The Crimson Tide lineman was visiting his sister in Texas while the University of Alabama was still on break when he found out Nick Saban was the new Alabama football coach.
Johnson was right. It wasn’t much fun to be an Alabama player in Saban’s first season with the Crimson Tide in 2007.They heard all the rumors the day Saban was hired: Saban is tough, demanding, scary and he’s all about discipline. The team, more familiar with the laid-back style of former coach Mike Shula, got a wake-up call with Saban.
Saban was right. Some players didn’t make it and left. That was by design. If Alabama was going to be a serious contender in the SEC and on the national landscape, the mindset and some of the personnel had to change in Tuscaloosa. Saban was the one leading the charge.“When I met with him, I told him I want to do whatever I have to do to win,” said former tight end Preston Dial, who played from 2007-10. “That was just before the offseason conditioning program started.
“We were told that he was guarded and he was all about the process,” Dial said. “The crazy thing to see was the relationship he would strike up with some players later while I was there. Once the process was in place you could see he really did want to have those relationships. He couldn’t allow himself to do it until we understood what the expectations were and what the cost of winning looked like. He couldn’t have those relationships until he had a team that was willing to do those things.
“Later that day, walked up to me while we were stretching and said, ‘Hey, I met your mom today,’” Johnson said. “I said I was so sorry and I didn’t know what she was thinking. He said he thought I was transferring and, ‘I’m glad you are not going anywhere.’ He turned around, smiled and said, ‘You know, we all have moms.’ He was kind of saying to me, don’t be embarrassed. It is what it is and moms are that way.
Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)
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