The Alabama Crimson Tide continues spring football practice in preparation for Saturday's A-Day spring football game.

But last week, coach Nick Saban explained how his Catholic faith helps him develop players on and off the field.

He was asked, "Does your Catholic faith play into the success of you coaching college football players into champions?"

"I don't think there's any question about the fact that character, moral development are all a part of leadership," Saban told EWTN. "... I look at it as, we always say, 'God have mercy,' but that mercy is not a well. It's not a cistern. It's a channel that should run through us to other people. That's part of what we try to do for our players, so they have a chance to be more successful in life."

Saban was also asked about the new student center, the Saban Catholic Student Center, at St. Francis of Assisi University Parish in Tuscaloosa.

"We've tried to raise money for it as well as making a significant contribution," Saban explained. "My wife, Terry, is very involved in it. We have a lot of Catholic participation by our students here. We felt it would be great for them to have a place where they can go socialize and develop the kind of relationships that might be helpful to them and their faith development."

Watch the interview below.

When Notre Dame played Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game at the end of the 2002 season, Saban was asked about his Catholic faith as his team prepared for the Irish.

"Being a Catholic kid growing up, I always watched Notre Dame and everybody in my family was interested in what Notre Dame did," Saban said at the time.