Championship week is officially underway.
It got off to a rip-roaring start on Tuesday night when Nick Saban's daughter shared what she really thinks about Ohio State. And it continued on Wednesday as Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and offensive players such as receiver and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and running back Najee Harris each took to the podium to discuss the upcoming national championship game.
Here's a look at some of the highlights from the afternoon as we sit five days from their showdown in Miami:
“The best defense we've played this year”
Ohio State fans who watched Michael Penix Jr. carve up the Buckeyes' defense for five touchdowns and nearly 500 yards may not agree with the sentiment that a few Alabama players shared today.
Ohio State fans who watched Jonathon Cooper, Tyreke Smith, Haskell Garrett and Tommy Togiai pressure Trevor Lawrence all night in the Sugar Bowl may agree with the sentiment that a few Alabama players shared today.
The Buckeyes' defense has been up and down throughout a wacky season, but it's put together its best overall two-game run in December and January, saving its best for the Big Ten Championship Game and in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
In order to give a better gauge of the pure talent Ohio State has on its roster, we often refer to either the 247Sports Team Talent Composite that has it ranked as the third-most talented team in the country, or recruiting rankings that see the Buckeyes perennially bringing in a top-five class.
Despite Ohio State deploying what Jones implied was a simple strategy on defense, that talent across the board is why Jones and the Tide believe Kerry Coombs' unit will provide a test of the stiff variety on Monday night.
“Overall, they have great players,” Jones said. “Not a super complicated scheme, and they don't have to be that way because they have great players, but it's mostly four-down fronts. I've been impressed watching them on film, very vertical in terms of the D-line getting back there at the quarterback, and then obviously all 11 players rallying to the ball.
“They do a good job, and we've got to be ready to roll and it's going to be the best defense we've played all year.”
Having watched Ohio State's back seven on film this week, Alabama tight end Miller Forristall agrees that the first thing that jumps out is that “man, they're a really good football team.”
“They are disciplined,” Forristall added. “They do what they're supposed to do. Not only that, they're super athletic, as well. So they pose a really good match-up problem for us to look at, and to kind of go across the board and make sure we have a really good game plan going into this game.”
The Tide's starting left tackle Alex Leatherwood also believes the Buckeyes' front seven poses a matchup problem with its strength, physicality, stout interior line, "really good edge rushers" and linebackers who are “super athletic, can go sideline to sideline.”
That's why this Tide offensive line, probably their best position group, is excited for the challenge.
“It goes way through the roof. Like, not saying we aren't excited for any game or any opponent we're playing, but we're just competitors,” Leatherwood said. “We love to compete, and we're going to step up to the challenge and we're going to see if they want to play football.”
Will Waddle play?
Is Smith even Alabama’s best wide receiver? You wouldn’t have had to look too hard to find people who thought he might not have that title a few months ago. Yet on Tuesday night, he won the well-deserved Heisman Trophy after a 105-catch, 1,641-yard, 20-touchdown season during which he helped propel the explosiveness of the Crimson Tide’s offense to never-before-seen heights.
Earlier that same day, the guy some viewed as the top wideout on Alabama’s roster – 5-foot-10, 182-pound junior Jaylen Waddle – returned to practice.
Waddle, a fellow possible top-10 overall draft pick in a few months, hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury on the opening kickoff of the Oct. 24 win against Tennessee. At the time, especially given his NFL stock, many viewed it as something that would end his season and thus his collegiate career. Instead, he remained determined to get this Crimson Tide team to the finish line. So he has put himself in the position to potentially play in the national championship game.
Will he play on Monday? Will he sit out? The Athletic’s Aaron Suttles reported he’s cleared and it’ll be up to Waddle to decide whether or not he’s comfortable playing. His teammates and coaches, though, are being coy, as expected. Smith, asked directly whether he thinks Waddle will play, said, “No comment.” Quarterback Mac Jones said he didn’t think he could “answer that question properly,” pointing to Nick Saban and the training staff as the decision-makers.
