Nick Saban Discusses Preparation For Texas, Steve Sarkisian

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) is set to hit the road this coming Saturday for a matchup of classic programs with Texas and former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

HOW TO WATCH: The game will kickoff at 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, Sept. 10 on FOX

Following the Tide's 55-0 win over Utah State Saturday, head coach Nick Saban held his regular Monday press conference to give a preview of what to expect on Saturday in Austin.

Here's a full transcript of Monday's press conference.

OPENING STATEMENT

Reviewing the game, I think we showed elements of Alabama football in terms of how physical we were, the toughness we played with, the intensity that we had.

And for the most part, the discipline to execute was pretty good, especially early in the game. I think we need to get more players to go and do those things in game situations and play winning football. But the key is the measure of a team is what is your growth between week one and week two, even though you had a pretty good start, can you build on that and make progress for the future? Because we're going to need to do that playing against a really good opponent this week.

[Sarkisian] has done a really good job there — a very good offensive coach. They've got a great system and scheme on offense. They've got some really good players on offense. [Bijan Robinson]is an outstanding running back. [Xavier Worthy] is a great receiver.

[Quinn Ewers] is a very good quarterback — great arm, very talented guy. They've got seven starters back on defense and played much better last week on defense than maybe some of the times last year when people scored points on them, so this is a very improved defensive team to me.

They do a really good job on special teams and play with great effort, [they] blocked a punt last week and made plays and Worthy has been a really good punt returner. He's having 15 yards or something a punt return. They've got a lot of good players. They've got really good schemes and it's gonna be a very challenging game for us.

HANDLING COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES ON THE ROAD

Well, [we'll do] the same that we've always done. We try to go in silent [counts] sometimes. We try to go in a clap sometimes. We can't really use a cadence in those kind of situations, so that's what you practice. We usually have some noise at practices when we're playing on the road, which we will at some point in time this week, later in the week.

But it's always a challenge, especially on offense.

For defensive players, maybe not as not as much, but sometimes for defensive players it's tougher at home, because the crowd's yelling when the other team has the ball. But this is a very challenging thing that we've always had to work on hard in the past and we'll continue to do it this week.

RUNNING GAME FOR BAMA VS. UTAH STATE

Inconsistent.

Like I said after the game, it was big/little. We made a couple really explosive plays in the running game, but the down-in and down-out consistency to have positive runs and not have negative plays was not what we want it to be and something that we want to improve on, but I wasn't disappointed at all in the way we played.

[Utah State] did a lot of stunting and then moving up front, which we sort of expected. We didn't always pick it up exactly right and sometimes they were able to create some negative plays with it, so we definitely need to work on those things this week.

BIJAN ROBINSON AS A RECEIVER OUT OF THE BACKFIELD

He can do everything. He's got speed, he's got power, he's a very instinctive runner that sets up his blockers well, has a burst and got great hands — a good receiver. They use him a lot in the passing game, so this guy is as good of an all-around back as there, probably is in the country or is certainly one of the best of all the guys in the country and his production really sort of shows that.

PREPARING FOR TEXAS AND SARK'S FAMILIARITY WITH ALABAMA

We've played several teams now that kind of know us, but you act like we don't know them.

Just because somebody knows you when they play, it doesn't mean they're going to beat you and just because you know them when you play them doesn't mean you're going beat them, either. It kind of comes down to how you execute.

But to think we're gonna go change a lot of things that we do, that our players know how to do that they do well, that they have confidence in. I don't think that's the answer when it comes to getting execution and having confidence and how you have to adjust and what you need to do.

BIJAN ROBINSON, JASE MCCLELLAN AND RECEIVING BACKS

I think that's what every offensive coach wants. You've got five eligible receivers and you want them to have to defend all five guys.

I think tight ends and running backs are mismatched players because of the guys who end up garnering most of the time. So, when you have a guy that's outstanding, that creates those mismatches, that's a real advantage for you.

I think that's probably the greatest advantage of having a running back or running backs, who are really good receivers and understand the passing game and can be used as targets in a lot of ways that put a lot of pressure on the defense.

SARKISIAN AS A PLAYCALLER

I think he's a very bright guy.

He's very well organized. He did an outstanding job when he was here and he's got a good system.

He understands defense. He likes to see what you're in if he can, so that he can run a play that's going to be an effective play against that particular look or give his players the best chance to be successful.

I think all those things in a combination of those things in good preparation make you a very, very good play caller. So he has a really good understanding of defense. He has a really good understanding of what he wants to do on offense against certain things on defense and he tries to implement those in the game, whether it's formationally, using motions, adjustments, eye candy, — whatever you want to call it — to sort of get the look that he'd like to have and then run that particular play against it.

JAYLEN MOODY GETTING PLAYING TIME AT LINEBACKER

I think that's the key to the drill.

A lot of players want to make plays, but they don't understand that, systematically, you have to do your job relative to what's required on that particular play in that particular defense, and that will actually enhance your chances of making plays. And when players understand that, then we can play much better team defense because you've got everybody in the right places.

The term I like to use is 'nobody here needs to farm somebody else's land.'

If you just do your job, then we got a chance to be successful. But when one guy's trying to do something he's not supposed to do, that opens up an area that offers an opportunity for the other team to make plays.

PASS RUSH AGAINST UTAH STATE

I don't know if you can really assess the pass rush against Utah State because they threw the ball and got the ball out so quick. You didn't have a chance to get pass rush, but I do think we affected the quarterback in the game [by] pushing the pocket. We had some free runners in his face, which affected his throws.

But typical drop-back, hold the ball, see it develop and throw it — they didn't do much of that.

The ball was catch-and-throw all the time, so we didn't have a lot of opportunity to get the proverbial sack, but I do think we affected the quarterback pretty well in the game.

PLAYING IN AUSTIN AND IMPACT ON RECRUITING

Anytime you get exposure in an area, it obviously helps recruiting.

It doesn't matter where you play, whether we play in Atlanta, or whether we play somewhere in Texas, I think that exposure makes people in that area more aware of your program, of who you are, players on your team.

So, I do think those things have an impact in recruiting and it's a great opportunity for us to have a chance to play a school like Texas. It's got great tradition and they've got a really good team.

TRAESHON HOLDEN'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST UTAH STATE

Traeshon's had a really good camp, played really well in the game. He's playing fast.

One of the things that Traeshon has gotten so much better at is controlling his emotions and staying in the right place where he can play fast and not get frustrated and not cut things short or not do things the right way.

I think he's learned through his maturity, that by doing things the way a quarterback expects him to do it — the way it's designed — that gives him the best chance to make plays and be successful.

He's playing fast. He's very physical. He's got strong hands. All those things benefited him in this game, I think in a very positive way and he had a really, really positive performance.

PREPARING FOR TEXAS QB QUINN EWERS

He's a very, very talented passer.

He's got a good feel for the game but he's got a strong arm. I think he threw a ball like 55 yards, pretty much on the money, in the last game and I know that's probably his first game playing.

But I thought he played extremely well in the game and I'm sure that he's going to continue to make progress because he has a tremendous amount of talent.

This guy's a really, really good player and we're gonna have to do a great job of hopefully disguising what we do a little bit so he has to figure it out after he gets the ball in his hand.

But he's got the talent to make the plays when he knows where to go with it. That's for sure.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com