The Process Continues For Nick Saban

“Florida State is built like an SEC team”, Saban said.

Of course, no one wins all the time and Alabama ended last season on January 9 losing a heartbreaker in the National Championship Game to Clemson, 35-31, when Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson completed a 2-yard touchdown pass with one second on the clock.

Of course Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t playing that game.

Saban signed a few autographs, but many fans were audibly displeased with his short trip through gauntlet. Nashville is a great city with lots to do and is right in the middle of the SEC’s geographic footprint, so I could see that.

MORE: Is Saban a program killer? .

Brian Daboll begins his first full season as offensive coordinator. “You can’t give them anything”. And yet the sting of barely losing last year’s national championship is the flawless learning tool to motivate his team to chase down another SEC title, another College Football Playoff berth, another national championship.

True freshman Tua Tagovailoa was impressive in the spring, prompting a question Wednesday about a quarterback controversy. “We want to continue to develop him”.

“You know, that’s a common question at this event”, Georgia coach and former Alabama assistant Kirby Smart said.

Ten players were drafted by the National Football League, four in the first round.

“Whether you win or lose (the national championship), you always self-assess to get better”, said Saban at the 2017 SEC Media Days. Sure, there’s a good chance there was no meaning behind Saban’s off-the-cuff response, but it’s fun to believe this is just another piece to the rivalry.

“I think he’s exactly what we’re looking for in terms of helping us redevelop a pro-style passing attack that would go with the athleticism with some of the spread offense that we’ve used with Jalen (Hurts) and our other quarterbacks”, Saban said. But he also reiterated the difficulty of staying on the mountain top year after year. “That gives you the passion to be able to sustain the season and the hard times so you can be able to bounce back”. The last 11 with the Crimson Tide produced four more. Can anyone in the SEC catch ‘Bama?

“It came out of the blue”, Stoops said. But you can’t argue that that is the mark, and that’s where everybody wants to be.

The victor of that game will represent the SEC West in the league’s championship game, and defeat Florida for the SEC crown. Even after missing the two College Football Playoff games, he still was fifth on the team with 64 tackles and third on the team with seven tackles for a loss.

Alabama has won 17 straight SEC games going into the 2017 season.

Like football, there’s a method to the madness – strategy plays a big role. “It’s up to the rest of us to go get ’em”.

“There’s nobody right now that’s doing it better when you look at the longevity of his program, what he has done, how he has built it”, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said.

“I’ve known them for some time, and we’d go into the waiting room [at media days] and they’d always have their two dogs”. It was a bit of a shock, to be honest with you. Comparing Florida State directly to Alabama is a much more appropriate comparison.

Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin, saying he’s “a newer, kinder” version of himself, issued an apology to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Bob Holt on Wednesday for a year’s old incident.

Odom said he’s building a friendship with Bielema through meetings in Destin, Fla., and while running into each other recruiting. For Alabama, who let a lead slip from the grasp late in the game, it was unlike anything they’d experience in quite a while. Martin was asked if he is on a first-name basis with Dino Babers.

Missouri Coach Barry Odom said it still feels like O’Neal’s death occurred “yesterday”.