Nick Saban has telling comment about his Alabama team

Nick Saban’s standards are high every year at Alabama, but what he said Wednesday may give SEC rivals a bit more reason to worry.

Saban told “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” Wednesday that his team’s 2021 campaign, which made it to the College Football Playoff final, qualified as a “rebuilding year” for the program.

“Last year, we had kind of a rebuilding year, so we should have nine starters back on offense and nine back on defense but six guys go out early for the draft, so now we have five back on offense and seven back on defense, so that in and of itself creates a few more question marks but also creates opportunity for other players to shine in the program and contribute in a positive way,” Saban said, via Brad Crawford of 247 Sports. “Nobody knows for sure how all this stuff’s going to sort of come to fruition, but that’s part of the excitement and challenge we have to try and develop a team.”

Alabama’s “rebuilding year” had them close to a championship, so it is safe to say Saban is expecting more this year. Part of that is probably full buy-in from some players who may be needed in big moments. That, in Saban’s mind, cost them last season.

Still, Alabama’s “rebuilding year” saw them go 13-2. That standard is one reason why Saban is so accomplished.