Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama Football: Saban Discusses Les Miles, Keith Holcombe, Freshmen

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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During this week’s SEC coaches conference call, Alabama football head coach Nick Saban answered several questions about the team.

ICYMI: Way Back Wednesday: The Last Time Kentucky Beat Bama

Alabama football head Coach Saban addressed the media today and answered several important questions. First and foremost, however, he noted that “Kentucky has really played well the last two weeks, and is certainly an improving team.” He stressed that the Alabama football team will need to play with consistency to beat an SEC opponent “that will be very challenging for us.”

Kentucky is an SEC school, and Coach Saban no doubt wants his team to respect their opponent. Yet this still feels like a tune-up game for Bama. While they possess a competent rushing attack, Kentucky’s has struggled passing the ball against SEC opponents. That said, Alabama must build off last week’s shutout and continue to gain confidence and consistency as it heads deeper into SEC play.

Dec 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Keith Holcombe (42) blocks the punt of Florida Gators punter Johnny Townsend (19) during the first quarter of the 2015 SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. The play resulted in a safety. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Keith Holcombe

Saban also responded to a question about the play of sophomore linebacker Keith Holcombe. “Keith has done a really good job for us,” he said. “He’s battled a little bit with some injury issues…but he’s been a great special teams player for us. He played really well last week in getting a little more opportunity to play…He’s one of the guys that’s been around here and knows what’s going on and what the expectation is and plays to it pretty consistently.”

Holcombe’s name might be more familiar to those who follow the Tide’s baseball team. He shows promise as a linebacker for Alabama football as well. A former four-star recruit out of Tuscaloosa’s Hillcrest High School, Holcombe played mostly on special teams last year. Most notably, he blocked a punt for a safety that broke the ice in the SEC Championship. So far, the Alabama football schedule has allowed him to see significant snaps on defense. While his opportunities may decrease during conference play, it appears that Alabama will continue to enjoy strong linebacker depth the future.

Les Miles

Nov 7, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles greet each other prior to the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Saban addressed Les Miles’ firing as well. Asked if the firing was surprising, he replied that no, he was not surprised.

“Evaluating the landscape of college football right now, I don’t think things like this surprise me, but that doesn’t mean that I’m agreeable that it should be that way. I think from a player’s perspective and a program perspective to do these kind of things during the season probably is not the best way to go about it. Les has done a really good job there. I have a lot of respect for him and we’ve certainly had a difficult time playing against them through the years. We wish him the best. I just think that college football doesn’t need to do these kinds of things, but what I think doesn’t really matter.”

This is pretty much what one would expect. In the past, Saban heavily criticized programs from firing long-tenured, successful head coaches. Considering that Saban and Miles enjoyed a rather cordial rivalry, his firing is no different. Ironically, Saban’s overwhelming success has been a key factor in the firing of a number of SEC coaches. But amid reports that LSU planned to gauge the interest of Saban and Urban Meyer, it seems abundantly clear (if it wasn’t already) that they need not ask after Saban.

Freshmen

Sep 24, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) warms up prior to the game against Kent State. Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Finally, Saban gave insight into how he evaluates whether freshmen readiness to play early on the Alabama football team.

“I think it’s a lot about the maturity of a player and how he looks at what he needs to do to be a college football player,” he said. “I think a lot of guys have the maturity and understand what they have to do go out and work every day to learn how they can be productive players. That’s their mindset and when they do it, they improve and have a chance to contribute to the team.

Sometimes guys are a little less likely to understand what it takes…and the expectations sort of overwhelm them a little bit and it takes them a little longer to develop. We’ve been very fortunate this year to have a group of guys that have been able to contribute, and that’s been very helpful to depth of our team.”

Fortunate is an understatement. That Jalen Hurts’ performance has been the biggest story of Alabama’s season so far.

Combined with the solid play of Jonah Williams at right tackle and the surprising emergence of Joshua Jacobs in the backfield, freshman have played a huge role on offense. Furthermore, Shyheim Carter and Raekwon Davis have provided critical depth on defense at positions thinned by early departures.

Likewise Calvin Ridley, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Ronnie Harrison played significant roles last season. It just goes to show that freshmen can indeed find substantial playing time at Alabama.

Alabama football kicks off Saturday at 6pm central time against the Kentucky Wildcats on ESPN. Happy Homecoming, everybody. If you go to the game, be loud. Roll Tide.

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