Bray Hubbard Explains Why Alabama Isn’t Worried About Early Trip to Mississippi State

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Alabama is doing something a little different ahead of Saturday’s road matchup with Mississippi State, but if you ask the players, there really is not much concern about it.

The Crimson Tide plans to make the trip to Starkville early Saturday morning instead of traveling the night before, with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on ABC. On the surface, traveling the morning of a road SEC game might sound unusual. For Alabama, though, it really is not as dramatic as it may seem.

This program is already accustomed to early mornings.

Alabama safety Bray Hubbard made that clear this week when he discussed the schedule the Crimson Tide players follow on a normal practice day. According to Hubbard, Alabama players are routinely arriving at the facility around 6 a.m., beginning meetings around 7 and preparing to practice by approximately 9.

In other words, waking up early and immediately getting into football mode is already part of the routine.

That is probably the biggest reason Alabama players do not seem overly concerned about the travel situation. Saturday will obviously be different because the Tide will have to factor in the drive to Starkville, but the idea of waking up before sunrise, getting moving and preparing to play football in the morning is nothing new.

And sometimes we can make things like this bigger than they actually are.

Football players, especially at a program like Alabama, live on structured schedules. Their days are planned around meetings, workouts, treatment, film study, practice and recovery. Early mornings are simply part of playing college football at this level.

Hubbard essentially said Alabama is already conditioned for that type of schedule.

“We usually get here at 6 o’clock, and we’re in meetings by 7,” Hubbard told reporters. “We’re used to waking up early and having to get our engines going for an early practice.”

That matters.

An 11 a.m. kickoff is not always easy for players or fans. There is less time to slowly work your way into game day. The morning comes quickly, pregame routines happen earlier and teams have to be mentally ready almost immediately.

But Alabama’s normal practice schedule could actually help prepare the Tide for that challenge.

When Alabama takes the field in Starkville, the players will be competing around the same time of day they normally practice. That does not guarantee anything, obviously, but it does mean the Crimson Tide should not be walking into completely unfamiliar territory from a body-clock standpoint.

The travel arrangement also is not unprecedented at Alabama.

Nick Saban occasionally used similar same-day travel plans during his time leading the Crimson Tide, especially for relatively short road trips. Starkville is close enough to Tuscaloosa that Alabama can make the trip Saturday morning without the kind of travel complications the Tide would face going to somewhere like Baton Rouge, Knoxville or College Station.

So while the travel schedule might generate some conversation outside the building, Alabama’s players seem to be treating it like business as usual.

And honestly, that is probably exactly how Kalen DeBoer wants it.

The focus for Alabama cannot be on what time the bus leaves Tuscaloosa. It has to be on being prepared when the ball is kicked off.

Early SEC road games can be strange. Stadiums can feel different. Energy can be different. Teams sometimes need a few possessions before they fully settle in, and Alabama has already experienced some slow starts offensively this season.

That is why the biggest challenge Saturday is not necessarily Alabama’s alarm clock.

It is making sure the Tide arrives in Starkville mentally ready to play from the opening snap.

The travel plan will certainly be something fans discuss, especially if Alabama looks sluggish early, but the players have already made it clear they are not treating it as an excuse.

They wake up early every day.

They meet early.

They practice early.

Now they simply have to play early.

For Alabama, Saturday morning’s schedule may be a little different from a traditional SEC road trip, but the expectation remains exactly the same.

Get to Starkville, wake up quickly and take care of business.

Roll Tide. 

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