Nick Saban: 'All but one' Alabama player is vaccinated against COVID-19

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said last month that "pretty close to 90%" of his players were vaccinated against COVID-19 even though he wasn't forcing the athletes to receive any of the available safe shots to participate in the upcoming season. 

Saban offered an update on the situation when speaking with ESPN’s Mark Schlabach for a piece that ran Wednesday. 

"All but one of our guys has been vaccinated, but it could still be an issue," Saban explained. "They say if 90% [of your team] is vaccinated, you're OK, but who knows? At least if you're vaccinated you don't have to quarantine guys." 

While Saban added he'd love to play home games inside a fully-filled Bryant-Denny Stadium all fall, he admitted he doesn't know if that's possible.

"Somebody else has got to make that decision," Saban said. "Do you just let vaccinated people in? Do you say everybody can come to the game at their own risk? I don't know what they'll decide based on all of that. I'd love to be able to get back to normal, but somebody has to make a decision about what's really safe."

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby are among college football leaders who have said teams in those conferences could be made to forfeit if they can't field squads in any week this season because of coronavirus-related issues or other setbacks. That's one reason Saban publicly campaigned for players to get vaccinated back in July. 

"Players have to understand that you are putting your teammates in a circumstance and situation," he commented at that time. "We can control what you do in our building. We cannot control what you do on campus and when you go around town, who you’re around, who you’re associated with, and what you bring into our building."