Nick Saban was called out by one of his former players Wednesday after the coach called for the timetable for players to receive feedback on their NFL prospects to be pushed back because it was a distraction.
Plaxico Burress, who played for Saban at Michigan State, ripped his former coach on Twitter, saying the coach lied to the Spartans in 1999 when he said he was "committed" to the school, only to leave the next day to become LSU's coach.
N Saban looked his players in the face at the Duf, said he wasnt leavin, I'm committed to the program" and was gone the next day. Tru story
— Plaxico Burress (@plaxicoburress) July 15, 2015Now Nick Saban players are being distracted by the NFL and chasing a dream, haha tell your story Nick. LSU showed you $$, you was GONE! Ha
— Plaxico Burress (@plaxicoburress) July 15, 2015Burress was reacting to Saban's comments made earlier in the day at SEC media days.
"You're talking about a young person who has to deal with a lot now," Saban, now Alabama's coach, said. "We had six guys in this situation last year and 11 the year before. So we're trying to get ready for a game, and then all of the sudden a guy finds out he's a first-round draft pick or a guy that thought he was a first-round draft pick isn't a first-round pick, and we're trying to get ready to play a playoff game.
"I think that it would be better not to submit that information to a player until he was finished competing in college. We've moved the draft back [from April to May]. We have not moved the date that a player has to declare back."
Saban said Alabama's chemistry was "affected by something" between the time of the SEC championship game and the team's playoff game against Ohio State and believes it was the Dec. 15 deadline for juniors to submit for draft grades with players receiving their assessment right after Christmas, just days before the playoff games, which for Alabama was Jan. 1.
Burress tweeted that he was especially hurt by Saban's departure because the coach told him to stay in school only to later bolt himself.
I recall Nick Saban telling me to stay in school finish what I started, I wasnt 1st round pick and he left for LSU b4 the season was over
— Plaxico Burress (@plaxicoburress) July 15, 2015Now Nick Saban goes on tv saying that kids are distracted by NFL projections. Well, the kids are just chasing a dream that you were. $$$
— Plaxico Burress (@plaxicoburress) July 15, 2015Burress also left the Spartans after the 1999 season, declaring for the NFL draft. The wide receiver tweeted that Saban told him he was going to be a second-round pick but Burress proved his coach wrong by becoming a first-round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 8 overall).
ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough contributed to this report.