Terrion Arnold, Patrick Surtain recall Nick Saban chewout stories: 'But when I got the NFL, I was ready'

Seemingly every former Alabama player has a story involving Nick Saban. Most of them include intense moments after messing up to a certain degree. From the practice field to a game itself, there was no off switch when it came to Saban’s desire to get every single thing right.

You can go one step further with defensive backs, the position group Saban arguably knows best. Alabama produced plenty throughout the years and two of the best of recent times, Terrion Arnold and Patrick Surtain, recently started a podcast together titled Closed on Sundays with Pat and Terrion.

One of the first episodes, both guys told stories of getting chewed out by Saban. Arnold kicked it off, recalling one moment during the 2023 Kentucky game when out there with the second-team unit. Surtain’s tale was back in Tuscaloosa during a practice, something he knew was coming.

"If I tell you to do this, then GOT DAMMIT do it."

Coach Saban had Pat & Terrion STRESSED at Bama but they were NFL ready 😂 https://t.co/CRcDOAOdTS pic.twitter.com/pHVvGSPUJv

— Closed on Sundays with Pat and Terrion (@closedsundaypod) September 23, 2025

Diving further into Arnold’s story — he had a pretty decent day in Lexington. Alabama wound up winning by a large margin, as mentioned. Arnold finished with four tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, an interception, and forced fumble. Every defensive back in America would take a game with a similar line, especially with a win.

Still, a 74-yard play against his defense will never make Saban happy, even if the score is 49-14 at the time. Arnold got chewed out after Kentucky scored three plays later, closing the margin to 28 points. Postgame debrief from Saban turned out to be a perfect bow on the story too.

As usual, there is a deeper meaning behind what Saban is attempting to accomplish. Surtain and Arnold are now among the best at their positions in the NFL. They gave credit to Saban for preparing them for the next level due to those kinds of chewouts, wanting to get things down perfectly.

“Everybody got the same stories about Saban,” Surtain said. “But one thing we can leave Alabama saying that when I got to the NFL, I was ready.” Arnold quickly agreed with a “Yep.”

Arnold is in his second season with the Detroit Lions after being a first-round selection in 2024. Surtain quickly turned into one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, earning two All-Pro selections and winning Defensive Player of the Year last season for the Denver Broncos. Just another couple of successful stories of players performing well in the league after developing under Saban.