It was Saturday after Gehrig Dieter made three catches for one yard and scored two touchdowns -- generating one of the strangest stat lines ever seen in a football box score -- that a reporter raised the point to Nick Saban that the Alabama receiver hasn't produced at the level he once did at Bowling Green.

The Crimson Tide coach bristled and fired back.

"I think the guy has done a fantastic job for us," Saban said following Alabama's 31-3 victory over Chattanooga. "When you say he hasn't had the production that you'd expect, who set the expectations, you or me? I think you did, because from my expectation the guy has done a really good job. He does a great job of blocking. He does everything we ask him to do."

Dieter, a graduate transfer who arrived at Alabama with much fanfare earlier this year, has spent much of this season doing yeoman's work. He's dutifully been a decoy and blocked for other teammates while spouting the company line.

In the process, Dieter has become the corporeal embodiment of a quote inside the receivers' meeting room.

"How you play without the ball is what kind of teammate you are," Dieter said, reciting the motto.

In 2015, Dieter was a dynamic playmaker at his previous school, Bowling Green. He contributed 94 catches and accumulated more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

But at Alabama he's been marginalized as a receiving option. In 11 games, he's been targeted only 21 times and snagged 12 passes for 186 yards. He's also reached the end zone three times. When reminded of his reduced output Tuesday, Dieter didn't express any disappointment with how the season has transpired.

"We're 11-0," Dieter said. "We're undefeated so I couldn't be happier as a player on this team to be a part of something like this, to be on the No. 1 team in the country. Even though I'm not putting up the stats, that doesn't really matter to me. Whatever the coaches ask me to help the team win, it's what I'm happy to do."

Of course, Dieter is not alone. With freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts commanding the offense and experiencing growing pains as a passer, other Alabama receivers have seen their statistical outputs diminish. For instance, compared to 2015, Calvin Ridley is averaging fewer catches and receiving yards on a game-by-game basis during his sophomore campaign.

"If you just say production is about how many passes you catch, I don't think we have anybody for a long time that has caught as many passes that they would like to catch or we would like for them to catch," Saban said. "But it wasn't their fault and now we're developing that."

Whether Dieter will benefit in the final stretch this season has yet to be determined. In the meantime, he plans to continue to carry out his role to the best of his ability. Looking at the bright side, he said that the experience of spending this year doing grunt work away from the ball has only enhanced his repertoire and made him more attractive to NFL teams should he have a chance to go pro.

"I think it's helped me," he said. "Whatever the coaches ask me to do, I'll be happy to do it or whatever helps the team win. I'm a selfless guy. I'm always down to do whatever they need me to do."

It's why Saban took exception to the reporter's line of questioning last Saturday and used the opportunity to praise Dieter for his contributions -- even if they may not jump off the stat sheet or be entirely quantifiable.

"I have a lot of confidence in the guy," Saban said. "He's done a really good job for us."