KIRBY SMART: Yeah, our guys are excited for an opportunity to play in what I've talked about all week is one of the best venues and just incredible environments in all of college football, and been very fortunate to coach in a lot of these games, and they are special.

Our guys are excited for the opportunity. We're working hard at preparing for what is a really unique, physical Alabama team, and our guys got another day's work and another day's work tomorrow to put in to be ready for it.

Q. I know you've been asked this before, but the portal opening Monday, why hasn't that been more of an emphasis on you? Have you needed to have it? Player retention obviously is huge. What is your philosophy on that?

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, we utilize the portal, utilized the portal last year. We had one year we didn't, but we had a lot of retention.

I think times are changing, and everybody adapts with it. It's unfortunate to me that it's picking up pace. I think this year will be a record-breaking year because the attention, the opportunity, the seeking out the monetary side of it is going to become a really norm.

Our philosophy for the portal may be different than maybe what people actually use it for. We're trying to make our team better. We want to recruit really good high school players, and I think that's important to college football and our game, to recruit really good high school players and develop them, but unfortunately the more that go in, the more we have to research the portal and take, otherwise you can't sustain.

It's not a matter of a philosophy. I would retain everybody on my team if I could, and I would play with the guys we have. But you have to take others in order to be able to field a team unless you want all freshmen.

Q. What does the availability look like this week for Brock, for Ladd, for Rara and for Tate?

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, great question because I'm trying to figure that out myself. I don't have a lot more answers now than I had on Monday. They have not been able to do a lot. Each one has worked kind of independently. Tate has done some drill work, some 11-on-11 stuff, Brock has sprinkled in some of that. The other guys have been able to run and do some things.

But we're going to find out today what their availability is, to be honest. It's tough because it bothers me that people have said out there that we sat these guys for the last game. That wasn't the case at all. They couldn't go.

I don't know if they're going to be able to go in this game. It's just unfortunate to have those kind of injuries, especially four starters on offense.

Q. We've talked a lot about Carson Beck this year and kind of his maturation. I just wonder if there's been any kind of moment where you felt like coming out of it that he had made sort of that breakthrough. Clearly at this point he's an exceptional quarterback for you. I'm thinking like that 98-yard drive against Auburn on the road, moments like that, did you have that kind of moment with him?

KIRBY SMART: Certainly the Auburn experience was big for him in terms of confidence. It was his first true road test like to be in that environment, have a tough environment to play in, and he did a really nice job in that game.

But I can't pinpoint one moment. I didn't see it like you saw it. It's like you have somebody that's been in your family or been in your house for a long time, and you treat them as family, and he was family for a long time before he started to get these opportunities, and I had seen his ups and downs and his trials and tribulations and the things he had gone through on the field. He had already proven to me his talent level by the way he prepared last year.

So I wasn't seeing things that I thought were like groundbreaking, they were things that I had seen before, and his maturation has been a game-by-game process, and he's done a nice job of that.

Q. I know your focus has been on this game, but do you hope to have a hire to replace Fran Brown before the signing date, and do you know if Fran would stay with the team if you guys make the playoffs?

KIRBY SMART: You answered the question already. We've been really focused on Alabama. That's all we're really thinking about. Those decisions that you're talking about, they're not important. They have no relevance whatsoever to this game. Our focus and energy is on this game.

I really don't have to decide that right now and don't even look to. I don't even know why it's newsworthy because what's newsworthy is he got a hell of an opportunity and he's done a tremendous job for us, and we're super happy for his family and for Syracuse to be getting someone of his character.

But we're not worried about anything past Alabama.

Q. How do you think the importance of this game is going to be impacted in the 12-team playoff era, and do you have worries that SEC teams might be hurt by playing in this game?

KIRBY SMART: I don't have a -- well, I haven't really thought about it that way in terms of how it would be hurt in the 12-team playoff. The only thing we have to indicate the future is what's happened in the past. Before all this came about, Greg Sankey and the staff and the minds that lead our conference looked into that and did a lot of -- y'all can do it, go back and look at the last 15 or 20 SEC Championship games and ask yourselves how many of those losers or those two teams would get into 12-team playoff. I don't know what that is, but I would venture to say that most would, and I would also say with no east and west division play, you're going to have a better chance of obviously getting the two top teams, therefore the two top teams would traditionally be in the top 12.

