Nick Saban shares hilarious story about former LSU player comparing national championship play to military experience

In the lead-up to Veterans Day this week, Alabama head coach Nick Saban has taken time to thank veterans for their service in the military. But this week, one of his former LSU players who served in the military came to Alabama to talk to the ROTC, and he had quite a comparison for his former coach.

Saban said the long snapper — presumably Air Force veteran Gant Petty, even though he didn’t outright name him — stopped into his office to say hello and catch up. He then shared stories about his time in the military and told Saban nothing he saw in the military compared to the snap he had to make in the national title game.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“A couple of guys from [LSU], one was the long snapper on our national championship team there in 2003,” Saban said on “Hey Coach and the Nick Saban Show” Thursday. “He’s been in the military for 15 years, was here today to speak to our ROTC group in Alabama. He stopped by to say hello. And he was telling me about all these crazy things — because he’s a pilot — that he’s done in the military over the last 15 years, the missions that he’s flown on, all the bad things. He says the one that was the scariest moment in [his] life was with nine seconds to go in the national championship [game], we had to punt. … We played Oklahoma.

“He said, ‘None of the experiences that I’ve had in war or in an airplane or flying all these missions was as scary as making that snap.’ I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.'”

Nick Saban thanks military members ahead of Veterans Day, shares appreciation

During his press conference on Wednesday, Saban took a moment to acknowledge the sacrifices our military makes. Veterans Day — celebrating all military veterans of the United States Armed Forces — falls on Nov. 11, one day ahead of Alabama’s showdown with Ole Miss this week.

“One thing I’d like to mention — Veterans Day coming up this week,” said Saban before taking questions on Wednesday. “Just like to take this opportunity to thank all the veterans who served our country. To make the sacrifices they made for the quality of life that maybe so many of us take for granted that we certainly shouldn’t.

“It’s hard to feel bad if you have gratitude for what we have, and we have one of the greatest countries in the world. And all these servicemen have made sacrifices so that we can maintain that. And we appreciate what they do more than you know.”