Winning isn't imperative, but getting tougher in the fourth quarter is.

Georgia Tech beat us and Mississippi Southern tied us last year, and Texas beat us after we had the game won. We only played about five games the way we were capable of playing and lost one of those.

I've had many a player tell me all through high school and right up until signing day that they were coming to Alabama, then they signed with somebody else.

I left Texas A&M because my school called me. Mama called, and when Mama calls, then you just have to come running.

You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally they've got one heartbeat. Then you've got yourself a team.

Don't ever give up on ability. Don't give up on a player who has it.

I honestly believe that if you are willing to out-condition the opponent, have confidence in your ability, be more aggressive than your opponent and have a genuine desire for team victory, you will become the national champions. If you have all the above, you will acquire confidence and poise, and you will have those intangibles that win the close ones.