Highlights from Houston Nutt's time on the SEC teleconference. ...

"We've had a good off week, took advantage of that. We got some guys who have been hurt a little more healthy. We had a good day yesterday, and the next two days need to be really good."

Where is your team at this point?

“The thing about the SEC is it's every Saturday where both chinstraps have to be buckled. Alabama is playing at a very high level and has one of the best defenses in the country. Our players see the film. You can't fool them. They know how good they are. We try to put the emphasis on us and get better each day. You have to take advantage of the off week to get your craft, your skills hone everything up and be the best you can be. It's all about a three-hour period. The seniors we do have, you lean on them and you lean on your playmakers and the guys coming to work every day.”

What's it been like to start three quarterbacks?

“It's been difficult, been tough. When you're moving things around like that it's always hard. From the Fresno game, I feel better about where we are today with Randall Mackey. I'm hoping we can grow from that and get better. Randall gives us the best of both worlds, run and pass, and the escapability.”

What has made Nick Saban so successful at two SEC programs?

“I think the biggest thing is he does a tremendous job getting good players. Look at LSU and Alabama, two great programs. He's been able to recruit at a very high level. Defensively is where you see his hand, his personality, the toughness, the aggressiveness. He'll mix things up on you. A lot of good mixture with the fronts and secondary, and then the blitz package with different zone pressures, heating things up and making you play a little faster than you want.”

What do you remember about the week of work leading to Florida game in 2008?

“Really, what I remember most of that group was that they hadn't won in previous years. We'd just got through getting beat again by Vanderbilt. Everybody was a little bit down. We went in there Sunday and said get your head up. We'll show you seven plays of 11 people doing it the right way and what can happen. Then we'll show you eight plays of people doing it the wrong way of what can happen. We were about a 35-point underdog to Tebow and the guys. We weren't talking about an upset. We were talking about let's get better, because we have a chance to have a good football team. We just laid it out honestly then looked up in the fourth quarter. We were right there, and it took off from there.”