DALLAS — Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, in his new analyst role with ESPN, raised a few eyebrows this week with his prediction that the Crimson Tide would miss out on the 2024 SEC Championship Game.

That would include his former players.

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“He always used to say, ‘Don’t let some guy that lives in their mom’s basement determine how you feel,’" offensive guard Tyler Booker at SEC Media Days said Wednesday. "So I’m not gonna let some guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel.”

Zinger!

Apparently from the fairway, Saban's crystal ball sees Georgia and Texas reaching the SEC title game, citing the youth in Alabama's secondary as primary concern. Safety Malachi Moore naturally took note of that.

"Everybody has a right to their own opinion," Moore said. "May the best man win."

The inexperience lies more at the cornerback position than it does at safety, where Moore will patrol the field in his final college season. As such, he took no offense to his former coach's assessment.

"Coach was just being honest. Losing Kool Aid (McKinstry), Terrion (Arnold), who are first-round corners in my opinion, it's always going to be hard to replace that kind of talent," Moore added. "But (cornerbacks) Domani Jackson, Zabien Brown, Jaylen Mbakwe, Zay Mincey, DaShawn Jones, everybody is coming in and going to work every day. I like the progress I'm seeing from that group."

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football players react to Nick Saban's UGA-Texas SECCG prediction