The Tush Push is all the rage in football, as most teams are running the play to gain an advantage on the QB Sneak. Some people still believe, though, that the play is too dangerous for the game, as Alabama coach Nick Saban said earlier this week.
“We’ve tried to make a lot of rules in the last few years that are intended to enhance player safety,” Saban said, via Matt Stahl of AL.com. “And I don’t think that’s necessarily a play when people are running into the pile and aggressively pushing the pile forward, that is enhancing player safety.”
The coach added that he didn’t believe that the play made a huge difference.
“It’s not a competitive advantage or disadvantage one way or the other,” he said. “But I do think there may be a conversation about how it can impact player safety in terms of doing that kind of aggressive pushing [of] the pile.”
However, that player safety concern didn’t stop Saban and Alabama from running the play vs. Arkansas on Saturday.
The Milly Push 😤😤@JalenMilroe
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 14, 2023
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/hw3s2EnUIp
The play requires players to push the quarterback into the offensive line to try and gain a few yards. It was made popular by the Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who spent years playing for Saban at Alabama. The play has been so successful that it seems like every team is running it, to varying degrees of success.
When the Crimson Tide called it, quarterback Jalen Milroe was able to get into the endzone for the touchdown, which probably explains why they ran it despite Saban’s comments.
