Alabama Coach Nick Saban Compares Huskies' Defense to Seattle Seahawks
ATLANTA -- Alabama coach Nick Saban has seen his fare share of quality defenses in both the National Football League and the Southeastern Conference over the past seven years. But the Crimson Tide mastermind went above and beyond to compare the Washington Huskies' defense to one NFL unit.
"I think the scheme that they play, they don’t make a lot of mistakes," Saban said during a press conference Monday in preparation for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31. "They’re sort of a little bit Seattle Seahawk-like in the fact that we’re gonna do what we do and we’re gonna do it really well. They do a great job of executing the things that they play. They do a great job of breaking on the ball.”
Not to be outdone, UW coach Chris Petersen retorted his next opponent by putting the focus back on Alabama.
"I don’t know about that comparison," Petersen said of Saban's comments. "I think our secondary played well. I think we’ve got some good players back there that compete and really understand the position. Our whole defense will be tested like we haven’t been tested yet because of the balance that Alabama brings to the table.”
Washington comes into its matchup with Alabama T-7th in scoring defense allowing 17.2 points per game, just 5.4 more points than the top-ranked Crimson Tide defense. The Huskies have emphasized length and athleticism outside with Sidney Jones, a 6-foot-1, and Kevin King, a 6-foot-4 pair of cornerbacks that have combined for six of the 19 interceptions recorded this season.
King is guaranteed to depart following the Huskies bowl season having used up all four years of eligibility. Jones, on the other hand, is one of a handful of potential early declares for the Huskies this season along with safety Budda Baker and others in the UW front seven.
Neither Jones or Baker have announced their intentions to either return for their senior season in 2017 or declare for next years NFL Draft. The deadline for underclassmen to declare is Jan. 16.