The 2022 Alabama Crimson Tide was loaded with talent, and, according to Nick Saban, anxiety.
During the “College GameDay,” the former Alabama football coach revealed that year’s squad – led by Bryce Young and Will Anderson – was scared of making mistakes. Saban shared the story when talking about teams playing to their competition.
“How do you have a consistent mindset on your team?” he asked. “I talked yesterday a little bit about relief syndrome. You have a big win. Everybody is relieved. It creates a little complacency. You don’t prepare the right way.
“Complacency creates a blatant disregard for doing what’s right. On the other hand, you have these teams that have these tremendous expectations, which our 2022 team with Bryce Young and Will Anderson, (had) great expectations.”
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The Tide that year had its win streak at Neyland Stadium snapped, losing 52-49, before falling at LSU 32-31 in overtime. Alabama finished 11-2 with a Sugar Bowl win, but it also missed the College Football Playoffs.
“They were so anxious that there preparation did not always equate to a good performance in the game,” Saban said. “They worked hard. They had the right focus, but they had so much anxiety about being afraid about making a mistake and not doing the right thing that I think it affected their performance.
“So, I felt like I did a poor job of maintaining that balance, because you have to go out there and let it loose and play, compete and have fun.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
