Alabamaâs Nick Saban talks whether Tide fails to hear his messages: âSometimes I wonderâ

There may be no better public speaker in all of college football than Nick Saban.

But there may be too much of a good thing. There’s only so much a player can tune into before it turns into white noise, especially if the message continues to be the same. It’s why the Alabama coach had guest speakers address the Crimson Tide before every season.

It is well documented he tries to send the guys a message through the media.

Saban, who joined “The Pat McAfee Show,” was asked if there were times if his players fail to get the message he is trying to get across.

“In that environment, at halftime, before the game, I do think they are listening,” Saban said. “Sometimes when I am giving them a presentation in a meeting, and, maybe even saying the same thing, and they are just sitting there in a theater seat, I wonder sometimes if they are really listening.”

Saban had a smile on his face, of course, but the point is even the best and brightest zone out from time to time.

However, the 71-year-old coach believes his team is locked in on game day, which was the case on Saturday. The Tide, down 20-7 at half to Tennessee, rallied to beat the Vols 34-20.

Saban re-iterated there were a lot of lessons to learn from the game, including playing with the entire 60 minutes with intensity. Still, he had a message for his team in the face of adversity.

“I told the guys at halftime everybody has a choice in life,” he told McAfee on Thursday. “What do you want to accomplish? What are you willing to do to accomplish it? We sure didn’t play the way we are capable of playing in the first half. If we go out and play the way we are capable of in the second half, we can still have a chance to be successful and win the game.

“They responded well, and I was really proud of the way they overcame adversity again to win.”

Message received.

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.