DALLAS – Former Alabama coach Nick Saban has spoken but offensive lineman Tyler Booker joked he’s not paying attention to what Saban had to say.

This week on the SEC Network, Saban was asked to give his prediction for this year’s SEC Championship. He picked Georgia and Texas to play in the game.

So, what does Booker have to think about that?

“Coach Saban always taught me not to pay attention to external factors,” said Booker, laughing.

Crimson Tide safety Malachi Moore playfully rolled his eyes.

“You’ve got to love Coach Saban, man,” Moore said. “It’s a cool opinion for him to have. We’re just going to take it one day at a time and keep on working.”

Saban, well-known for his disdain for “rat poison,” dished plenty toward the Bulldogs and Longhorns.

“I think Texas, if their defense comes through and they can replace some of the interior people they lost that were high draft picks and all that, they’re really good offensively. And even though their quarterback has missed time – (Quinn) Ewers has missed time the last couple of years – (Arch) Manning was lights-out in the spring game. Like, Arch was like, 21 for 25 for 347 yards.

"That depth at quarterback is probably really important for them because Ewers has missed time the last couple of years, a game or two, which could really affect where you end up. So I really like Texas. I think Georgia’s got a really good team, but I believe in our Alabama team, too – I believe in Jalen Milroe. I just think the question marks in the secondary, until those get resolved, it’s hard to sort of jump on that bandwagon.”

The annual SEC preseason predictions are set to be announced Friday.

That’s when the media will give their take on whether they believe Saban’s prediction to be the right one.

“Coach Saban always used to say don’t pay attention to someone who lives in his mom’s basement determine how you feel,” Booker said, again with a smile. “So, I’m not going to let some guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel.”