At the SEC media days in July, Nick Saban mentioned the distraction of NFL Draft evaluations might have played a role in Alabama's preparation for Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.
“I get six junior draft grades backs [on Dec. 22],” Saban said. “I have to sit down and share this information with players a week before playing a game.
“One guy finds out he's a first-round pick, another guy finds out he's a first-round pick, another guy thinks he's a first-round pick. And a couple of other guys who thought they were going out for the first round are third or fourth round picks.
“All the sudden I'm managing something that has nothing to do with playing Ohio State.”
It sounds like the players got the message, and this year they are approaching the information gathering part of the NFL Draft process with much different mindset.
On Saturday, Alabama tight end O.J. Howard told ESPN's Joe Schad that the entire team voted to delay that process until after the playoff.
Alabama TE OJ Howard told me the team took a vote to withhold NFL Draft grade feedback until after the championship game
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) January 9, 2016
