TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Nick Saban and Ronnie Harrison made headlines last week, but the coach wants his former player to understand the real meaning behind his comments behind the podium.

Saban shared his thoughts on players leaving a year early for the NFL draft following Alabama’s second spring scrimmage this past weekend. And while he did not name Harrison, a former Crimson Tide safety, he used a player selected in the third round last year as an example.

“We have guys that have no draft grades, seventh-round grades, free-agent grades, fifth-round grades that are going out of the draft. And the person that loses in that is the player,” Saban said. “If you’re a third-round draft pick, and we had one here last year -- I’m not going to say any names -- goes and starts for his team, so he’s making third-round money, which is not that great.

“He’d be the first guy taken at his position this year, probably, and make $15-18 million more. So, the agent makes out, the club makes out, and now they’ve got a guy that’s going to play for that kind of money for three more years, aight.”

Harrison, however, was the only third-round draft pick for the Crimson Tide in 2018. Thus, the now-Jacksonville Jaguar safety didn’t appreciate his former heads coach’s statement, tweeting this out:

“Coaches get so Butt Hurt Now Days About a Kid Making a Decision to live out his dreams and Go Pro. Makes me think do you really care about the success of the kid or how well your program performs? #KeepMyNameOutYaMouth #Bama #Saban #GodGotIt”

Alabama head coach Nick Saban and former safety Ronnie Harrison

The two statements made by Saban and Harrison have been discussed and debated on social media and sports talk shows all week long. But after Alabama’s Thursday practice, Saban had something else he wanted to say -- the actual meaning of his initial remarks that got lost when he used Harrison to make a point. He did this at the end of his press conference, unasked.

“I’d just like to make one statement to make sure everybody understands who we are and what we do,” Saban said. “Our whole goal in this program is to help people be more successful in life. So, we support every player in every decision they make, regardless of what it is.

“We want to help them with all their decisions to have the best opportunity to be successful and create the most value for themselves and their future. Once any player decides what he’s going to do in any part of our program in any way, we’re going to support him in every way that we can. That’s what we’ve always done. I think our players pretty much understand that.

“So, we have a lot of players that come back here a lot, they’re very proud of what they were able to accomplish while they were here at the university and they’re always welcomed back. That’s something that’s very important to us, and it’s very important to the program. So, thank you.”

Alabama will end the spring Saturday, April 13, in the annual A-Day Game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Several former players will be in attendance on the sideline, and Harrison is and will always be welcome to join them. Kickoff, which will air on ESPN2, is set for 1 p.m. CT.

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

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