By Donald F. Staffo
HOOVER- With the SEC hosting its media days last week, for some people the college football season has arrived.
The first coach to speak was Alabama’s Nick Saban, who immediately made it clear that the Crimson Tide was not
defending the national championship it won in 2009. “Last year was a great part of Alabama tradition, certainly
an indelible part of Alabama football history. But last year is basically over. You know, we’re not really
defending a championship. The championship is a part of history and we’re not going to defend anything,” stated
Saban, who realizes that with 22 graduates and 13 players who signed professional contracts no longer available
that personnel-wise this is not the same team that beat Texas to win the school’s 13th national title. Explaining
further he pointed out that “even if you have all the same ingredients back, it would be difficult to manufacture
the same kind of chemistry.”
Understanding that each team creates its own identity, Saban said repeating as national champions is going
to be harder because “it’s more difficult to focus on the process of what it takes to be successful when
you’re coming off of success. That’s certainly going to be the challenge for our team, our players’
willingness to focus on doing the right things, the things that are necessary (to win another championship).”
Saban said that entering this season minus “11 starters, a punter, a kicker and and a great return guy is
going to create a lot of opportunities for some other players” who will need to prove and show that they
can play well consistently. Acknowledging a lack of dept in some areas, Saban said “a realistic approach is,
are we going to be able to do the things that we need to do with the young players that don’t have as much
experience, that are going to get some on-the-job training in terms of what they can accomplish?
“It always comes down to how many shining lights do you have on your team and how many blinking lights do
you have. Blinking lights are people who don’t do what they’re supposed to do, they don’t do the right things.
They don’t have the right habits. They don’t have the correct discipline to get the job done on a consistent
basis. Those kinds of players usually affect your ability to be successful.
“So lots of challenges on this team,” he re-emphasized. “To replace eight defensive starters, which is what we
have to replace, and all four guys in the secondary will be a great challenge.”
Offensively Saban said that the Crimson Tide returns eight starters, three really good receivers, two really
good runners, a very experienced quarterback, three first-teamers in the line and a good young tight end
prospect. Although a lot of talent returns, Saban said that the level of success the Crimson Tide achieves
will be based on the growth, maturity and the ability of the inexperienced players to improve their performance. “These players have grown up in the system. They just don’t have the knowledge and the game-time experience that we’d like for them to have, which helps them to develop confidence and consistency in their performance.”
Team chemistry is also important and Saban said that will develop if the players individually and collectively
have trust and respect that everybody is responsible to do what they’re supposed to do.”
Adding to the challenge of matching last season’s results (14-0, 9-0 SEC) is that Saban thinks that every team
in the SEC West has improved. Again expressing his appreciation for the fan support that the Crimson Tide receives, Saban said that he likes the high expectations they have for the team, but with the caveat that “I just hope that our fans are always realistic in what we can accomplish with the teams that we have.”
Saban isn’t and doesn’t want his players to “look in the rear view mirror,” but to focus on the upcoming season, which in the Saban Way is not one game at a time, but more specifically one play at a time.
The Tide opens fall practice August 4th with the season-opener Sept. 4th against San Jose State. That’s when Saban said “a lot of challenges are going to get answered realistically in how our team progresses,” and when his team will begin the on-the-field process of trying to not defend, but repeat as SEC and National Champions.
Three players represented Alabama at the SEC Media Days- running back Mark Ingram, quarterback Greg McElroy and linebacker Dont’A Hightower. Following are some of their comments.
Running Back: Mark Ingram
Hoover- Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram thinks Alabama can win the national championship again. “We believe we have the players, the athletes, the mentality we need to give ourselves a chance to play for a national championship again and win it again,” he said during SEC Media Days when he addressed the packed conference room at the Wynfrey Hotel.
Recognizing that many of his title-winning teammates are gone, Ingram explained how winning the BCS Championship can be accomplished. “All the older players that were part of the championship team, we’re going to have to lead by example, show them how to work, show them how to be champions. That’s what we’re trying to do (with the workouts) this whole summer. When practice starts, we’re going to show them how to practice like champions as well.”
