KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Butch Jones, the former Tennessee head coach who joined Nick Saban’s Alabama staff as an offensive analyst after being fired by the Volunteers, was dunked with ice water Saturday at Neyland Stadium by Crimson Tide players.
Images of Jones joining the Alabama tradition of coaches and players smoking cigars after beating Tennessee circulated after the game on social media.
Even Saban mentioned it in his postgame remarks.
“It was good to see Butch Jones get dumped on,” UA’s head coach said. “He was happy and he’s done a great job for us and we really appreciate the things he’s done to help our program as well.”
Butch Jones gets a Gatorade bath pic.twitter.com/TDRhdypKjT
— Bill Bender (@BillBender92) October 20, 2018
New punter
Mike Bernier made his debut at punter for Alabama, punting twice for a 41-yard average. A senior from Madison who transferred from Eastern Illinois, he saw his first action in two seasons at UA. He replaced Skyler DeLong, a freshman who has shanked three punts this season.
“Nobody’s entitled to a job,” Saban said. “Everybody’s in competition. We need to help (DeLong), who has a lot of talent, to become a better punter. I think he gets real anxious in a game and loses his technique a little bit, so give him some time to cool off a little bit and help him see things from a different perspective.”
Missing starts
Raekwon Davis sat out the first half after an incident the previous week where he punched a Missouri player several times in a pile-up. Saban said after the game that running back Damien Harris also didn’t start for unspecified disciplinary reasons.
