FRISCO, Texas — Roughly 45 minutes awaited before practice, and Nick Saban was at it again.
“Hey, we need to train this guy,” then-Alabama defensive backs coach Karl Scott remembers Saban telling him in October 2018. “You need to meet with him. Make sure he knows what he’s doing out there.”
The player in question was receiver DeVonta Smith, who had caught the winning touchdown in the national championship game nine months prior. He would go on to win the Heisman Trophy two years later, then merit first-round draft selection and an NFL debut with the Philadelphia Eagles in three years.