SEC Championship Game Preview: Nick Saban Talks Alabama-Florida

Welcome to SEC Championship week, folks. Nick Saban previewed the Alabama-Florida game in his Monday press conference.

Different year, same old story: the Southeastern Conference crown is Nick Saban’s to lose.

Despite a loss to Ole Miss, which was considered a title contender at the time, Alabama is firmly in the College Football Playoff picture. Take care of business against the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game, and the Crimson Tide are all but assured a spot in the playoff.

Saban is going head-to-head with his former offensive coordinator, Jim McElwain. He talked about the matchup in its entirety during his Monday press conference.

Here’s what he had to say:

On making the SEC Championship

“This is a great opportunity for our team to play in the SEC Championship Game. This is something that we still feel is very, very important and something that’s a significant accomplishment because of the quality of our league.”

On Florida

“This is a very talented team. They’re extremely well coached. Jim McElwain has done an outstanding job there … they’re probably the best overall team that we played against all year long.”

On facing the Florida defense

“Great defensive team … probably the highest-ranked defensive team we’ve faced all year long. From a national standpoint, they also do a great job in taking care of the ball and getting turnovers.”

On Treon Harris

“The quarterback, Treon Harris, is a dual-threat kind of guy that can make plays passing or with his feet — reminds me a lot of Blake (Barnett) in terms of his style of play.”

On Kelvin Taylor

“Kelvin Taylor is an outstanding running back, probably as good as we’ve played against all year.”

On Florida making the SEC Championship

“This is an outstanding team that we’re playing. They wouldn’t be in the SEC Championship game if they weren’t. And I think anybody out there that thinks this is not going to be a real challenge and a real test for our team is- you know, I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

On the Gators defense

“Their front’s very talented. They’re very athletic. They’ve got really good inside players. They’ve got good edge rushers. The linebackers are really good players. They got a really good secondary, good cover people, too, good safeties, one of the best corners in the country, so they’ve got really, really talented players.”

On defensive coordinator Geoff Collins

“They’re an outstanding defensive team. Geoff Collins does a great job with ’em. They’re well coached. They play hard. They really get after it.”

On Florida defensive backs around Vernon Hargreaves III

“Jalen [Tabor] is a good player — a guy we thought a lot of here and recruited hard to come here, and he’s played very, very well. I think this is a very talented secondary all the way around. They got two really good safeties as well.”

On Derrick Henry having a good work ethic

“Derrick has always been that way. He was that way when he first came here. He always was a hard worker. He was anxious to improve and try to overcome any deficiencies he had as a player. And by his own admission, when he first came here, talked about his experience as a running back was only carrying the ball and that he had a lot to learn about pass offense, pass protection and being a receiver. And he certainly did a good job of improving and developing in all those areas.”

On the Alabama defense

“This is Kirby’s [Smart] defense. He’s the defensive coordinator. I try to be a good graduate assistant, whenever I can, to sort of help him out. It is a system that he grew up in, which is the old system that we played for years and adapted through the years. So, he understands it and can apply it in the game as well as anyone.”

On Kirby Smart

“I think his competitive character certainly rubs off on the players in terms of his spirit, his enthusiasm, his attention to detail … all these things contribute to how we’ve been able to play defensively.”