TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama will begin its fall camp on Thursday as it prepares for its Sept. 3 opener against Utah State. A month before the Crimson Tide takes the field against the Aggies, Nick Saban and Alabama players gathered inside Bryant-Denny Stadium to take part in the Nick’s Kids Foundation luncheon on Wednesday.
Before the event, Saban met with the media, briefly discussing a variety of topics including the recent health news concerning Alabama broadcaster Eli Gold as well as the Crimson Tide’s current leadership heading into the season. Here’s a transcript of what Saban had to say at the event.
Intro
“This is always one of my favorite days of the year to have the opportunity to see that Nick’s Kids is creating some opportunities for young kids to maybe have a little better quality of life. To thank all the people who actually help the kids have a better quality of life and actually thank Miss Terry and her volunteers for doing all they do to create the opportunities. This is a special day for me.
“I think it’s an indication to me to have our players here to see this, to have compassion for other people, to give back to the community. To see our players, whether it’s Mac Jones or Tua or whatever, now have foundations that try to create the same opportunities, I think that’s something that makes me really proud as well.
“It’s a great day for us. We were building houses for national championships, now we’re building them for SEC championships. I don’t have any control over that part though.”
On Eli Gold stepping aside from his role as Alabama’s play-by-play broadcaster due to health reasons
"Eli has done a fantastic job of being the voice of our iconic brand at the University of Alabama for a long, long time. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and we certainly hope that he has a speedy recovery. He’s a good friend. He's been a great ambassador for the University of Alabama, and we appreciate all he's done, more than you know."
On how events like this teach players the importance of giving back
“I think it’s really important. In sports, we’ve always been in a position to have an impact, and this is just another opportunity for us — whatever you want to call us, sports figures, players — to be able to do something of significance in the community to support the people who support us. I was never more proud of our teams whenever we had the (April 27, 2011) tornado here and our team got the Disney Spirit Award for all that our players did to help people in the community who support us. I think there’s a special thank you for that, not only in words but also in actions.”
On leadership on the team
“I think leadership is always really important on every team. I think we do have some good leaders on this team, but there are two parts of leadership. There’s having good leaders, and there’s having people on the team who embrace the leadership and buy into the principles and values and things that are going to help them be successful as individuals which really ultimately helps them be successful as a team.
I’ve been pleased with what we’ve been able to do, but the challenge is always being able to sustain against great competition. We’ll certainly have that throughout this year.”
On if he’s tried the new oatmeal creampie ice cream flavor from Blue Bell?
“I’ve got to be honest, one of the players, Josh McMillon, brought me a gallon and I put it into the refrigerator, but I’ve been trying to be good getting ready for camp. So I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure after a couple of these hot days I’ll welcome some of it.”
