Nick Saban describes his respect for 'great tradition' of football in Ohio

When Alabama head coach Nick Saban takes the field Monday night in what will be his eighth National Championship game at the helm of the Crimson Tide, he’ll stand across from a familiar foe.

Although Saban has coached against Ohio State just four times in his 25-year career, he’s more than acquainted with football in the state of Ohio.

“I think Ohio is one of the great states in the United States when it comes to football, football tradition,” Saban said Thursday.

Saban's roots started at Kent State University where he graduated with a business degree in 1973. He then earned a master's degree in sports administration in 1975.

Five years later, Saban became the defensive backs coach at Ohio State under Buckeyes head coach Earle Bruce for two seasons. Both teams went 9-3 and played in bowl games.

"Ohio State has always had great tradition in terms of the success they’ve had on the field," Saban said. "I had the opportunity to work there a few years."

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Saban began his own head-coaching career at the University of Toledo in 1990 when the Rockets finished 9-2 and co-champions of the Mid-American Conference.

Following that season, Saban became the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns under Bill Belichick. Saban continued to apply his defensive wisdom as the Browns didn't allow higher than a 19.2 points per-game average over the four seasons in which he coached.

In 1995, Saban became the head coach at Michigan State and led the Spartans to back-to-back wins over No. 1 Ohio State in 1998 and the 20th-ranked Buckeyes in 1999 after a loss in 1997.

From there, his path has only crossed with Ohio State once. In the Sugar Bowl in 2015 during the inaugural College Football Playoff, he and No. 1 Alabama were defeated by No. 4 Ohio State.

Saban could earn his first win over the Buckeyes in over two decades on Monday, but he expects there to be a challenge.

"We’re playing against a very good team, so preparation is always very difficult when you play against a lot of good players and a team that’s very well-coached like Ohio State," Saban said.

Not just in terms of coaching against Ohio football teams, but recruiting players from the state is a challenge as well.

There is just one player on the Crimson Tide roster from Ohio in freshman tight end Cayden Clark, who is from Akron. The recruiting battles between the two programs have stretched years back, and more recently in the class of 2021.

"Really good high school football, lots of good football players," Saban said. "They’ve certainly produced, from a high school level, a tremendous number of very, very good players."

On Monday, Saban has the chance to become the first college football coach to win seven national championships and separate himself from fellow Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

His opposition will be led by second-year head coach Ryan Day, who has earned respect from Saban.

"He’s a very good offensive playcaller, certainly does a great job of coaching his players to execute that scheme," Saban said. "Their team plays with great intangibles - discipline, toughness, play hard. Those are all great indicators of what a great job Ryan Day does as a head coach and a leader of his organization.

"They got one of the best teams in the country, no doubt about that.”

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From his time coaching in and around Ohio, Saban remembers how passionate Buckeyes fans and Ohio football families are.

"There’s a lot of places in Ohio where the school is sort of the center of the community," Saban said.

That holds true for Ohio State and Columbus, as well as the many communities around the state of Ohio where dreams of playing college football and becoming a Buckeye begin.

He'll have to go through an Ohio State team that is just as hungry for a National Championship as he is, and Saban knows the entire state of Ohio will be tuned in.

"There’s a lot of great support and fans for football programs," Saban said. “I understand that tradition very well.”