3-2-1: Saban talks Jones' preparation, Barmore's knee and more
Alabama’s season opener is just two days away as the Crimson Tide continues to put the finishing touches on its preparations for this weekend’s trip to Missouri.
Today we will examine where Alabama stands by providing three things we learned, two questions and one prediction heading into Saturday’s 6 p.m. CT kickoff.
Mac Jones did his homework
If there was an oral exam on Missouri’s defense, Mac Jones would have aced it. When asked earlier this week about the challenges the Tigers present, the Alabama quarterback provided a roughly 200-word breakdown complete with names and number changes.
The evaluation made the rounds on social media as Tide fans marveled over Jones’ knowledge of this week’s opponent. Wednesday, Nick Saban shared in the praise, stating his quarterback’s preparation was an example for the rest of the team.
“I think that’s really what you’d like for players to do in terms of their preparation,” Saban said. “You’ve got to know yourself obviously but you’ve also got to know your opponent. And they have a very good defensive team. I think our players respect that. And they’ve got a lot of starters back from a year ago, so that’s a good thing that we’re well prepared and we understand exactly who’s going to be where.
“I think that’s important for the quarterback. It’s important for the offensive line, especially when it comes to pass protection and point-outs and the running back has to know the same thing. Same thing for the defensive players. They need to know who the wide receivers are that can end up in various places. They need to know who the tight ends are. They need to know who the runners are.”
Saban said Alabama has signal callers’ meetings where players are given specific things to research and report back on to teammates on Friday night. Jones should have no problem passing that assignment. The Tide hopes he does just as well on Saturday’s test against the Tigers in Columbia, Mo.
Barmore’s status still unknown
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