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Jumbo Package: Friday, 23 September 2016

Crimson Tide news and notes.

By Josh Chatham

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Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Friday, everyone. Alabama gets a much-needed breather this week, which will allow some rest for banged up veterans and some game reps for the younger players on the roster. The game time temperature is scheduled to be over ninety degrees, so expect a slow, ugly affair as both coaches just try to get the game over with healthy players.

One of the most common questions recently surrounds the status of Tony Brown. Lucky for us, we have Cecil:

Since there was significant speculation that the NCAA would reduce Brown's suspension from six games to four, one has to assume that the suspension involved a positive drug test prior to the CFP, which results in a mandatory six game suspension, and that the reduction is credit for time served since Brown was sent home for the playoffs. If this is the case, then Brown will be available for Kentucky, which should afford him an opportunity to get his game legs before the critical three-game stretch that starts the following week in Fayetteville.

Kent State coach recalls meeting Nick Saban, playing 'machine' at Alabama | AL.com

"It's a machine," Haynes said. "They do what they do. They don't have a lot of weaknesses and if you try to pick one out, you sit there and you watch it again, and it's not a weakness. They're the defending national champs for a reason. They're No. 1 in the country for a reason. Like I said, when you have the culture of winning, it's a machine. And it keeps flowing and flowing and flowing. When you have guys that come into that culture and you want to be average, you get exposed. A lot. There's no weakness in it."

Kent State insider previews matchup vs. Alabama

Q: For those who have never been, try to give us a sense of how Alabama coach Nick Saban is remembered at Kent State and how/if he's still talked about in that area.

Miller: Saban's got his own sandwich at a local grilled cheese place! Twisted Meltz has a menu with items named after noteworthy former KSU figures like Antonio Gates, Drew Carey, Joe Walsh, Lou Holtz, etc. Saban's sandwich is made of angus beef, ghost pepper cheese, jalapenos, onion straws, tomato and spicy aioli. Oh, and you can add bacon for $1.49.

This fellow has no idea what he just did for the local economy in Kent, OH. Look for all kinds of selfies with this sandwich from hard-core gumps in the near future.

The time Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was passed over by Kent State

It was late in 1987, and Crum had just been forced to resign at North Carolina after 10 seasons as head coach. The Kent State job had opened, and the athletic director and administration liked Crum's experience. In the fertile recruiting ground of Ohio, Crum thought of it as a "sleeping giant." The two agreed on a deal a couple of months later, and on Jan. 20, 1988, Crum was announced as the Golden Flashes' new head coach.

The runner-up: a 36-year-old Saban, fresh off a Rose Bowl win as defensive coordinator at Michigan State.

They could have had Nick Saban, and they chose a man named Dick Crum.

Rewinding Nick Saban's thoughts on Alabama's upcoming game and more | AL.com

— Saban said Calvin Ridley's touchdown against Ole Miss wasn't supposed to be a direct snap. He was supposed to get the ball from the quarterback on a jet sweep, but the timing was off.

— Saban praised both young quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Blake Barnett. Said both are doing a good job.

— Saban said Ms. Terry joked with him earlier this week that he better not have any of his old girlfriends from Kent State coming to the game Saturday.

Well, Saban ended that debate. Ridley wasn't supposed to get the snap.

As far as Miss Terry's comment, there was a message in the joking. Married men understand this:

"Hey now, there better not be any of your old girlfriends at the game," she says smiling.

He starts to chuckle, and soon they are laughing together before she stops abruptly with a stern look.

"I mean it, Nick."

"Yes, Dear."

Florida State's Jimbo Fisher talks Alabama's Nick Saban, being linked to LSU job last year | AL.com

"When's it fun? When you win. Winning's hard work," Fisher said. "I think he does. In any business, ... when you're young, establishing yourself, you know there's a ton of people who'd love to be in your situation. You have to grind to get to that. Maybe as you get older, you start to sit back, you're able to compartmentalize certain parts of the year and enjoy it. ... But understand you have to grind, too.

"That's one of the keys to Nick's success. He is enjoying, but he's able to not rely — I call it the relief syndrome of human nature. 'I've done it, so I'll relax and it's OK.' He doesn't have that. And he's able to compartmentalize relief with coming back and it's time to go to work."

When Nick Saban talks, the words often belong to this man

His name is Dr. Kevin Elko. He's a doting father and husband, a gifted orator, one that will leave you hanging on his every word. A real life-changer. He is literally the man behind the man.

While he has 20 national championships underneath his belt, he is not a coach, he's a performance consultant. He flies around the world speaking to fortune 500 companies, NFL and college teams - sometimes giving three talks in a day.

It is his work with athletes and coaches you see, hear, and read in press conferences and post-game interviews. You probably never knew that until now.

"Get stuff done (or GSD)"
"Be where your feet are"
"I'm not looking for a miracle, I want to be a miracle (to someone)"
"I walk by faith, not by sight"
"I owe you"
These are, but a few of the phrases he has used over the years.

And he's been with Nick Saban since 2001.

Love Keeps Saban And Bama Title Hopes Together

"I said, ‘If you guys really loved each other, you're going to be able to overcome whatever we have to.' I never dreamed it would be like it was, but it turned out to be a pretty timely message, and the players responded to it."

Suffice to say, if Nick Saban had written the lyrics for Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" they would have been about teamwork and winning.

The Process goes deeper than we might have imagined.

Nick Saban goes deeper than we might have imagined.

Sneer at that if you like, but you can't really argue against it.

We have definitely seen the softer side of Nick this season. Perspectives change as we age, and Nick is aging much faster then Alabama fans would prefer.

8 potential programs where Alabama assistant Lane Kiffin could be head coach

As speculation rages behind the scenes about what jobs will open up in the coming weeks, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin remains a divisive potential candidate. There’s no doubt he has earned another opportunity based on his rehabilitation tour under Nick Saban, but some athletics directors will question whether he completely has his act together after the flameout at USC. If Kiffin can assuage those concerns, he’ll get a job. But what does Kiffin’s perfect landing spot look like?

Spoiler: most of them are on the west coast, near his children who he clearly adores. This only makes sense.

Oregon Ducks troll Florida's Quincy Wilson after he guarantees win over Tennessee with video | AL.com

The Vols haven't beaten the Gators since 2004.  As the SEC Network pointed out in a tweet, that was a long time ago. "Tim Tebow was a junior in high school," read the tweet. "Josh Dobbs was in 4th grade."

Florida DB Quincy Wilson told reporters, "Nobody has ever seen a duck pull a truck. Florida Gators are going to win, simple as that."

He may never become one of the great philosophers of our time, but at least this funny clip was inspired:

Good stuff.

Oh, and for those who thought we were too mean to Butch Jones for praising his team after barely escaping Appalachian State, we have this gem from the defensive coordinator:

Aaron Suttles had the proper response to this:

"What?" indeed.

The adversity of facing the Ohio Bobcats became one of the greatest wins in his life. Good for you, Bob. Looking forward to seeing you in about a month.

That's about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.

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