A&M vs. ALABAMA
Kevin Sumlin goes up against the template for college coaches.
COLLEGE STATION — By the time Kevin Sumlin became a head coach in 2008 at the University of Houston, Nick Saban had been a college head coach for a dozen seasons at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama, and already owned a national title.
Since Sumlin’s tenure that started at UH and shifted to Texas A&M in 2012, Saban has won four more national titles, all with Alabama to go with his prior championship at LSU. Like every other coach in the nation, Sumlin is an astute observer of the Saban Way, with the ideal of one day putting the Aggies on a similar track as the Crimson Tide.
“Time and winning, and winning over time,” Sumlin said this week when asked the keys to Saban’s success.
Then Sumlin got more specific than philosophical concerning the man considered the top college coach of his time — or perhaps any time based on the otherwise parity now prevalent in the game.
“Player development, recruiting, you name it,” Sumlin added. “Nick does a great job of player education, and having guys understand what their third or fourth year is about.”
Meaning Saban has the rare ability to convince typically impatient youngsters their time is coming — when the talented older players in front of them move on to the NFL or general workforce.
“Those young guys are getting meaningful reps during the week, playing as backups and waiting their turn,” Sumlin said. “Their freshmen aren’t all starting — they’re going to wait their turn and play. Alabama has just done a great job of player development and player retention.”
And not just on the player level …
“He’s been able to replace his (assistant) coaches with other talented coaches, to where they haven’t missed a beat,” Sumlin said of Saban’s knack for tabbing quality coordinators and position coaches.
A&M (4-1, 2-0) plays host to top-ranked Alabama (5-0, 2-0) at 6:15 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field on ESPN, the first time the teams have played at night with the Aggies as SEC members (they joined in 2012).
A&M is 48-22 under Sumlin, but has yet to finish in the top two of the SEC West in his five previous seasons. The Crimson Tide, who lost out on a fifth national title under Saban in January on the final play of the championship game against Clemson, have rolled up 125 points in their past two games, haymakers of Vanderbilt and Mississippi.
“This is certainly no time to relax or be satisfied,” Saban said.
He was asked this week how he gets players from around the nation who arrive to Tuscaloosa, Ala., as highly touted and oft-coddled high school superstars, to buy into the team concept over individuality.
“We have an old saying, ‘Out of yourself and into the team,’” Saban responded. “Everybody has individual goals and things they want to accomplish — things they want to do personally — but there’s a fine line between (figuring out), ‘What do I put first … and what do I do that’s best for my team and my teammates.’
“You want to be able to catch passes, but you also have to manage your frustrations, if you’re going to be able to (eventually) catch those passes.”