All Things Alabama OC Following the third spring practice, Nick Sheridan said
Sheridan discusses a variety of topics, including his trust in Jalen Milroe, moving to Alabama, and collaborating with Kalen DeBoer.
New Alabama offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan spoke to the local media for the first time Friday night after the Crimson Tide’s third spring practice.
Here’s a everything Sheridan had to say:
Full Transcript
In how confident he is in Jalen Milroe
“Very confident. He’s an extremely talented kid. I think more than anything, he’s just a great person. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and his family. Obviously, everybody knows the talent, the explosiveness as a passer. Obviously, he’s very electric as a runner as well. But I’ve just enjoyed getting to know him as a person, what his history’s been, what his journey has been. Just his journey, what has gotten him to this point. But if you ask me how confident I am, I say very. There’s a lot of work to be done still as a group, not just as a quarterback group, as an offense, but yeah, the kid’s a special player for sure, and a special person, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and getting a chance to coach him. I feel very lucky.”
On being a former quarterback and how it helps
“I think that’s a great question. I certainly had some ups and downs in my career as a player and so I think that journey for me has helped me connect with the kids that I’ve coached. And I’ve shared my story with them, and there will be more experiences that you share with your players to try to motivate them, connect with them, try to get the best out of them. And so I think playing quarterback at this level is a small fraternity of people, and the things that come with that, I think only a few people can understand what that experience is like. And I don’t think, no two people, no two journeys are the same. No two schools, no two careers, but I think there’s some similarities. Everybody goes through adversity, everybody has good moments and bad moments, and how you handle those, the experiences that you gain, the wisdom you learn from that, I think that’s our job as coaches to try to get the best out of the players and I think sharing your story is certainly helpful and helps you connect with them.”
On transition to Tuscaloosa and finding out he would be offensive coordinator
“Well there’s so much work to be done. You don’t have time to reflect on it, you just kind of get to work. That’s kind of what all coaches do. And so, as far as any reflection goes, there hasn’t been much of that. We’ve just been waking up early and staying up late and trying to build relationships with the players, but also make sure that our football is clean and fundamentally sound and the communication between the staff because we’ve had some moving pieces there, make sure we all get on the same page before we present it to the players. So, couple that with recruiting and developing those relationships with families, all grades, all areas of the country, all positions. We certainly have been busy. But it’s fun, we love to do this. I know everybody on staff feels very fortunate, very blessed, to be at Alabama.”
On two biggest objectives for offense in spring
“I think number one, install our systems. The scheme that’s involved. And then number two, to make sure that our style of play, that we’re executing those plays with the right mentality and the right mindset. There’s certainly fundamentals involved in both of those areas, but knowing what to do and how to do it, that’s really what we’re focusing on this spring.”
On Caleb Odom
“I think with Caleb, we’re just trying to put him in a position to be successful early on in his career. You know he’s a big kid. He’s very athletic. He’s very explosive. He has a great frame. How his body grows and what he turns into being when he’s 20, 21, 22 years old, I think time will tell. He certainly runs good enough to play wide receiver. He runs very well, he’s a big target. So we just tried to put him in a position early on, to not try to run into 275-pound people, you know, put him in a position so he can have success. And I think there’s so much versatility in our offense, there’s so much inter-positional responsibilities, where tight ends or wide receivers or running backs, everybody’s being taught conceptually what we’re trying to do. And so there’s good teaching and learning occurring there. And he’s coming from a great program. He’s accustomed to playing football at a high level, and so the moment hasn’t been too big with him. He fit right in. Obviously we had a chance to watch some bowl prep when we first got here, there are moments of him competing at a high level against really good competition in his time here at Alabama. Transition to spring, he’s got a long way to go, a lot to learn, but he’s eager. He’s willing. Likes to be coached, cares about football. So we’re excited about him for sure.”
On the tight end group
“That group from just a mindset standpoint has been excellent. I always think the tight end position, their mentality, their work habits, the physicality they play with, the effort they play with, they connect with multiple positions. They play in the box, they play on the perimeter. Their energy and their vibe they bring every day to practice can be infectious.
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