Alabama football heard Western Kentucky quarterback TJ Finley. Loud and clear.

“It was a little disrespectful,” offensive guard Tyler Booker said Tuesday. “We definitely saw what he said.”

Finley, leading into the season opener, said on the BookIt Sports show that Western Kentucky wasn’t just going to roll over.

And then came the words that carried some heat.

“Alabama has a whole new ball club that people have to take into consideration that they might not be who they think they might be,” said Finley, the former Auburn and LSU quarterback.

The Crimson Tide went on to beat the Hilltoppers 63-0 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Booker said going into the game the pregame message was simple: Make Western Kentucky believe “we’re still Alabama.”

“The whole purpose of the game was just showing we are who we say we are,” Booker said. “I feel like we accomplished that.”

And then some. Safety Keon Sabb picked off Finley twice in the first quarter alone. Meanwhile, the Alabama offense never ran more than three plays in one drive in the first half. That’s all it usually needed to score.

Finley’s comments weren’t the only motivating factor for the Crimson Tide, but they certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

“That just added a little fuel to the fire,” Booker said.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.