Ingram, who has scored 29 touchdowns in two seasons, is aware that winning back-to-back national championships is a daunting task, but pointed out that “we know what it takes to get back to that point and win the championship. We know what we did and how hard we worked.”
Ingram knows that opponents have the Tide as a target and would like nothing better than to knock off the 2009 national champions. But Ingram said knowing that also provides extra motivation for him and his teammates and that Bama is up for the challenge. “Now we’re working even harder. We’ve got to keep pushing ourselves harder because we have a bulls eye on our back. Every team is going to give us their best shot when they play us. I’m sure we’re circled on everybody’s schedule this year. We’re not worried about anybody else but ourselves.
“We’re focused on ourselves, bettering ourselves as a team, individually and collectively as a unit every single day. We can’t be focused on what other teams are doing. We can only control what we do as a team. That’s what our main focus is on, becoming a better team each and every day and giving ourselves a chance to win each Saturday.”
Ingram, who rushed for a school single-season record 1,658 yards last year and has a two-year career total of 2,386 yards, acknowledged that winning another Heisman Trophy would be great, but stated that that was not his primary goal. “My main focus right now is to better myself as a player each and every day (in order to) become the best player that I can be for my football team...to put myself in the best position where I can make a lot of plays so I can help our team win games,” he said.
Relatively unknown heading into the 2009 season, winning the Heisman Trophy, symbolic of the best player in college football, has turned Ingram into a celebrity and caused some changes in his life. But Ingram, still soft-spoken and modest despite his high profile, has handled his success and the resulting spotlight very well. “Everywhere I go, people recognize me,” he said in response to a question. “They meet me, want to take pictures. That’s exciting, something you dream of as a kid. Having kids come up to you (and say you’re) a role model (and) that they want to grow up like you. It’s humbling and a blessing. I’m excited (that) I can impact a younger person’s life like that. That’s real special to me, real touching to me.
“I’m just more aware. I just try and feel things out. I just try to be polite and treat people how I want to be treated. When somebody asks me for a picture, as long as there’s not 40 or 50 people behind them asking for pictures, I’ll take a picture, sign an autograph. Just try to learn how to handle the situations as you go.”
Quarterback: Greg McElroy
Quarterback Greg McElroy is also pointing to the future. “We’re proud of what we accomplished last year. It was a great run, great memories that we’ll have for the rest of our lives,” he told the more than 1,000 media gathered in Hoover for SEC Media Days. “If you look at us, none of us are wearing our rings,” he said, holding up his hand to make his point. “We understand that whatever happened last year isn’t going to give us an advantage this year. We’re going to have to give it our best effort each week. It’ll be a tough task, and it’s something we’re ready for.
“A lot of people ask ‘How are you being motivated?’ The way I look at it, if you’ve been to the mountain top, why settle for anything less?”
A back-up QB almost all of his football-playing career, returning to open a season as a starting quarterback is something McElroy hasn’t done since the seventh grade. It’s also been a long time since McElroy played on a team that lost a football game. “The last game I lost was in the 8th grade. We lost 8-6 when we didn’t make the extra points when the center snapped the ball over my head,” he recalled.
As for the upcoming season, McElroy pointed out that “there’s going to be times when the offense has to step up and win games for us this year, and there’s going to be times when the defense has to step up and win games.”
Linebacker: Don’t’A Hightower
Don’t’A Hightower is coming off knee surgery but the 6-4, 258-pound sophomore said he’s not only ready to play, but to lead. “I feel great. My knee is holding up. I’ve been in 7-on-7 drills this summer chasing around Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson and keeping up with them.
“I feel like I have a lot to prove. I don’t want to be someone that people say, ‘He came back from a knee injury and was never the same again.
“I expect to be a leader. I expect to be the guy that if things aren’t going right, before Coach Saban has to say something, that I’ll be the guy to say, ‘Let’s get this thing right.”