VIDEO: Nick Saban Talks 3-0 Start, Updates Injuries, and Turns Attention to Vanderbilt
After three straight non-conference wins to start the 2017 season, Alabama begins preparation for the first Southeastern Conference game of the year.
Head coach Nick Saban held his weekly press conference to look back on Saturday's win and preview the matchup with Vanderbilt. The 41-23 victory over Colorado State might not have looked perfect on paper, but Saban said he's happy with his team's start.
"Overall, I’m pleased with the progress that we’ve made as a team through the first three games," Saban said. "Sometimes you lose sight of the face that we are 3-0. We have improved in a lot of areas of our team and we’ll continue to focus on the technical aspects of what we need to do to improve in some other areas to get some mistakes and mental errors corrected."
With the schedule picking up now that SEC play is beginning, Alabama's injuries will factor in even more moving forward, and it all starts with the linebacker position.
"From an injury standpoint, I don’t know what the status of these guys will be but we’ll see how they progress through the week, but Rashaan Evans, Anfernee Jennings and Dylan Moses will all return to practice today. Miller Forristall is out. What we thought was the issue and the case after the game was the case, and he will need surgery."
While most fans might not have circled this Vanderbilt matchup prior to the season, it's going to be a difficult conference opener for the Crimson Tide.
"They are 3-0 and they have a lot of starters back with nine on offense and seven on defense. Their defense leads the nation in scoring defense. Kyle Shurmur is the leading quarterback in passing efficiency in our league. They do a great job in terms of their coaching and how they attack people and how they play on offense and defense. They’re very sound and very well coached in all areas. They’re very balanced in terms of run and pass. They’ve got three receivers that all pretty much share in how they spread the ball around. This is a very good overall team and they’re probably a team that deserves to be in the top 25.”
Listen to everything Saban had to say on Monday by watching the video at the top of the page.