I think if you've looked at the history, there has been some teams in the west that didn't go to this game that would have been in that top 12. I can't say whether it hurts or helps. I certainly think there's been years that might have been four teams get in out of 12. I don't know whether the game loses its importance. It'll never lose its importance in a program that I'm coaching at because you're trying to win a championship, and that becomes the focal point of a conference that's going to be even more powerful winning a championship like that.

I don't know, people try to demean the value and say that, oh, it's only important that you win the playoff and you win the National Championship. There's a lot of merit to winning an SEC conference championship, especially when you add the teams we're going to add.

Q. In your career you've either been a part of or coached against plenty of Alabama teams, and it seems like for the first time in several years now, Alabama has not had the stability of starting a first-round NFL Draft pick all season long. Given that context, how would you evaluate Alabama's offense this year and the kind of offense that you will be playing against on Saturday compared to the one that maybe people saw in the Texas game?

KIRBY SMART: I didn't understand the first -- you said they don't have a first-round offensive what?

Q. Just saying that this is the first time in several years now that there hasn't been a quarterback for the entire season that's gone on to become an NFL first-round draft pick. Nothing against Jalen Milroe, but given the inconsistency at the starting position at the beginning of the year, that is the piece I was trying to highlight.

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, I'm not sure I still fully understand the question. How different is this team from the others? It's very different, if that's what you're asking.

Q. Just the offense and the kind of coaching job it's taken to get them to this point.

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, I think they've done an incredible job because what you do is you take your players and you do what your players can do best, and although it's not the -- they don't have the exact same coordinator, either, they don't have a lot of the same coaches they had three and four and five years ago maybe what Mac was there or when Bryce was there. They've taken their players and they've made their offense fit their players, and they do a really good job of that. I've had a lot of time to watch what they do and what they ask him to do, he's really good at what he does. It features their offensive line, which is the biggest most physical offensive line in the country in terms of size and just sheer size and strength.

Then the quarterback is able to make plays. They know that. They allow him to make plays with his feet, and some of his best plays are on players that are off schedule. It's very different than what they've had in the past, but he's also grown and gotten better as the year goes on.

I think they've taken some things out and said, hey, that's not what he does best, we've tried to make him do that, and they've made it where what he does best, they do, and they do that really well.

Q. What is the most important thing in this week, the mental stuff or the physical stuff, and could you say some words to all the Mexican fans who will be watching this SEC Championship game next Saturday? Gracias.

KIRBY SMART: The most important stuff will be the mental stuff. I think at this point, the physical part is what it is. You're not going to get physically better at this point in the season. I think you can get mentally better, and you want your players to not be anxious, not be nervous, and they're playing a big game. The talent separation is not there. There's very equal talent when it comes down to it. Mentally you want to be prepared for a moment like this and go play your best and not have anxiety.

To all the fans in Mexico that will be watching the game, we certainly appreciate you guys watching us and look forward to seeing a great game and a great atmosphere with the game being in Atlanta.

(Commercial break.)

KIRBY SMART: The staff that we've created, and there's a lot of support staff that people enough see behind the scenes that make up that family, too.

Q. After watching Alabama for a couple days offensively, what do you make of their running back corps, how they mix them in with Jalen Milroe and specifically what Jase McClellan brings to the table.

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, they have really good backs. They rotate three guys in and out, and they all complement each other really well. They're powerful. They play behind a really good offensive line.

Yards after contact is something that jumps off the screen at me. They don't go down at the first tackle. They catch the ball well out of the backfield, all three of them pick people up really well in pass pro, and we watch that, and the first thing I look at on the back is what kind of protector is he on 3rd down, does he know who he has, can he block him, does he cut every time, does he stay up, what is their strengths, what is their weaknesses as pass pro and pass receivers, and they have very complete backs, which you would fully expect at Alabama.

Q. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on why there are so many contenders this year, more than ever for the College Football Playoff. That's the first part. The second part is because there are so many contenders, how concerned, if at all, are you that you have to win this game for the SEC to be in?

KIRBY SMART: I can't explain why there's more. I certainly haven't even thought of why that is. I mean, I always look at things as everything happens for a reason, and you have the years you have. There's been other years that there was close debates, maybe not as many as there are now. I certainly would think that the people with knowledge out there would say it has something to do with the portal, has something to do with the parity maybe that the portal creates.

