Alabama head coach Nick Saban praises Dan Enos
In today's college football landscape, it's not uncommon for coaches to go up against a team that they used to call theirs. This couldn't be more true for Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who coached quarterbacks as an associate head coach for the Hogs' upcoming opponent — Alabama — during the 2018 season.
Under Enos' tutelage, Crimson Tide starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had arguably the most impressive season of his collegiate career. As a sophomore, he completed 69.0% of his passes for 3,966 yards and 43 passing touchdowns with just six interceptions.
Tagovailoa went on to finish second in Heisman Trophy voting and won the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Award, both of which are awarded to the top player in college football.
A former quarterback quarterback himself, Enos played for the Michigan State Spartans from 1987-1990. There, he completed 281 passes for 3,590 yards and 12 touchdowns and compiled a 16-7-1 record. Alabama head coach Nick Saban was the defensive coordinator for the Spartans from 1983-87, so the two crossed paths during the 1987 season.
"He did a great job for us when he was here," Saban said during Wednesday's SEC Teleconference. "I can’t remember those days back when he was a scout team quarterback, but if he says I got on him, that wouldn’t surprise me."
Now at Arkansas, Enos is leading an offense that ranks 110th in the country in yards per game (332.8) and 52nd in points per game (31.3). Despite the lack of offensive success, Saban had good things to say about Enos.
"He’s doing great," Saban said. "I think he’s a really good coach. He’s a really good coach and doing a really good job with their team."
There are some cases where having a coach or player that used to be a part of the team you're playing might give you an edge. Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman doesn't think that's the case with Enos and Alabama, however.
"Well I don’t think there would necessarily be an advantage because of the length of time as you stated, but also you know, we’ve been playing Alabama for a long time," Pittman said. "I’ve been in the league for a long time as well.
"It’s not schematics that necessarily, that you're aware of with Alabama. It's the players that are doing it and how well they’re coached. So I don’t know that there would be an advantage there. I’m sure Dan’s excited to go back over there and see some of his old friends and compete against them."
With a quarterback as talented as KJ Jefferson leading the Razorbacks' offense, Enos is hoping he can spark the same type of success that led Tagovailoa to become the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Arkansas signal-caller has completed 67.1% of his passes for 1,300 yards and 12 passing touchdowns through the first six games of the season, but has also thrown six interceptions. Perhaps with more time under Enos, the latter half of the 2023 campaign can be stronger for Jefferson.
Enos will face his former team this Saturday, as Arkansas (2-4, 0-3 SEC) travels to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take on the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0 SEC) in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game is set to kickoff at 11:00 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN.