent State before making the switch to defensive back.” I couldn’t see as well, especially in the pocket, “Saban remembered of the shift to college.” However if it just concerned tossing the ball and doing that things, I was okay.” While he never ever switched back to offense, rather becoming among the preeminent protective minds in football, his background playing quarterback informed his relationship with the position as a head coach. We spoke with seven existing or previous starters at Alabama to read more about their everyday interactions. Together, they told the story of a coach who invests his time in order to build trust and ultimately benefit the group. There are regular individually meetings that can vary from discussion of X’s and O’s and workers to how to handle interpersonal relationships and the grind of a long season– all made lighter by Saban’s occasional ribbing.”I tossed a good spiral,” McElroy stated.”However in the uncommon circumstances if I threw a ball that wasn’t ideal or wasn’t pretty, you were going to hear about it from him.”Blake Sims, who began 14 games for Alabama in 2014, can imagine Saban now, running behind him after the stretch duration of practice and scolding him, “Hey 6, I bet you can’t toss the ball like this.” Saban would then gather the protective backs for specific drills, planting his best leg and tossing passes to them as they diminished the sideline. Always a great loft, generally a tight spiral.”Hey 6, “Sims keeps in mind Saban bellowing, “you need to come over here and toss like this.” Jake Coker, who followed Sims as the starter, laughed at his version of the exact same story. He said it’s a pity the majority of people do not

get to experience Saban’s sharp funny bone, consisting of some” legendary jokes “he says aren’t suitable for print. “There’s something amusing about seeing a 70-year-old in a straw hat throwing the ball around and cussing 20-year-olds out,”Coker said.While Saban was never

shy about dolling out a tongue-lashing in public, in private Coker and other former Alabama quarterbacks paint a various image of the coach. Coker said Saban met him frequently while he battled Cooper Bateman for the starting task early in 2015. Saban noticed Coker getting in his own way– too worried about messing up and agonizing over his checks out instead of letting the ball go.”He ‘d talk to me and get me to a place where I was going out there and reacting instead of overthinking each minute,”Coker stated.”A great deal of our conversations were customized towards the psychological aspect. “He included,”I would state he’s the best at handling emotions of any coach I’ve been around. I suggest, when he gets mad, you understand you deserve it. And when he pats you on the back, you deserve it.”This year’s starter, Jalen Milroe, has felt both the sting of dissatisfaction and the joy of success with Saban– and often in a public setting.Along the method, as Alabama recovered from an early-season loss and found its way back to the College Football Playoff, Saban challenged Milroe.”Embrace hard, “Milroe remembered Saban informing him,” and embrace the function of being

a quarterback and being a leader of the team.” Alabama coach Nick Saban looks on as quarterback Jalen Milroe heats up for the 2023 opener. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images SIMS AND OTHERSdescribe Saban as something of a clairvoyant, understanding exactly the ideal buttons to press at precisely the correct time. It definitely looked that way at halftime of the 2017 national championship when Saban benched former SEC Offensive Player of the Year Jalen Injures in favor of a real freshman, Tagovailoa. And it worked again this season when he sat Milroe a week after he threw 2 interceptions in a loss to Texas. Milroe reacted by completing 6th in the Heisman Trophy voting and leading Alabama to the playoff, where it will face Michigan in the Rose Bowl presented by Prudential on Monday(5 p.m. ET, ESPN ). Sims stated he’s asked all the time about what makes Saban different– how can he bench an accomplished starter and not lose them for the rest of the season? Hurts sat the majority of the 2018 season behind Tagovailoa but was ready to go when his number was contacted the SEC national championship, coming off the sideline to beat Georgia after Tagovailoa was hobbled by an ankle injury. Sims stated that’s possible only because Saban makes a point of being familiar with his players, so he understands how to keep them motivated and engaged. “I was that type of player that if you inform me I won the position, perhaps I may slack off a little bit. However if I knew I was constantly in competition, I played to the top of my ability,”Sims said.” And possibly Coach Saban knew that. … ‘Simply as quick as I named you the starting quarterback, I can take it from you. ‘” Go back to the 2014 season after Sims came out of the gates hot, throwing for 445 yards and 4 touchdowns against Florida in a pivotal Week 4 match. He went from a former receiver no one anticipated

anything from to among the most exciting players in the SEC.And then Saban stopped him in the corridor one day.”I had absolutely nothing but rat poison all on me. He could simply smell it and whatever,”Sims stated.”And he just pulled me in his workplace and simply provided it to me. I can’t remember his specific words, however he just

gave me an ear full.”When I went out of there, guy, I believe I went straight to the weight room. “Sims laughed. “How he finds things out, I don’t understand, “he stated.”I still wonder to this day.”Editor’s Picks 2 Associated However go back a couple of weeks earlier, the early morning of the Florida game that put Sims on the map, and you get another side of Saban’s mentorship.Sims fidgeted– it being his very first start in Bryant-Denny Stadium– as he headed to breakfast at the group hotel. That’s when strength coach

Scott Cochran growled

at him,”Walk around that corner. Coach Saban wants to talk to you. “Saban was waiting for him and stated, “So Sims, what do we need to do to get you

going? For you to be comfy?” Sims chose to be sincere.”Coach,” he said,” when I go quickly it gets me in my rhythm where I do not need to think. Let’s simply go.”Saban asked, “So NASCAR?”which is shorthand for the hurry-up offense.Sims stated yes.Saban shook his head and

stated, “OK.”That Saban wanted his input was humbling, Sims said. That he was open to moving from a ball-control design of offense to more uptempo was a lesson Sims stated he considers a lot now, coaching at Mt. Bethel Christian Academy in Marietta, Georgia.”

Seeing him do that lets you understand even when you’re at the top of your game, you still require aid

,”he stated.”