But I don't know that it's that as much as it creates haves and have-nots. The biggest difference to me I see out there is quarterback play at the high level. A lot of these teams that are, as you called them, contenders, really good football teams, they have really good quarterbacks for the most part. I don't know the exact number, but of these teams in the top 7 or 8, I can think of three or maybe four of them that have quarterbacks that came by way of an experience somewhere else and moved in and had success.

Quarterback play to me is one of the No. 1 indicators of how good you are, and the teams that have them have a shot in every game, so they have an opportunity to win games.

As far as your other question, I don't really want to get into it. I want to focus on what we have to do to win this game.

Q. I was wondering what you've seen from Caleb Downs this season and if he looks like a freshman out there.

KIRBY SMART: No, he doesn't look like a freshman at all. He looks like a guy that's been playing for three years. He's instinctive. He's fast. He's fearless. He's everything that he was in high school. I've seen him play about 100 7-on-7 games at our stadium and at our facility when his high school team came over all the time, and he's everything that we thought he was, punt returner, he's just a football player that is instinctive, great tackler. Just what you draw up when you want a defensive back.

Q. I want to talk to you about Carson Beck's development and what he was able to learn under Stetson Bennett and the ability to learn from Stetson for this upcoming season and this SEC Championship moment.

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, I think he would tell you that he learned a lot from all the quarterbacks that were here. People just keep forgetting that he was here with J.T. Daniels, so he sat in meetings with J.T. and Monk when they would go back and forth about what the read is, what we're looking at, how we're doing it. J.T. was a really bright quarterback, and Carson sat in those meetings, heard him, and then as J.T. moved on, he got to sit in and listen with Stetson and hear him talk and learn things.

He was really the entire time a sponge, and he was growing through all that. Like we knew sitting in meetings that he was a very bright quarterback. He was right there with J.T. and Stetson in terms of competition.

It's clear that he was growing as he was experiencing all those reps and moments, and certainly glad that all those spring practices and fall camps he just got so many twos reps to help him get to where he is now.

Q. I did want to ask about the secondary for the Crimson Tide. I know you were asked about Caleb Downs, but Kool-Aid McKinstry, how well has he played this year do you think?

KIRBY SMART: He's done a really good job. I think Kool-Aid was very talented. He played a lot in the game that we played three years ago, the game there in Indy, and he was young, talented then, really good player.

I think it's typical Alabama to have a guy opposite him who has developed really well in Terrion and has grown and played really well, too. A lot of times the guy you forget about at a young age is the one that comes along and is hungry and keeps growing and getting better and aspires to be great as opposed to a guy that maybe was more ahead when he got there and more capable of playing.

They both have made for a really good tandem along with the safeties and stars, Malachi and Jalen, the portal kid they picked up, and they've got a lot of good players, and they've had to play a lot of them. They've had about six guys that have rotated around and played in the secondary this year, and it's really impressive what they've been able to do with those guys.

Q. You've been a part of this game every year since 2014 in some capacity, whether it was at Alabama or Georgia. Have you had time to think about that, and what does it mean to you?

KIRBY SMART: Well, I don't know if that's exactly accurate. I don't know that we've been a part of it every year. But we've been in a lot, that's for sure. I don't look at it -- I look at it as only this year because only this year matters. The past years, great experiences, great teams, but my focus is on this game and this team.

Q. I know that centers don't always get a whole lot of attention or love, but Sedrick Van Pran has been a guy in your program that looks like one of your pillars. Can you share some insight as to what he's meant to the team and his growth coming in?

KIRBY SMART: Yeah, he was a tremendous leader. We knew when he decided to come back it would impact our team in more ways than snaps and blocks. He would be a major figure in pushing guys to be excellent, to reach their goal. He's one of the most driven, dynamic leaders I've ever been around. He just cares so much and is so selfless. His practice habits this week alone have been stuff of legend, and we'll be showing videos of how much effort, how far he covers down, how important it is to him. He's one of the guys that doesn't look out for himself. He pushes everybody, and that's hard to find, and he's certainly a super high-quality leader.

NICK SABAN: We're glad to be here. First of all I'd like to congratulate Kirby and the Georgia team for going through an undefeated season and winning the East. They certainly had a fantastic season. They've proven to be one of the best football teams in the country.

This is certainly a challenge for us to be able to compete in the SEC Championship game against such a quality team. I'd like to thank the Southeastern Conference for making this one of the greatest venues in college football, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the people of Atlanta, all the people that do a lot of work to make this game a first-class event.

