TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama's 26-10 loss to Tennessee has made offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb a center of attention within the Crimson Tide program. The second-year play-caller oversaw an offense that produced 201 total yards, 47 rushing yards, and one total scoring drive that didn't start in the Tennessee red zone.
Grubb spoke to the media on Monday morning, addressing the performance, his playcalling, the team's execution, and more. Here's everything he had to say:
Ryan Grubb's Opening Statement:
"We got outplayed. They played their butts off. I think they're a good team. We certainly didn't show anyone close to the caliber team that that I know that we are. It's a long season. We still got everything in front of us. I think the guys know that, but you know really just super disappointing a lot of hours and time put into 10 points you know it's embarrassing and was a fan or a supporter I'd be pissed off too. I know our guys are going to come back ready to work and I just wouldn't count these guys out. Let's just see what happens."
On what he would do differently with play-calling:
"Well, I think you know as far as game plan, you can ask yourself a million questions. As far as the calls, I think it's a little bit more of the setup. It could be the depth of the game plan. Maybe it's too much. You know, the guys played with noise, and like I'm saying, in their head, they played slow at times. Then you got to look at like how much stuff do we need to have in? How do we get the guys to play faster? I think that's a huge part of it, and that kind of environment, you know, especially for Keelon, my first thing was like, OK, how do I get this guy to play faster? Deal better with some of these pressure situations? Because he's a great player. I think, I mean, I'll say it. I'll go on record. I think Keelon Russell is the best quarterback in America, period. And I know that's not what showed up on Saturday. And again, I can only take accountability for myself and you know getting Keelon in a better spot because I know he is that kind of player, so going back to the game plan, well, it's easy for Keelon, and it's not that Keelon is incapable of handling, you know, tough things or difficult concepts and things like that. It's just in those type of environments, in the first time against a really good defense, you got to make it as clean as possible, and so going back, I think everything would go back to: is this clean enough for the guys? And so clearly, it wasn't. You know, it's not like they went out there and you know didn't want to execute. There was there was just some issues, and you know, at times we got beat at the point of attack, and you know that's going to happen against good teams. But we just got to have better answers. Two weeks in a row, you know, with no points in the second half. It's pathetic, you know, and so for us, it just starts with me and the staff, and especially me, and just finding ways to get guys in better positions."
On the identity of the offense:
"Our identity is to be able to get our playmakers the ball in space. I think we're a good gap run team. We've shown that. We showed it on Saturday. We had some good gap scheme, inside zone and duo. That's where it starts up front, getting the double teams, getting four hands on their biggest players, and then exploiting the secondary area where we think their weakest players are."
On putting Keelon Russell in position to succeed:
"Well, I mean, the first thing you search for is what he's good at. You know, that's not necessarily what the coolest play call is or something like that. It's what is he most comfortable reading, and more specifically against certain coverages. Those are the plays that you feel good about, that you feel good about your guys running, that you've been running all the way back to spring, you know, and those are the things that the guys have to be able to capitalize on in those moments when we're running stuff that we've run for a long time, and so it's our job to make sure we keep marrying up more of that."
On two scoreless second halves:
"Well, lack of play action in the first half and Saturday was something we wanted to address, and we knew some of the hits. We had two outside zone hits in the first half that we felt we could follow up on. We felt like the gap scheme was strong, and we're going to lead with that. And so we came out, second half in play action, and Rico wasn't able to come down with the ball. Then we follow up, hit a power, got a couple first downs. We felt like we're on the right track with the things we talked about at halftime, we had the right scheme that we were attacking, getting our players in the right spot. And then, you know, we had a couple mishaps where, honestly the ball went backwards. They were able to get us back into a short yardage situation, and honestly, that was the dagger. We had two different opportunities specifically on their side of the 50 to convert on fourth down, which we've been great at on short yardage all year. There may have been some holes and some things in the game plan or the players and things like that, but I would not have thought in those moments in short yardage and fourth and one that we would have struggled. I thought that would have been a high point of the day. And so for us to have two that we didn't get, and another one to have a false start. Was a dagger, and those are three opportunities to get points in a game like that. When maybe you don't have your A game, you can't turn the ball over, whether it's on downs or interceptions or whatever it is, and you certainly can't go backwards in that situation. So, for us, that was something that we really got to dive into. Like, how did that happen? Was it the call? Was it the the plays? Did we not get the double team in the right spot? But that was the part that surprised me probably the most."