You can’t do it by yourself.”Sims treasures his relationship with Saban. He went from being uncertain about whether Saban understood his name to being comfortable tossing barbs back and forth.Saban told Sims frequently about his Monongah days, specifically how he was offered the freedom by his coach to

call plays.” But we let him know,’Hey, Coach, you play in this day and time and we’ll smack you,'” Sims said.Speaking to Milroe earlier

this season, Saban leaned on his hoops background, encouraging the dual-threat QB to” be a point player with the ball and get the ball to playmakers to enable explosive plays

.””At first, you ‘d most likely believe it was just Coach Saban talking, however it’s likewise an opportunity for me to talk,”Milroe said of their conversations.” A great deal of times, we simply speak about life. He’s assisted me with some individual things, and he’s been there for me throughout the season. The main point is that we both talk, what we see in games, feedback from games. He sees a lot of things I don’t see, and he’s always happy to listen if I see something.”

Young took pleasure in 2 seasons beginning for Saban and”being able to have a discussion about some larger picture things– about the team, about things he’s feeling, what he sees, what he needs from us as leaders, and us, our side.”” We’re all kind of working towards that very same goal,”he said.”So it was really cool simply coming as a freshman, proving myself. That’s something you have to make at Alabama. You need to make that trust, earn whatever. And after that getting to that point absolutely

my last two years of building our relationship and then being to where it is now, I’m super grateful.” AJ McCARRON REMEMBERS his Sunday early morning individually debriefing sessions with Saban.”He was always up there early,” he recalled.”We would sit there and see the movie from the game, and the majority of the time we ‘d enjoy the whole film, kind of simply see the circulation of the game, discuss the flow, discuss their defense, what else they might have done, what we might have done as an offense, in my viewpoint.”

But I liked doing that as a freshman even if I got to learn a lot,

even from the defensive side, what’s their idea process on things and how they see specific formations and how they prepare to cover particular routes and stuff.” In some cases, McElroy said, you ‘d anticipate those meetings. Other times, not a lot.”You might type of tell where the meeting was going to go based on how you played, “McElroy said.Asked if he was thinking about a specific conference, McElroy groaned.”One in specific, “he said.” It was horrible. “It was the Sunday after playing Ole Miss in 2009. It was McElroy’s very first genuinely hostile road environment, Alabama was undefeated, and the Rebs

were ranked. And McElroy was off from the start. Coaches called”Boom, “which McElroy stated is a”smash principle with a guy in the flat and a guy running a corner.

“The first time, he tossed it into double coverage to Julio Jones for an incompletion.The next time, on the opposite end of the field, he once again threw it into double coverage to Jones for an incompletion.It just so happened that both times the receiver in the flat was large open.McElroy woke up Sunday early morning dreading going to Saban’s office.”I understood he would say,’Why didn’t you take the flat?’ And I didn’t really have a factor,”he stated. “You can’t say I was looking at the rush. “Never ever mind he had a great reason.” Greg Hardy cleaned my clock on the first play of the game,”he said.So McElroy thought about it and came up with an admittedly”absurd reason” about Julio being open.Saban wasn’t purchasing it.”He was so disgruntled, he desired me to decrease and get checked

for a concussion due to the fact that my reads were so bad,” McElroy said.

“I understand it was his way of jabbing at me. He stated,’You need to

decrease and see [head trainer Jeff Allen] and get inspected. That’s ludicrous.'” Jeff was a good sport about it

, Coach was a good sport about it. After the fact we can laugh about it. However at the time, it resembled,

‘Oh, God. I can’t think I made the same error twice.’ Since the something was, he might deal with an error.

That happens.

However you make the very same error twice, you need to tighten it up. “Capital One Bowl Mania Go perfect in your bowl choices and win up to$1 million, plus more prizes! Make Your Picks In games, McElroy and other quarterbacks described Saban as mainly hands off. The only time they ‘d speak with him is if they committed a mental mistake– like the time Coker didn’t throw the ball away at the end of the first half of a blowout win and cost the group a field goal. “That was one of those headset-tearing-apart minutes where he got me pretty much from the sideline all the method to the tunnel,”Coker stated.”It was among those where as quickly as I did it I thought,’Oh my God, you’re such a dumbass. I understand I’m going to become aware of this all the method back to the locker space.’ And I did. He lost his mind.” Coker couldn’t remember precisely what Saban said, it was such a blur of curs. Coker muttered”Yes, sir”again and once again in hopes it would end the conversation quicker.”If it’s within your psychological control, I suggest, he’s going to be mad about it, “he stated.” However if you’re going 100%and you just screw it up, then he can

deal with that. If you mess up, he moves on. And if you throw a good ball, he is high-fiving.”It turns out that backups get worn a lot more than beginners, McElroy said, and with great factor.”He didn’t wish to affect the starter’s confidence and he wished to just ensure the starter felt good,” he said.”And the backup, if you slip up, you’re very much in

developmental mode at that point, so your self-confidence isn’t quite as important. “A lot of playing quarterback is what occurs in between the ears, and Saban is careful to keep that in mind.When Coker met with him, they didn’t invest a lots of time going over the playbook, he said. It was more about situational awareness–“on and off the field. “Coker stated Saban gave him good suggestions on how to”maneuver through the season”

and manage individual relationships on the team.Together, they won a national championship.And, like Milroe, it began with Coker riding the bench early in the season.Would he have liked to prevent the tension of all that? Sure.But he can’t argue with the results. “I don’t know, maybe if I was called the starter and I knew that everyone that had my back I would’ve entered and played with a lot more confidence

and played with no restraint as well,” Coker said.”However I know benching me made me that way for sure.” ESPN reporters Ben Baby,

David Newton and Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this story.