Our team is trying to focus on what they need to do to go play the kind of game that we'll need to play to beat a very, very good team - probably the best team we played all year.

I think the challenge for us, as a player, you got to be ready to play and assume that the guy you're playing against is the best player you played against all year. I think if you take that approach, channel your energy and enthusiasm into execution on the field, that will give you your best chance to be successful.

THE MODERATOR: We'll begin with questions.

Q. Looked like Caleb Downs played a bit of star in this past game. How has he handled learning and playing multiple roles? How has that helped the defense out?

NICK SABAN: We started doing that in the Kentucky game, especially when they played bigger people. He's handled it very, very well. Gives a little bigger body at star. A guy that can play the runs and stuff a little better. That was the thinking behind it. That's why we did it.

It's not been an issue at all for him and his learning curve.

Q. Jason McClellan, how has he progressed health-wise so far this week?

NICK SABAN: He's not been able to do a lot. We'll see how he does today, where he is. I would have to say he's probably questionable for the game at this point.

I think it's probably too early to tell.

Q. What do you want the committee to see about your team as they watch you on Saturday?

NICK SABAN: Look, we're not really worried about the committee. I'm not concerned about any of those things. I mean, we've got a big challenge here in terms of trying to play the best football that we can play and prepare our team to play the best that they can play.

I want our team to focus on the game because that's what we can control. We really can't control anything externally, but we can try to control how we play. I think that's the most important thing for us to be focused on right now.

Q. Jermaine Burton has been playing with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, it seems. How important was it in the last two weeks to get him involved in the offense?

NICK SABAN: Well, he's been a big part of the offense all year long. He's played well all year long. I think you say a guy gets involved, but it's really reading the play based on the coverage. Sometimes one guys gets an opportunity to make a play, but sometimes it's somebody else. When he's had his opportunities, he's certainly taken advantage of them. We're happy to see that.

I think that he's an outstanding player. We want him to go in and stay focused on what he needs to do to do his job well in this game. He's been a great contributor to our offense, and he can make explosive plays. Hopefully we'll get some opportunities for him to do that in this game.

Q. Hello from Mexico. The question is simple: what is the most important thing in this week, the mental stuff or the physical stuff for your players? Could you say some words to all the Mexican fans of Crimson Tide. Gracias, coach.

NICK SABAN: Well, we thank everybody who supports Crimson Tide in Mexico and anyplace else in the country or the world for that matter. We appreciate your support.

I think both things are really, really important. I think at this time of the year players get a little tired, they get a little banged up, they get a little hurt up. The psychological part of being able to grind through that and have the mental toughness to stay focused on the things you need to do to play well, create the right habits in practice, prepare for the game like you need to, is a challenge. But I think it's very, very important.

I think it's very important to take care of yourself physically, not only on the field, but getting the right kind of rest, eating right, hydrating correctly. All those things contribute to how you can sustain performance in a game.

Q. You were kind of on the front end of this portal transfer, NIL a few years ago. Spring meetings you told us this was the world we might be getting into. How challenging is it to manage the portal, NIL, recruiting and roster management while you're preparing a championship game? Is this model sustainable?

NICK SABAN: I don't know if it's sustainable or not.

Look, I've always been in favor of the players having a better quality of life and sharing in some of the benefits. I think that if we could create competitive balance so it's the same pretty much for everybody so that one school can't choose to invest more than another and create a competitive imbalance. I think that's the major concern that I have. I do think it's a tough management.

We've been trying to focus on the game here. We're going to look to manage all those things when this game is over. But it's not easy. It's not easy to do. There's a lot of balls in the air. I'm sure players are thinking about a lot of things right now, too. Probably tough for them to manage.

Q. I wanted to ask what you said right after the Iron Bowl, the dangers of winning a game like that. If you could further explain what you meant by that, maybe how the week of practice has gone as well.

NICK SABAN: Well, I think sometimes when you win and don't play like you'd like to have played, players aren't as interested in the why do we have to make these corrections, why is this so important. You have to have a certain maturity about you as a competitor to understand that there's lessons to be learned when you win as well as when you lose.

When you lose, everybody's really, like, humiliated and really wants to go focus on all the things they need to do to play better because they don't feel good about themselves. Having the maturity to be able to manage and learn and build on the good things that you did as well as still be able to learn the lessons that go with some of the mistakes that you made, I think that's the key to the drill.

