The funny, interesting things Alabama players said this week – AL.com

It was a busier-than-expected week in the Alabama football orbit after the Monday kickoff time drama.

With Alabama’s first SEC game coming Saturday at South Carolina, there was a lot to say for the Crimson Tide players. Not all of it fit into our stories on AL.com so we collected the scraps from the cutting room floor to give you the best of the rest.

A few interesting or funny things Alabama players said this week:

— Back before the Duke game, Tua Tagovailoa joked about his role as Alabama’s holder on kicking plays. We asked for an update after two games. “Yeah I think there’s things that can be improved on, you know with the whole holding aspect of everything,” Tagovailoa said. “I didn’t know there was an award for holding, so that’s pretty cool. I’ll try to work my way up to get my name out there for the holder award. But it’s pretty cool. (Long snapper) Thomas Fletcher talked to me about there being an award for that so I’m working my butt off, trying to get it.”

— What about Mac Jones getting some time holding in the New Mexico State game? “I think since we were out, Coach (Saban) just wanted the other guys to get some time,” he added. “So, whatever the team needs, just go with it guys.”

— Tagovailoa had a detailed answer ready when asked about how this team stays grounded mentally. He quickly referenced the Cleveland Browns’ surprising loss to the Tennessee Titans after all the preseason hype. “The Browns, look at all the guys they have, and no one’s really been talking about the Titans as much,” Tagovailoa said. “Then after what happened yesterday, it really doesn’t matter about the guys you have on a team, it really matters about how you guys come together, how you guys play as a team. An individual is not going to win a game for you guys, an individual’s not going to win an award for you guys. It’s the success of a team that’s going to bring all this attention to every individual that’s playing for that team.”

— Safety Xavier McKinney had a brace on his thumb and wore a cast during the game but the junior said it isn’t impacting the way he plays back there. “It’s good,” he said. “It’s just a little bruised up.”

— Jerry Jeudy is among the national receiving leaders after two weeks and he’s all about getting those touches. “I feel like every receiver should want the ball,” he said. “We’re receivers, so that’s what we do, we make plays and catch the ball. That being said we can’t control that. I just have to try to do my job and make plays.”

— Passing childhood friend Calvin Ridley on the Alabama receiving touchdowns list meant something special to Jeudy. “Calvin, for a long time, knowing how many plays he made here, made a lot of plays here, how big a contributor he was here,” Jeudy said. “Being able to surpass him is an amazing feeling, being one of the great receivers who came through Alabama.”

There was one play Jeudy left on the field in the New Mexico State win, though it didn’t make a big impact. “I kind of missed one block,” he said. “When (Henry) Ruggs scored I missed, too much upfield. Other than that I thought I blocked pretty good. I think I became a better blocker this year.” He was referring to the game-opening 75-yard touchdown run by Ruggs.

— Linebacker Terrell Lewis isn’t worried about lower sack numbers in the first two games. The pass rush is still strong. “I think we’ve been doing a really good job with that, just as far as making sure he feels our presence and stuff like that, whether it’s getting a sack, getting a hit on him, getting pressure that kind of affects his throw, or even just making him say cancel the play and throw the ball away,” Lewis said. “So I think we’ve been doing a really good job of just making our presence felt in the pass rush.”

— Alabama is heading to Columbia on Saturday for the first true road game of the season. Lewis likes those visits inside hostile territory. “Yeah, I love road games,” Lewis said. “Just the fact that the crowd is always hype and then you can sense the energy change as you keep beating them. They’re loud, loud, loud and then you start to see people get quiet and you start to see people leave. It’s fun, because you know you dominated your opponent.”

— Lewis on the impact of pre-snap movements and stunts on the defensive line: “I feel like it kind of affects, like pre-snap, how they plan on blocking it and seeing a totally different thing, like a totally different look by the time they snap the ball,” he said. “They basically have to scramble and figure things out on the fly, like how are we gonna block this pressure?”

— Cornerback Patrick Surtain explained what he saw on the interception he recorded against NMSU. “It was basically; we played cover six defense. The outside receiver ran an in route and made an under cut. The number three receiver ran a corner route and I just reacted to it and came down with the ball.”

— Surtain’s internal dialogue when he sees an interceptable ball in the air: “In my head, I’m saying, ‘That ball is mine and the receiver isn’t going to take it from me,’” he said. “Because I know that’s a big play in the game that can change the game, so I just have to make a play on the ball.”

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

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