Chad Morris
– "Sorry I was a little bit late getting in here. Had to take an important phone call, a good call."
– Three straight games we haven't scored in the first quarter and we've taken a heavy punch. That's been an issue and something we'll address. We are making progress, but it's not enough at this point.
– Defense held one of the top offenses in the country to well below its average. The unit has made significant strides. I've never been a part of something like Dre Greenlaw and Scoota Harris had on Saturday. Santos Ramirez also played his best game of the season. "He is elite in everything he does." Last week was his best week of practice. Morris also lauded third down defense.
– Armon Watts has put his time in and it's his turn now. He's been very productive. He has a team-high four sacks this season. We're doing some good things. This is the most consistent unit we have, and we'll continue to lean on it.
– Drastic improvements on special teams outside of the opening kickoff being run back for a score. But it was the difference in the ballgame, Morris said. One player voided the wrong side and it was a domino effect and created a seam for the return man. Reid Bauer had a strong performance.
– Saw improvement as the game went on. Ty Storey became more comfortable and settled as the game went on. C.J. O'Grady provided a much-needed spark. We all know he's so talented, but it' the little things. He focused on that last week and it paid off in the game. Mike Woods got his first start and he's continuing to get better.
– Ineffective run game caused a series of issues. Greenlaw created two turnovers and we got nothing out of it. Arkansas ran six plays for six yards in the two series following Greenlaw's interceptions. Arkansas had seven instances in which it faced third and seven-plus. Of twenty-two first down plays, 16 of 22 plays put the offense in second and long to extra long situations.
– Jeremy Patton will be out this week against Alabama, and Devwah Whaley is day-to-day, Morris said.
– Jarques McClellion and Buster Brown are improving at corner. When playing young guys, you always look at how they move forward when things don't go well.
– There's not a lot of deficiencies in Alabama's offense. Tua Tagovailoa is calm and not doing anything more than what is asked of him.
– Chevin Calloway is still on the team. Nothing new to report on him, Morris said. He also expects Kevin Richardson to continue coming on an grow into a big part of the defense.
– It's a big football game for us this weekend no matter who is coming in here. Every coach and player has to get better. If we follow that path, things will get better.
– Alabama has had several defensive touchdowns this season. There's not a lot of deficiencies. They're sound, well-coaches, and it's on kick return, kick coverage. We have to continue to get better and look at what caused some of our mistakes.
John Chavis
– Our kids are giving us everything they've got. It's a great group of young men and I'm thrilled to hit the field with them every day. They've got a lot of fight and they have a lot of character.
– It was an unusual game with the way it started. At the end of the game, the next to last drive, we gave them some things. We had six penalties. We've been good in that area. Three penalties were pre-snap, and two were hands to the face, and it gives them some momentum.
– On Harris and Greenlaw: I've been around some good players and good linebackers. I don't think there's any question it was the best I've seen. Neither played a perfect game, but productivity-wise it was a great game.
– Nick Saban is where he's at because he's a great coach. Offensively, he's doing some things that is very tough to defend, and I think that helps his defense. There's no question who's running that program. He has his fingerprints on every aspect of the team.
– Tua is a special guy, and they have two great quarterbacks. Two years ago Jalen Hurts was on the Heisman ballot. Tua can beat you throwing the ball, running the ball and a lot of different ways. Seven to 10 years ago Alabama was a dropback and play-action team.
– We want to do whatever we have to do to move this program forward. It's easier to install a defense and get it moving than it is an offense. We need to have more takeaways. I take my hat off to Ty Storey. He's going to get better. We're a family, and we have to stay together. In a storm, you better be there for each other.
– On defensive numbers improving in SEC play from first 3 weeks: For one, we're continuing to grow fundamentally. Secondly, we've gotten a couple of players back that didn't play early in the season (Greenlaw, Randy Ramsey) and that's certainly helped the defense improve.
Joe Craddock
– We didn't start very fast like we wanted to. That was an emphasis last week. We got a spark from O'Grady and got into a little bit of a rhythm. As bad as we played in the beginning, we were there. We had a two-point play ready and it would have worked because of some things we saw on film.
– O'Grady has turned a corner, like several players said on Saturday. He has to be more consistent and be a mature guy. His play was a direct reflection of his week. He did everything last week and on the positive report in study hall. It all correlates on the field. I'm not ready to put him on the pedestal just yet, but he's a guy we've got an arm around.
– On Ty Clary: He's been working on his snaps. He's had some days where he's been off. Saturday wasn't very good. Craddock and Clary worked 40 snaps together before practice yesterday with Craddock standing over the top of him applying some pressure.
– Alabama is a "do what they do defense." Saban is involved on what they do there, and we've watched some games in which teams have had success against that defense and picked and chosen some things to work with. The main message this week, as it is every week, is we're going to focus on ourselves.
– I think we saw Ty more comfortable in the pocket. He didn't run as much as he did at Auburn. He made a couple plays with his feet, but he's getting better and more confident every week.
– Mike Woods carries himself like a junior. He's had some trials since he's been here, but we knew what we were getting with him from when we started recruiting him. He's going to go against the best corners each week. Woods caught his first career touchdown pass in the fourth quarter on Saturday.