“He was back out at practice yesterday,” Sarkasian said. “We'll see where it goes from here. Clearly we've got about a week or so until the game, so probably a better question for Coach Saban, but yes, he was back at practice yesterday.”
Smith added: “It's amazing just to see him recover. I'm glad that he's recovering well and that everything is just going as planned.”
If he is able to give it a go in the national title game, Waddle would add further speed and big-play ability to an Alabama offense that is already nothing less than a juggernaut. He caught at least five passes for a minimum of 120 yards in each of Alabama's first four games of the season, scoring four touchdowns before the injury put him on crutches. His punt returning ability that landed him All-American status a year ago shouldn’t go overlooked either. He’d immediately become the most dangerous returner Ohio State has faced this season, also bolstering what will be the most talented group of receivers the Buckeyes go up against whether he plays or not.
“It would be really cool,” Jones said. “Jaylen has worked really hard to get back on the field and I know he wants nothing more than to play, but I think they're just going to make that decision downstairs. But it's his choice, and I feel like in watching him, he looks really good out there. So we'll see what happens.”
Bound for Texas, but not yet
Alabama has been in this exact spot before. Coordinators, just like Sarkisian, have taken head coaching jobs ahead of the national championship and stuck around to win it all. Heck, the last time the Crimson Tide won both College Football Playoff games, it did so with Jeremy Pruitt running the defense after accepting a job as Tennessee’s head coach.
So, to act like it’s foreign territory for Alabama with Sarkisian, who recently was named Texas’ next head coach, wouldn’t be correct. Yet, because of the duties required in a position like the one Sarkisian took, it’s undeniably an obstacle to overcome.
“I would say just I know the questions will come,” Sarkisian said. “Clearly I'm excited about the opportunity at Texas. It's a tremendous one for me. Looking forward to getting started there. But the commitment I made to Coach Saban two years ago is the same commitment I've made to these players, and that's focusing on this game, giving this game the attention that it deserves so our players have an opportunity to go out and play to the best of their abilities. That's what we've always preached here is to put our players in the best position to be successful on the field and off the field, and this week has been no different.”
Sarkisian has held the position of Saban’s offensive coordinator ever since Jan. 2, 2017, when he was promoted to the position once Lane Kiffin left for Florida Atlantic. That was the increasingly rare example of a coordinator leaving for another job and not coaching in the College Football Playoff.
“Quite honestly, my week for me would be a normal game week as if I hadn't taken the Texas job,” Sarkisian said. “My focus is on the game. I'm prepping for the ballgame. Any of the spare time that I do have, that's getting my attention for the job at Texas, whether that's staffing or recruiting, things of that nature. But I would say my week has been as normal as it could be, and has been, of game planning and prepping for the ballgame.”
Mac Jones knows Shaun Wade well
When he faces the Buckeyes' secondary on Monday, Jones will be pitted against a familiar foe in fellow Jacksonville native and former high school 7-on-7 teammate Shaun Wade.
He called Wade "a great guy" with "a great family" who was known for his length and being a "technician" while playing "small in coverage."
Asked about Ohio State's secondary, Mac Jones notes that he played 7-on-7 with Shaun Wade (both are from Jacksonville) and said Sevyn Banks has a cool name.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 6, 2021
The pair were on opposite ends of the recruiting rankings in the 2017 class, Jones coming out of The Bolles School as the No. 399 overall player and No. 18 pro-style quarterback in the country and Wade graduating from Trinity Christian Academy as the No. 17 overall player and No. 2 cornerback.
Despite being ranked that highly and being a top-tier recruit, however, Jones says he remembers Wade being humble about his profile.
“I don't know if I can remember a specific moment, but Shaun, like I said, he comes from a great family and he's a technician, and he's kind of a perfectionist in his own way,” Jones said. “He celebrates when he makes great plays, but he's more of a quiet guy and just kind of does his job. In high school, really humble for being a top recruit, and at the time I wasn't very highly recruited and he always had my back in interviews or anything like that. I really appreciate him and his family, and I'm just really happy for how he's played throughout his career at Ohio State.”
