Pick a word to describe how you felt when you heard the news of Nick Saban’s retirement on Wednesday and chances are Jake Coker can relate.

The former quarterback, who led the Crimson Tide to one of Saban’s six Alabama national championships, couldn’t believe the news.

“Shocked really,” Coker told AL.com on Wednesday night. “Can’t believe it. Honestly, when I saw that, it was an emotional, weird landmark to reach. To play for coach Saban, he meant so much to me as a mentor, as a leader I have been able to follow for a certain period of time in my life.”

Coker wasn’t your typical Alabama player. You might say he was before his time. In January of 2014, Coker – a Mobile native – transferred to Alabama and was eligible to play. But he sat behind Blake Sims that year only to claim the starting job the following year and lead the Tide to 45-40 win over Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff national championship game.

“He does things the right way,” Coker said. “He’s always done that. When he tells you something, you are able to take it for what it is and know that is going to be a promise.

“It’s kind of a sad day. Wondering what direction Alabama is going to go in next, and hope that the legacy he built will be able to endure.”

Alabama students gathered late on Wednesday night at Saban’s statue only to chant who they didn’t want to see walking the sidelines in Tuscaloosa.

Whoever it is, Coker said, won’t come close to the man who built a legacy.

“Everybody you ever meet or come in contact with – they may love what they are doing, but it is still their job at the end of the day,” Coker explained. “To be around somebody that is completely embodied what they do, just obsessed with it and that obsession is relentless. The desire to win without necessarily focusing on the winning but the process of it is what sets him apart from everyone I’ve been around.”

So what is the one thing he takes most from his time playing for the greatest coach to ever do it?

“I’ve always said this, there’s a lot of different things he has said over the years that, I think, carry a lot of weight, but the ultimate, to me, learning experience was watching him work every day,” he said. “His car, I’ll never forget, that Mercedes was like permanently installed in that parking spot. No matter what time you left, it was always there.

“It didn’t matter what time of year it was – summer time, spring time or fall – you felt like there was always an eye on you. He always had a pulse on everything that went on no matter what. You could be working out at 6:15 on a Thursday in August or July, and you knew when that 5-foot-7, 150-pound 70-year-old walked over to cuss you out, you were in trouble.

“He just knew. If you missed a rep or screwed anything up, and you saw him walking across that field, you’re like, ‘Oh God, he knows. He knows. I hope it’s not me. I hope it’s not me.’

“It was just a relentless focus on detail that I will always remember.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.