“That’s what we wanted to do”: Nick Saban reveals his plan to bring back power football to Alabama

There was a lot of talk about Nick Saban switching back to the old-school power football approach during the offseason as a result of Alabama's quarterback situation. The program has found it hard to replace Bryce Young after a seamless succession at the position since 2016.

The coach was on the latest episode of The Pat McAfee Show in Tuscaloosa on Friday. There, he announced that he would be making weekly appearances on the sports talk show throughout the season. McAfee was quick to bring in the discussion on Alabama's offensive approach for the season.

Nick Saban believes the college football landscape is already making a transition to the power football approach and many teams are adapting to the spread. He made it known that this is what the Crimson Tide is trying to do and he hopes it is accomplished successfully.

"There are still some great features that the spread gives you offensively: RPOs, spreading the field, advantage throws. But I think more people are getting back to running the football, and that’s what we wanted to do and have more balance in our offense this year and hopefully we’ll be able to do that.”

Jalen Milroe will play a crucial role in Nick Saban's transition

Jalen Milroe got the nod for the starting role at quarterback in Alabama's season opener against Middle Tennessee. In a terrific performance, the signal-caller recorded three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Saban acknowledges his notable improvement.

"He's made a lot of progress as a player and what he's done is that he has learned to process better, make better choices and decisions. So it minimizes his bad plays,” Saban said.

Nick Saban described Milroe as a genuine dual-threat quarterback, highlighting his exceptional speed, and described him as having a superb ability for making big plays. The coach believes he has the ability to become a big concern for opposing defenses with his moves.

“He’s always had a tremendous capacity to make big plays, explosive plays. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team. So when he pulls it down and takes off, it makes a difference and it creates problems for the defense.”

The game against Middle Tennessee already showcased Nick Saban's intent in the offensive scheme. The Crimson Tide produced 205 rushing yards in the game and will be working towards keeping that up against more aggressive defenses.

This season will see Alabama transition toward power football and we hope to see how they accomplish that.