When Alabama opens fall camp next week, ESPN cameras will litter the practice field and Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. That’s because the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports will be filming a four-part television series throughout the Crimson Tide’s preseason camp.

Titled Training Days: Rolling with the Tide, the all-access programming “will go inside practices and closed-door meetings and delve into the effort of Nick Saban, his assistant coaches and players as they prepare to defend their national championship,” according to ESPN.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to HBO’s Hard Knocks, which documents an NFL team’s journey from training camp through the final preseason game. And even more familiar, ESPN aired a similar show prior to the 2010 season with a similar title (Training Days: Rolling with the Alabama Crimson Tide) and behind-the-scenes approach to Alabama football.

While on ESPN’s campus Tuesday, Saban was asked about the new series.

“We did it once before in 2010,” Saban said on First Take. “We had a similar-type thing for a couple weeks in training camp. I think it’s great exposure for the program. I think just like you have a bit of a myth about what we’re like and what our program is like, a lot of people do. And I think if you allow things like this to happen, they see kind of the real deal.

“We do a lot of positive things for our players, like personal development, academic support, development of players. A lot of people are having successful careers there on and off the field, and we’d like for people to see. And it’s only going to be in training camp, so it really won’t affect the season. I think that is something that I would be a little more skeptical of, how that would impact the players.”

He echoed that same sentiment on The Paul Finebaum Show, reiterating it’s only for fall camp.

“There’s been a lot of interest in somebody trying to do the entire season,” Saban said. “And I’ve been a little bit anti-that because I think when we’re actually getting ready for games and people are trying to focus on what’s happening week to week that it would be somewhat of a distraction to have unfamiliar people around and airing things that happen during the week of preparation. Guys might be more focused on that than maybe the game that we have to play or the things they need to do to play well.

“But to do it in fall camp, I think, would give people a little different look and maybe image of Alabama football. What it is, what we do to create value for players and kind of how positive it is in terms of how our players develop and how much they enjoy and how much fun they have being at Alabama.”

Nick Saban watches CB Shyheim Carter during a practice rep.

Produced by JM Associates and Sport & Story in association with ESPN, Training Days: Rolling with the Tide debuts Thursday, Aug. 9, with each subsequent episode airing on Wednesdays. All of the hour-long episodes will debut on ESPN2 and will be extensively re-aired across ESPN networks.

ESPN cameras will be at every preseason practice and have a consistent presence around the Crimson Tide’s athletic facility throughout the month of August. The series will feature:

-- Saban and a variety of personalities around the program will be mic’d up during practices throughout the month.

-- Inside team and coaches’ meetings, providing a glimpse of the program’s preparation beyond the practice field.

-- Follow positional battles that emerge during training camp as players make their case for playing time, including at key positions.

In addition to ESPN’s access to practice and meetings, the summer series will provide an all-faceted look at the elements which comprise a first-class football program. Highlights include:

-- A tour of Alabama’s football facilities and the benefits they provide the players, including the new athletics dining area, which is attached to the Mal Moore Athletic Facility.

-- Fans and local media provide their vantage point following and working around one of the sport’s all-time most successful programs.

-- A look at the life of the Alabama football players beyond the practice field.

The myth of Alabama, as Saban has said a few times this offseason, is being peeled back with series like this and the Crimson Tide’s growing presence on social media. And it’s all by design, considering there are lot of misconceptions Saban and company want to prove wrong.

“The thing that we probably face the most in recruiting that’s sort of out there is that you don’t have the same opportunity to play because of the players that we have,” Saban said. “But I think there’s two things about that. We’ve probably played more freshmen than almost any team in the country year in and year out because our team turns over a little faster because of the juniors that go out. We do get some good players, and if they’re good enough to help the team, we play them. And I think that’s important.

“And that also creates a competitive -- if you ask any of our players that have played at Alabama, that play in the league now what helped you develop as a player, they would the competition. The competition at their position, the challenges that they had, but also the competition that they played against every day. Jonathan Allen will tell you he played against Cam Robinson, and Amari Cooper will say, ‘I went against Marlon Humphrey every day.’ And it just goes on and on and on and on. And how that competition in practice every day made them better players and actually enhanced their opportunities at the next level.”

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