TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban's butt-chewings have become a rite of passage for Alabama players. Even at 71 years old, the head coach hasn’t lost any of his fire. That was evidenced by his multiple meltdowns on the sideline during the Crimson Tide’s 40-17 victory at Mississippi State over the weekend.

“When you choose to come here, you never know when he can chew you out,” Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold said Tuesday.

Arnold should know better than anyone. He was on the other end of one of Saban’s latest tirades last Saturday.

“I actually was jogging off the field, and I was like ‘Dang boy, he looks mad. He’s gonna give it to somebody,’” Arnold recalled. “And then I’m like ‘Oh, oh, it’s me.’”

The problem on that occasion was that Arnold didn’t time his blitz properly. The conversation started with Saban asking the starting cornerback “How many times do I have to tell you?” Arnold let reporters use their imagination as to what came next.

“It was kind of like one of those things that just have to not hear how he’s saying it but you’ve got to hear what he’s saying,” he explained. “I mean it’s another thing when you look at it as far as never knowing when the camera is on you and being coachable. I feel like the relationship that I have with him, he knows I can take coaching like that.”

Most Alabama players have come to appreciate Saban’s tough love. Arnold even said he’d be more worried if the head coach wasn’t getting onto him during practice. Still, when that time comes, it isn’t for the faint of heart.

“My freshman year, when I got here, I was doing kickoff return, and I misjudged a ball and dropped it,” said senior running back Jase McClellan. “He told me to, ‘Kiss his..something.’ That’s one of my favorite things he’s said.

Until last weekend, Saban had been uncharacteristically calm on the sidelines. However, a pregame pep talk from his wife seemed to spark his fiery ways in Starkville, Mississippi.

“Miss Terry told me if they’re not playing good, to get on their butt,” Saban said following Alabama’s win over the Bulldogs. “So I just did what I was told.”