I think our players have handled that pretty well this week.

Q. You've been very vocal this season about the support that the fans have given you, the positive energy they've give your players throughout the contest. What message do you have for your fans that will be attending the championship game on Saturday?

NICK SABAN: I don't think it changes much. I mean, as many fans as we can get there, as much enthusiasm as they can create to try to help us sustain energy throughout the game is certainly much appreciated.

Also I think it's beneficial to the players being able to stay focused and engaged on what they need to do in the game.

Q. I know we've all written the story about you and Kirby, the mentorship there. I want to give you a chance, could you share about some of your mentors that led you down this path to championships and greatness in college football?

NICK SABAN: Yeah, I don't know about all the compliments, but I appreciate 'em.

I had some great mentors along the way. First of all, had a great college coach in Don James, who actually encouraged me and talked me into becoming a coach because it's not something I really wanted to do.

He was very well-organized. He really sort of looked at developing players not only on the field but off the field in terms of developing character that would help them be more successful in life, which is something we've always tried to do.

Bill Belichick was a great mentor in terms of organization football, from every part of the organization. How you evaluate players, the kind of players you want on your team, the kind of team you want to have, the kind of system you want to use.

George Perles was a great mentor at Michigan State. First opportunity I had to be a coordinator, first person to give me responsibility. He had been very successful with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning four Super Bowls there.

Those three guys probably had the biggest impact on me. But I've had and learned so much from so many people. I hate to leave anybody out because I've never really invented anything in this game. I always just learned from other really good coaches and good teachers.

Q. Where do you think your team has improved the most since Texas, in particular?

NICK SABAN: I think the team has improved dramatically in terms of transformation of confidence, playing together, good leadership.

But if you had to say where did we improve the most, I would say it's probably offensively. The transformation of Jalen Milroe at quarterback, to be productive, has been huge in terms of elevating the confidence of the entire offensive team. The improvement in the offensive line has helped us be able to have a little better balance in the game. The receivers have all played better. If there is a specific area, I would say that would be.

I think the team as a whole has also improved because of their confidence, playing with more confidence.

Q. Off-the-wall question. I asked Lane Kiffin the week of the Ole Miss-Georgia game about some Kirby stories. He mentioned about a tug of war in Alabama in which he beat Kirby. Do you recall that?

NICK SABAN: I do not. But my money would have been on Kirby (laughter). If I was going to bet... I don't remember it, but that would be my comment (smiling).

Q. I understand that you're not worried about what the committee is doing right now. I think that you talked about this, about the narrative of the possibility that the SEC could get left out because if you win this game, that loss in Tuscaloosa to Texas did happen. I wanted to ask your reaction to that and your thoughts on the SEC's place in the Playoff?

NICK SABAN: Well, I think I commented on it earlier. To reiterate it, I think that the SEC is one of the best conferences in the country. I think Georgia is one of the best teams in the country. I think they're one of the best four teams in the country. I think if we beat them, we'd be one of the best four teams in the country.

With teams, there's a transformation that goes through the season. How are you playing now. Where is your team now. How good are you now. I think all those things come into play.

I think it would be a disrespect to the SEC if there isn't an SEC representation in the final four. I do believe that.

Q. What have you seen from Jihaad Campbell in this season, the way he stepped up when others have been injured?

NICK SABAN: Well, he makes a ton of plays. He's very athletic. He can run. He's fast. He's a good football player. It's a new position for him, so he's made consistent improvement throughout the season, understanding what he needs to do at his position to execute his role in that particular call.

But his production and performance has been really, really, really good for us. We certainly needed him because we've had a lot of injuries at that position throughout the season.

Q. Deontae Lawson being the alpha dog on your defense, talk about what he means to your defense this season and his growth this year.

NICK SABAN: He's played extremely well for us. He played well all year long. I think the one thing that he does, he is kind of the leader. He is very smart, very intelligent. He understands the game plan. He prepares well for the game. He knows exactly what he's supposed to do and what everybody in the front seven is supposed to do.

I think when he's out there, everybody's more comfortable, everybody's more confident because he's a signal caller. He's very confident in making the right calls and getting everybody playing together in the front seven, which is really important.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, that's going to wrap you up for today. Thank you for your time. We look forward to welcoming you back to Atlanta tomorrow.

NICK SABAN: Thank you. Appreciate y'all.