Nick Saban defines an explosive play as either a run of 12 or more yards, or a pass of 16 or more yards. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels hit Alabama for five of those while leading the Tigers to a 32-31 overtime win last season.
Best believe Saban remembers.
"Well he killed us last year,” Saban said when asked about Daniels’ improvements Monday. “So the guy was a really, really good player last year, he's a really, really good player now. I think overall they execute their offense to perfection and it starts with him because he makes the right reads relative to runs and passes and zone option plays and pass-down plays.
“He's very good at reading coverages, makes really quick decisions. All those things were evident last year by the way he played and I think he's probably even better now because he has even more experience and knowledge in the offense and they've got really good players around him.”
Daniels has been even more explosive for LSU this year, completing 49 passes of 20 or more yards while breaking 21 designed runs of 10 or more yards.
To help get a better look at how dangerous Daniels can be and what Alabama must do better to contain him, here’s a look at all five of his explosive plays against the Crimson Tide last season.