It’s no secret that the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs football programs are the two standard bearers in the SEC four seasons into the 2020s. Nick Saban lost several top players to Kirby Smart over the past few seasons and vice versa. The two faced off several times in the SEC Championship game including during the 2023 season.
Saban used that experience to question former Georgia offensive lineman Amarius Mims after the Cincinnati Bengals traded up to select him with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“This guy’s got all the tools, he’s got great size, he’s got great power. But it makes you wonder, how did the guy only start 8 [games]? Like, in the SEC championship game, he played only the first 15 plays of the game and then he’s out. Takes himself out. I don’t know what he injured, what he hurt, whatever. But you’ve got to be a little bit more consistent in your performance if you’re going to be a great player and a starter in the National Football League,” Saban said on ABC night one of the draft.
Mims responded to the legendary college football coach shortly after saying, “Everybody has their own opinions of me. I don’t really care about what [Saban] said or what he had to say, honestly. I’m just glad to be a Cincinnati Bengal,” Mims said Friday.
Mims took the high road as he looks forward to his future in the NFL as a key part of Cincinnati’s strategy to protect franchise quarterback Joe Burrow.
