AJ McCarron knows a thing or two about what it takes to win at Alabama.
The former Alabama quarterback, who helped the Crimson Tide win national championships in 2010, 2012 and 2013, noticed things were quite different this season under new head coach Kalen DeBoer than they were when he played under Nick Saban.
During a recent episode of the “McCready & Siskey” podcast, McCarron ripped how social media and name, image and likeness (NIL) have changed how things go at Alabama.
He said that it was something that the fans would have to get used to.
The former college QB made sure to note that he did not blame the coaching staff but said things at his old school are “not the same.”
“I think, for sure, the standard that everybody was used to for so long after Alabama fans went through a bunch of hell leading up to those glorious years, I think it’s definitely a different era,” McCarron said. “I don’t think you’ll see the same standard from discipline, just things that the team seems to do. It’s a new day and age.”
That’s when McCarron tore into how the players seemed to be focused on other endeavors over football.
“Everybody’s worried about f–king Tik Tok and having a reel and being on highlights for their personal self and personal gain, and how much money they can get from NIL,” he said. “We just didn’t have that s–t back then. It was a team sport. You came together as a team because you had one common goal, because you knew that’s how you were going to make your money, was by winning.
“Winning attracts people to that program, it attracts scouts, it attracts GMs, it attracts ownership to allow yourself that opportunity to go make yourself a lot of money and change your family tree for a long period of time. You can just tell. It’s not the same. I would think Bama fans should get used to that in a way of, hey, it’s not gonna be what you knew from 2008 up until last year, where there was just a certain standard. That’s not a knock on the coaching staff or a knock on anybody.
“It’s just a different era. I think it’s something that they’re going to have to buckle up if they’re not ready for it.”
The Crimson Tide have had a roller coaster season with wins over Georgia and South Carolina but have taken losses against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, the latter being a massive upset over the then-top-ranked Crimson Tide earlier in October.
Alabama is 5-2 in DeBoer’s first season at the helm and is set to face No. 21 Missouri on Saturday afternoon.