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In the afterglow of Alabama’s 35-28 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, Patrick Surtain II drifted back to one of the more trying moments of his freshman year.
“This all started in summer workouts,” he said. “That’s what it led up to, big games like this.”
Alabama’s boot-camp-style preseason isn’t exactly the first thing you’d imagine to be on a player’s mind following the biggest game of his life. However, it’s where Surtain’s dream season began.
The former five-star recruit joined Alabama this summer as the No. 1 cornerback in the 2018 class. Surtain, the son of former NFL Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain Sr., was expected to pick up Alabama’s defense quicker than most. After all, the freshman played under his father in high school and was already accustomed to barking out checks and coverages in a defense modeled after several Division I schemes.
Still, mastering Nick Saban’s pattern-matching defense in a matter of months is no easy task. Even the older Surtain joked that Saban’s defense caused his head to spin a bit during his brief time with the head coach while with the Miami Dolphins. Undeterred, the younger Surtain immersed himself in his new playbook, mentally preparing himself for every nuance and adjustment his head coach could throw his way.
“There were some jitters at first, but as the season went on I knew what I had to do,” Surtain said. “I knew what I had to prepare for, and when I got in the game, I got more comfortable.”
