Nick Saban Pushes Back on Continued Alabama QB Questions

Getty Nick Saban sent a confident message on the Alabama quarterback situation on August 3

Nick Saban is confident in the Alabama quarterback situation despite an underwhelming A-Day spring game performance from projected top-two signal-callers Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson and a lack of time for Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner to form chemistry with his teammates.

On August 3, Saban told reporters that “somebody is going to take the bull by the horns” and was aggressive about getting the media to stop incessantly asking him which quarterback has the upper hand for the starting job.

“You’re going to ask about the quarterbacks, and I’m going to tell you the same thing,” Saban said. “Everybody is getting reps at the position. Somebody is going to take the bull by the horns. Somebody is going to separate themselves. When that happens, we’ll tell you. When we’re going to take the cake out of the oven, we’ll tell you when it’s the time. Until then, there’s really nothing to talk about. There’s nothing to say. There’s not a whole lot of sense in asking about it.”

Nick Saban Wants Each Alabama QB to Play Like ‘The Man’

Saban outlined the mental outlook he wants the eventual starting Alabama quarterback to have, describing the desire to be “the man” while not feeling the pressure of needing to be better than the next guy.

“We want all the guys, when they’re in there, you play the position like it’s yours,” Saban said. “Like it belongs to you. You’re out there competing. You’re not looking over your shoulder. You’re not worried about what somebody else does. You’re playing like you’re the man. That’s what we want each guy to do and see who can do that with the most consistency.”

Milroe is the only Crimson Tide signal-caller with experience in Tuscaloosa, but that was under previous offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and for just one gamel albeit against Texas A&M in a contest with national attention due to the infamous Saban drama with Jimbo Fisher that stemmed from comments the former made calling into question the latter’s 2022 recruiting class. Buchner started three games during the 2022 season before an injury wiped out the remainder of his season. Simpson had five pass attempts total in five appearances in 2022.

Nick Saban Vague While Speaking About Tyler Buchner

Saban offered comments about Buchner, but in reality, there wasn’t much in the way of substance in the coach’s surface-level assessment of where the Notre Dame transfer is in catching up with the playbook.

“Tommy knows him better than anybody else could,” Saban said. “I think you always know a player you coach him. You know what his strengths are, you know what he needs to improve on. And I still think that he’s probably getting comfortable with the system. There’s some new terminology in it, and I think he’s probably still getting comfortable with the players around him because the other guys have been with those guys a little more.”

So, in conclusion, the Crimson Tide quarterback is fluid, and asking Saban about it could, and likely will, get you an angry diatribe in response.