Alabama football players' picks for favorite pregame movies of 2017 might surprise you

"The Foreigner' (left) and "American Made" cracked the list of some Alabama football players' favorite pregame movies of 2017. (STX Films / Universal)

Alabama players rarely need any extra motivation heading into big games, least of all the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson on Monday.

But the pregame movie has become a worthy ritual for the Crimson Tide roster in order to take their minds off of what lies ahead on the field, and if a movie can add any spark at all, it can't hurt.

On Fridays before gamedays when Alabama kicks off after 4 p.m., the Crimson Tide players watch a movie together to relax and find the right mindset heading into the next game.

Saban typically finds films with a positive message the team can carry with them as they mentally prepare, so we asked several players which film they loved watching most from the 2017 season.

Primed and focused for Monday's grudge match against Clemson, few players could recall any titles from the season, especially since they haven't even watched a movie together since right before the Iron Bowl in November.

Cornerback Anthony Averett said the team watches so many, it's hard to choose one as best of the season.

But punter J.K. Scott rattled off one action flick he said stood out among the rest: "The Foreigner," starring action legend Jackie Chan.

It follows a humble businessman (Chan) with a buried past who seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official (Pierce Brosnan), whose past may hold clues to the killers' identities.

Scott said he enjoyed that film and that the team usually settles on action movies to help give them any edge that could help.

So it makes sense that offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher picked the Tom Cruise crime thriller "American Made" has the film he liked most from the 2017 season.

It tells the story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair. Cruise, who plays Seal, re-teamed with "Edge of Tomorrow" director Doug Liman.

"That was probably my favorite this year," Pierschbacher said.

Considering we know Saban has shown past teams films like "The Last Samurai" and "Red Tails" and gotten successful results the following Saturdays, it shouldn't surprise us to hear titles like "The Foreigner" and "American Made," highly entertaining flicks meant to increase your adrenaline.

And the movies tend to pack a message the coaches want to communicate to the players as it pertains to their own on-field performance.

"They always relate to where we're at in the season," said linebacker Anfernee Jennings. "Sometimes it's determination. It always correlates so we can relate to it.

There certainly wasn't the consensus we heard from the roster last season, when nearly everyone we polled

an intense and action-packed depiction of heroism on the battlefield.

Scott said the team will probably watch a movie together sometime this weekend ahead of Monday's game. In past years, they've watched movies like "Red Tails," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Sleepless" ahead of national title or playoff games.

If they go the action route again, their current options in theaters are "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" or maybe "Jumanji." Otherwise, you're looking at musically inclined flicks like "Pitch Perfect 3," "The Greatest Showman" or "Coco."

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