Former Alabama Players On Why “The Standard” Is Slipping

Say what you will.

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Nobody has better insight than the guys who have lived it, eaten it, and sacrificed their bodies for it.

Recently, I had the chance to sit down with former Tide players Wallace Gilberry, DJ Hall, and Tyrone Prothro.

Several things struck me about the things they observe from their position now, which often includes attending practices, but they are on the outside looking in at the program.

You can hear it for yourself in this very story, but Wallace brought up a tradition of accountability and excellence that they learned during the early years of Nick Saban.

The tradition involved players meeting very late after a game that didn’t live up to the standard and calling each other out, face-to-face, and holding each other accountable for the way that they played and the attitude they displayed.

Sometimes these meetings would take place at 1:30 or two in the morning, but make no mistake, if they had a game that didn’t live up to the standard.

They were going to hold each other accountable.

Listen to the conversation with the guys below:

Nobody enjoys being called out in front of the entire team. That’s no fun, but it makes a huge impact.

It’s funny because the players at the end of the discussion surmised that these days, doing that style of players-only meeting probably violates some NCAA rule.

Probably true.
This is definitely the standard that needs to continue in Tuscaloosa with the Crimson Tide.