As a defensive back, Patrick Surtain II got to know Nick Saban better than most.

Such is the nature of having Saban working with that position group and sitting in meetings each and every day. Messing up in front of Saban was never wise during his 17 years as Alabama football coach, but especially if you’re a defensive back.

Surtain appeared on Johnny Manziel’s podcast “Glory Daze” recently and shared one time Surtain remembered feeling the wrath of Saban after a screwup.

“I remember one practice, the playbook is like this big,” Surtain said. “A whole bunch of plays, a whole bunch of adjustments with certain formations. It was like reading Chinese at first. You know what I mean? I’m going into the book trying to recognize a specific play. I went over it in the notes.”

But going over it and applying it are two different things.

“We were just in one team period,” Surtain said. “I got in there. The first play that was called was that exact play. In my head, I’m going through it. I’m like what do I do to this formation, what’s my role? What’s this coverage? In my head I’m thinking. I went into this one specific zone. Obviously I f…ed it up. I knew I f…ed it up because the guy I was supposed to cover was wide open. Next thing you know, I’m like man I f…ed that up. I go back to the huddle. Next thing you know, I see a whole straw bucket hat fly on the ground.”

That’s bad news. Saban incoming.

“He’s like ‘god damnit Patrick,’” Surtain recalled. “‘We went over this in the film meeting room. You’ve got to get that shit together.’ Then I looked and I was like yep I f…ed that up. He was on my ass about it that whole day.”

Surtain, now a Broncos cornerback who won NFL defensive player of the year in 2024, said that was an example of how Saban expected greatness from his players.

“After that I didn’t mess up one thing after,” Surtain said. “I kept that coach’s trust for sure.”

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