UPDATE: Saban discusses player reaction to Auburn loss

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t overly surprised to hear some of his players say that not everyone bought into what they were trying to do this year after the Crimson’s Tide’s 17-10 loss to close the regular season at Auburn.

Among those who spoke out during the brief postgame interviews Nov. 24 were seniors Darren Mustin, Wallace Gilberry and DJ Hall.

“I don’t think that there’s anything unusual about that, especially with older guys on the team,” Saban said. “Obviously when you come in, you make changes, and change is inevitable. But the growth that occurs individually with everyone relative to the changes is different in different people.

“I think what you’re talking about here is degrees. Obviously the older guys on the team have their habits of how they’ve done things – probably in some cases, maybe a little bit, it’s a little more difficult to change because they’ve done it longer and that type of thing. With younger players, you’re really creating the habits.”

Saban has been recruiting almost non-stop since the loss, which was Alabama’s fourth straight to end the season and sixth straight to Auburn, and will continue to do so through next week before his staff turns its attention to preparing for Colorado in the Independence Bowl.

“All’s I know is, what our calling is, is to try and establish the things that we feel are important to get consistency and performance,” he said. “Players doing thing correctly, doing things right, with the correct discipline, on the field and off the field, are critical.”

Ten players were suspended through the course of the season, including five players for four games during the school’s investigation into textbook disbursement. As of now, no one has been ruled out for the trip to Shreveport.

“If you do it right, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to have success, I think that’s where a lot of people make a mistake,” Saban said. “If you don’t do it right, you have no chance.”