On opening script vs. Tennessee:
"Well, I thought the opening drive, first play, you got a duo concept with free access throw to the boundary, and Keelon threw it out there to Derek (Meadows), and probably got nine yards. The ball got tipped. Second play, you go to quick game, try to get the ball out of his hand fast, and ball gets tipped. You know, so two plays in a row, not the greatest thing in the world, and then you end up in third and 10, and that's definitely not where you want to be in a defense like that. And get beat on a twist on the backside on a tee, you know. And in that situation, you know, that that was that was a rough moment for Keelon. Honestly, was really bad luck on how the ball hit one of our guys when he got spun and tackled. So that part, you know, stinks. But you got to find that balance with Keelon and all the things that he does so well in the pocket, keeping plays alive and you know igniting our offense. But at the same time, when they got you wrapped up, blocked the wrist, put the ball in, and called it the day. And so in that moment, he didn't. So I felt like the first series, you know, obviously didn't play out like we wanted to, but there was nothing defensively that was happening that we didn't anticipate right there. You know, there was no calls that were like, 'Oh my God, what was that?' And you know, all the way to you know, the tough part is end of the game. We're seeing cover zero, and we were down two scores, and the likelihood of winning was low. But our guys are still fighting hard and competing, and, you know, not getting into our zero checks was very uncharacteristic. These are things we work on all the time, and so just to see us fall down in some moments like that was was tough. As far as the the second and third series, it was very similar. Had some good. Had a couple that went backwards on a sack. That you know those are the things we just the sacks have been really adding up, and that's something we got to get fixed and addressed, and make sure like we just went through the whole, you know, what schemes are good, what what's working, what's not working, what are we being realistic about, and how do we help? You know, and right there, you just you can't average three, four sacks a game and expect to be a championship team."
On not having Ryan Coleman-Williams against Tennessee, overall performance of the group:
"Yeah, well, it was tough not having Ryan there. First of all, you know, he just is such a presence and a positive influence on the players, and a you know just a calming kind of guy, just to get the guys rolling a little bit. So you know, the first part there is just getting over that hump that he's not going to be out there, and then the second part, you know, I think Rico and Lottie, they played pretty pretty similar to what they play on a normal workload. Derek was the one that had the highest workload change. You know, I think he was upwards of 50 snaps. You know, which was was difficult for him, Noah. You know, honestly, when I heard how many snaps he got after the game, I was a little bummed. Some of that was just you know due to lack of length of drives, you know, just not being sustainable and staying on the field and poor performance on third down. So that part was was a little bit tough. But when guys are rested and they come back to the sideline, you're going to put Rico back out there first, and that's kind of how it played out. And then, you know, Cederian (Morgan) was nursing a hamstring and missed a couple days of practice, so it was it was a little tougher to get him out there. He was going like crazy trying to get himself ready. He's a tough kid, but you know, he had that thing wrapped, and you know, we were just a little hesitant on on how much he was going to be able to do."
On sustaining drives, not relying on big explosive plays:
"They're married together. I think if you look at our best performances and the games that we played really well, and that's exactly how it went. The run game set it up. They go to close coverage. They put a seventh hat in the box, and then we're throwing play action. Play action happens. They get the extra hat out of the box, and you hit them with the run game. So, I think those things certainly are complementary. That's not, you know, rocket science. Everybody in the country knows that. But when you can't establish and consistently maintain drives, you know, you got to find ways to get the little wins, get the quick game, get the inside zone duo, all the little hits to get yourself in second and four and call another run, get to a first down, and you know, that's what we've been doing so good, you know, and that's the the tough part is like, okay, what were we doing so well early that that, you know, we need to go back to and keep working on. So I know the guys will be here in the building today looking for answers, and those are the things we're going to talk about."
On the toughness of the offense:
"They're tough as hell. They're tough as hell. Those kids didn't quit for one second, and I believe in them. And like I said at the beginning, let's just line it back up and let's see where they're at the end of the year. And I believe in these kids, and they are tough. They didn't quit. You know, they they fought hard even at the end of the game when when things weren't perfect. I thought that they kept throwing punches, and the guys kept Keelon up on the sideline. He was fighting with them, you know, and tell them, hey, we can do this, we can do this. In a game like that, you do. You got to be tough. You got to know, hey, it's 12 to seven. It's 12 to 10. You know, these are tight football games, and that's the part that I was proud of because for a young team, those are things that they stack up quick. All of a sudden, guys are thinking about the worst, and you know, we talk a lot about our energy and our mindset, and just where it's at, and being able to maintain that, and having the competitive standing to work through a tough football game like that, you know the defense kept us alive, and it was, you know, we had opportunities, and for them to just keep throwing punches and not quit on the sideline, because they certainly could have acted really immature and had some you know emotional maturity issues, and we didn't have that, and that's not like a consolation prize. It's the expectation that's what they should do, and that's how we should act. But you know I think they are tough. I know they're tough, and we're going to see that come out this week."
Watch Ryan Grubb's Full Press Conference:
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