Why Bryce Young went to “clapping school” + why Nick Saban thinks it could help Auburn
Reading time: 5 minutes
Nick Saban was in Birmingham on Monday to speak to the Monday Morning Quarterback Club and while he touched on Alabama football, he also had some unique advice for Auburn on how to handle the noise on the road in the SEC.
In his more joking tone that he has used with media since retiring, Saban talked about trying to get former Tide quarterback Bryce Young to clap louder when running the offense.
“You can try to go on the clap or a cadence. If you can’t clap loud enough, they can’t hear you. If the cadence isn’t loud enough, they can’t hear you. We had a clapping school for Bryce Young… when we played on the road we couldn’t use the clap, so we had to work on clapping. Maybe that’s the solution.”
Nick Saban at the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club
Saban’s explanation was specifically in response to Auburn’s offensive line + quarterback struggles in its last two losses at Oklahoma and at Texas A&M. The Tigers gave up 16 sacks in two games including game-clinching tackles in the backfield by the hosts in each game.
But Saban also said it should not be all doom-and-gloom for Auburn as he still believes Hugh Freeze is the right man for the job.
“Even for Auburn fans, I would say your team has been impressive. I know you lost two really close games to two top 10 teams on the road. I think Hugh Freeze is doing a great job and if you continue to support him, his team is going to come around.”
Nick Saban
Keep reading to find out what else Saban spoke about during his short time with the media Monday morning + learn more about getting involved with the Monday Morning Quarterback Club.
‘Great resiliency’
Saban spent most of his time focused on Alabama’s win over Georgia and the Tide’s upcoming game against Vanderbilt.
During last week’s College Gameday show, Saban was the only analyst to pick the Crimson Tide to beat the Bulldogs. And he was right.
“I’m not around the team much but I get a pretty good feel about what’s going on from people in the organization. I thought the way they responded in the two games before, they were going to play well… I just think you’re going to see this in college football more and more. It’s going to be more difficult based on the system that we have that players will play with consistency like we’re used to seeing in the past. It’s just different.”
Nick Saban
Saban once again praised Kalen DeBoer and his staff for the response since the season opening loss to Florida State. He credited the coaching for how Alabama responded once Georgia started to fight back Saturday night.
“I liked the mentality of the team. They showed great resiliency. Stay focused, overcome adversity, play for 60 minutes which in the first game, they looked great early then kind of unraveled. I think that comes from maturity.”
Nick Saban
As for what comes next, Alabama has to play three more ranked teams in the next three weeks. It starts with a visit from No. 16 Vanderbilt, which is a big enough matchup to bring Saban + his College Gameday crew back to Tuscaloosa.
The Commodores are undefeated this year and just took down then-No. 1 Alabama last season so Tide fans are hoping for a little revenge this time around.
While Saban didn’t give away what his pick would be Saturday morning, he says this Vanderbilt team may be even better than the one that beat Alabama last season.
“I haven’t watched Vanderbilt yet but I have watched them on TV. I think these guys are a really good football team. Clark Lea has done a fabulous job there, obviously Diego is a really good quarterback… this is actually a little better team in my opinion, just watching them, I’m talking about all the way around defensively and all that, than what they had a year ago.”
Nick Saban
That game is scheduled to kick off at Bryant-Denny Stadium at 2:30PM Saturday on ABC.
Monday Morning Quarterback Club
The Birmingham chapter of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club is celebrating its 87th season this year. The organization welcomes coaches from around the state and other nationally-recognized college football figures to speak each week but it’s about more than just a weekly luncheon.
Kalen DeBoer visited earlier this year with Hugh Freeze on the schedule for Auburn’s second bye week later in the season.
“This is always a thing we look forward to. Monday Morning Quarterback Club means a lot to the community, especially for our children and Children’s Hospital. It’s very much in alignment with Nick’s Kids and what we try to do in our community to help young people.”
Nick Saban
There are currently 764 members in the chapter which was started in 1939. They’ve raised more than $40 million for different charities + organizations that support children around the Birmingham community.
In 2020, the charitable arm of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club was renamed Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation to be more inclusive and reflect the broader scope of giving.
Want updates like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter today.
