Saban Talks The Evolution of Defense in College Football

Alabama head football coach Nick Saban took time out of his schedule last night to join the Louisiana High School Coaches Clinic. Saban imparted his unique wisdom on the Louisiana coaches and expressed his gratitude towards the state for the pipeline of talent the Crimson Tide has utilized during his tenure.

Saban discussed how football has changed since he first got into the game as a player and a young coach. Saban implored the coaches that the days of winning with good defense, ball control offense and solid special teams are long gone.

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"We have good defense, I mean we gave up 19 points a game last year and that was first in the SEC. 19 points a game! That's six points above what we think is average, which is giving up 13 points a game, and its first in the SEC. So the game is different now," said Saban.

Saban admitted his philosophy as a coach changed after hiring Lane Kiffin as offensive coordinator in 2014. He attributed the advent of the spread offense, the RPO and the hurry up offense for the change in his philosophy.

We have seen the Crimson Tide score more and more points and open up the offense with each passing season. Alabama has averaged over 35 points per game for the last nine seasons and has averaged over 45 points per game for the last three seasons.

Saban thanked the coaches for good relationships over the years that have led to Alabama landing solid players from the state of Louisiana. Specifically he named DeVonta Smith, Landon Collins, Eddie Lacy, Cam Robinson, Tim Williams, Dylan Moses and Christian Harris.