Josh Jacobs has Nick Saban to thank.
Not just for shaping an NFL career that’s seen him become one of the game’s top running backs, but also for his former head coach’s insistence on taking a class while Jacobs was still in Tuscaloosa.
This year, Jacobs and his teammate Xavier McKinney (both Alabama alumni) were named winners of the Tom Mulhern Stand-Up Guy Award. The award honors players who have shown exemplary professionalism in helping reporters cover the Packers.
Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney are this year’s winners of the Tom Mulhern Stand-Up Guy award given to the player or players voted to have shown “exemplary professionalism” in helping reporters who cover the Packers do their jobs.
It’s presented by the Green Bay @PFWAwriters. pic.twitter.com/yzxy6p9M3F
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 9, 2025
Jacobs doesn’t take the honor lightly, and he made sure to give a nod to his former head coach, who, funnily enough, is now in the media himself.
“The thing people don’t know is, Saban made every freshman take speech, and to be able to talk to the media, we had to take that class,” Jacobs explained. “That was something that he made every freshman do. He also taught us wins or losses; you still gotta be a pro and handle things a certain type of way. I think that’s the thing that probably just stuck with me the longest.
“Obviously, y’all got a job to do, too. I try to make it easy for everybody.”
Josh Jacobs credits Nick Saban for requiring Alabama players to take speech & interpersonal communication classes as freshmen to help speak to the media.#Packers pic.twitter.com/DsoYz6F7dF
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) January 9, 2025
McKinney echoed Jacobs’ sentiment without getting too much in the weeds of the class he and Jacobs took at the University of Alabama when they were both 18 years old.
Saban has been an absolute rockstar in his debut season on College GameDay. So, perhaps he knows a thing or two about dealing with the media — even if he’s been known to be a bit prickly at times.
Clearly, though, that never rubbed off on his players, who have carried that torch into the NFL.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.