Patrick Surtain and Terrion Arnold made it clear that DeVonta Smith is one of Nick Saban’s favorites.
The former Alabama players were reminiscing during Surtain’s and Arnold’s “Closed on Sundays” podcast.
“Smitty can’t do wrong in Saban’s eyes,” Surtain said.
The Philadelphia Eagles receiver disagreed, but the trio of former Tide players had some fun with each other.
Smith was asked about the worst Saban ass-chewing if he ever got.
In 2019, Smith took a swing at Texas A&M safety Leon O’Neal to earn an ejection during Alabama’s 47-28 win in College Station.
“You know me, I don’t bother nobody,” Smith said on the podcast. “(Guy) threw a punch at me. I jabbed his ass back. … Saban come over there. ‘You can’t throw no punch.’
“I said, ‘You let a mother(expletive) hit you and you just sit there, not me.’”
Smith said that encounter was the worst.
“He got on my ass,” Smith said. “The game going on, (and he) followed me all the way to the locker room after they ejected me still talking. Like, ‘Bruh, go out there and coach them boys, leave me alone, man.’”
Back in 2019, here’s what Saban said about the ejection.
“Basically, he got hit — punched and he retaliated,” Saban said. “We’ll have to wait for the conference office to see what his status is. It was offsetting fouls. Obviously, their player shouldn’t have punched him, but (Smith) should have had the discipline not to hit him back because that’s a foul. We would have got a 15-yard penalty and that would have basically ended the game.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.