Alabama football players revealed Thursday that the Crimson Tide is taking precautionary measures to avoid any infiltration of their preparation for the Rose Bowl against Michigan. Wideout Isaiah Bond said players have had to watch film as a team, not on their own.

When Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees spoke to reporters later, he avoided commenting on the matter.

“I don’t want to get into the whole Michigan deal with whatever they have going on over there,” Rees said. “That’s not a decision I’m making or anything like that. Our focus has been on, how do we get our players best prepared to go play this game? And really just focus on what we can do and less about them.”

Michigan was the subject of controversy early in the season when it was alleged that a Wolverine staffer had been orchestrating a sign-stealing operation. The staff member, Connor Stalions, left the team and head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for UM’s final three regular-season games due to the scandal.

Rees, speaking to reporters for the first time since before the 2023 campaign began, was asked what impact the film-study changes have had on the team’s preparation.

“I don’t think we’ve put any harm to what our preparation can look like with any of the things that we’ve done,” Rees said. “And again, we’re focused on us, less about that stuff and more on what we can do to play well.”

Later on, Alabama’s first-year offensive coordinator gave a similar answer to his first when asked again to shed light on UA’s film-study changes. He was then asked whether the move was mandated by the College Football Playoff.

“Like I said, I’m not getting into the whole thing,” Rees said. “It’s just not my area to talk.”

Alabama and Michigan are scheduled to face off Monday in the Rose Bowl at 4 p.m. Monday, with the winning moving on to the national championship game to play either Washington or Oregon. The game will be aired on ESPN.