ORLANDO, Fla. -- When it comes to the NFL draft, Nick Saban tells it like it is.

During his final radio show of the season on Monday evening, the Alabama head coach shared some surprising news that only one Crimson Tide player earned a top-15 draft grade.

Saban said he shared that message with all of the draft-eligible players and seniors prior to the team’s appearance in the Citrus Bowl -- a game only two draft hopefuls chose to skip.

“I’m really pleased and happy with all the players who decided to play in the game,” Saban said at the team hotel. “And I told the players, I said, ‘Look, if you’re a top-15 pick in the draft, aight, it’s a lot of money. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to play in the bowl game. But if you’re not, it’s an opportunity for you to showcase your talents in terms of being able to move up in the draft.’

“And I said, ‘We only have one guy that has that high of a grade, and he’s not going to play in the game because he’s injured. And that injury may affect his grade, unfortunately, for him right now, aight. So, everybody here on our team has an opportunity to showcase their talents. Is that the memory that you’re satisfied with for people to evaluate who you are and what kind of player you are and what they might want to invest in your future?’

“So, everybody can benefit from playing in the game. I’ve been really pleased with the response of all the guys, and they’ve had a really good attitude about it, as well.”

That one player is undoubtedly quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who will not play in the Citrus Bowl due to a hip injury and surgery he had in the middle of November. Tagovailoa said it would “be tough to pass up” the 2020 NFL Draft if he was a projected top-10 or top-15 pick.

“This is probably going to be the biggest decision of my life,” Tagovailoa said in early December. “This is where I seek advice from what I believe and this is where I seek advice from my parents. But truly, at the end of the day, the decision comes down to me. Whether I feel like it’s right for me to stay or if it’s right for me to go, it’s just a really, really big decision, man.”

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Each school can request evaluations from the NFL’s College Advisory Committee for only five players, and the grades they give back are first round, second round or neither, meaning the player should consider returning to school. But Saban has other connections in the league that he uses to gather feedback for his players to help them make important decisions.

Some of UA’s other top draft-eligible players include receivers Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and DeVonta Smith, running back Najee Harris, offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills, defensive lineman Raekwon Davis, linebackers Anfernee Jennings and Dylan Moses and safety Xavier McKinney. Trevon Diggs and Terrell Lewis chose not to play.

“We appreciate the guys that aren’t playing in the game, what they did to support the program, and we’ll be supportive of them, as well,” Saban said. “But I do think that everybody would have benefitted from playing in this game if they have an opportunity to showcase their talents.”

Monday was the second time Saban has spoke at length about draft grades this season, while the first instance occurred two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa. He had a similar message then.

“I got draft grades from 20 different teams,” Saban said. “If you guys picked guys -- do you guys actually pick guys in the draft? Does the media pick guys? Do the guys that put the mock drafts up, do you guys have actually have a draft choice? Do you pick? The people that pick, I’m not sure we do have anybody in that position, aight. I know it’s out there. It’s out there every year.

“We’ve had guys that they put were going to get drafted in the first round and got drafted in the fifth round. So, I don’t think all that information is exactly accurate. I actually think that the NFL teams try to stir the media away from who they’re going to pick and who they like, aight. So, there’s a lot of misinformation out there as to who the guys are.

“I’m excited about the guys that are playing in the game, the guys that have decided to play in the game, and I think all the guys that are playing in the game have made really good choices to play in the game. I think they can enhance their value by playing in the game very, very well. Every guy’s got to make that decision, and we support them, whatever that decision is.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).