There were times last season when Dylan Moses didn’t quite look himself. Monday, the former Alabama linebacker revealed why, stating that he played the majority of his senior season with a torn meniscus.

“It happened, I believe, the third game of the season,” Moses said during a Zoom call with reporters. “That’s when I really started feeling it. It was said that it was a bone bruise, but it kept bothering me throughout the year. I just never really spoke up about it. I’m the type of person that’s like if I’m in pain, I never wanna leave the field, so I just didn’t say anything about it. I was dealing with that the entire year, but I’m thankful that I did because it made me stronger and I was able to help my teammates get to the ultimate goal and win a national championship.”

Moses said he underwent surgery on his knee on Feb. 9 stating he feels great and has been going through rehab ever since. Before suffering the injury last year, Moses missed the entire 2019 season after tearing his ACL during fall camp.

Following Alabama’s Rose Bowl win over Notre Dame in January, Moses revealed in an Instagram post that he was still playing through pain during his senior season and that he even contemplated quitting at times. Despite the pain, Moses earned All-SEC honors, leading Alabama with 80 tackles, while tallying 6.5 stops for a loss and 1.5 sacks. The starting Mike linebacker also recorded three pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception.

Later Monday, Nick Saban said he didn’t know if Moses had a torn meniscus, stating “you can talk to the doctor about that.” The head coach said Moses had his knee drained multiple times during the season while stating that team physician, Dr. Lyle Cain, made all the decisions on how Alabama should manage the injury throughout the season.

“I do think [the injury] affected his performance a little bit, but I also think it speaks volumes of his character to be able to persevere through overcoming that kind of injury throughout that course of the season,” Saban told reporters through a Zoom call. “He wanted to play. He obviously was a leader for us on defense, so it was great to have him out there.”

Dylan’s meniscus injury came as a surprise to his teammates as Patrick Surtain II said Monday that he did not learn about Moses’ situation until after the season.

“For him to play through that, that just goes to show you how tough he is, how much of a competitor he is,” Surtain said during a Zoom call with reporters. “Just to go through an injury like that just shows his toughness and how much he wants to be out there on the field. Hats off to him. He did a tremendous job last year, and he was a leader of the defense. Just to have him out there, it was just a great thing.”

Moses is currently projected as a mid-round selection in next month’s NFL draft. Alabama will hold its second of two pro days on Tuesday where he said he only plans to take part in interviews as he continues to rehab his knee.