Nick Saban was standing there as Henry Ruggs returned to the sideline following muffed punt No. 2.
Ruggs was probably expecting to be yelled at. Instead, Alabama's often fiery coach calmly patted the freshman on the helmet and provided encouragement.
Despite Ruggs muffing those two punts in the first quarter Saturday, Saban remains excited about this freshman wide receiver from Montgomery. And Ruggs bounced back from those two early errors and ended the game on a positive note. An Alabama touchdown that pushed the Crimson Tide lead to 31-3 lead late in the third quarter was a 20-yard scoring pass from Jalen Hurts to Ruggs.