No school in the nation produces NFL talent these days quite like Alabama. Under the guidance of arguably the greatest coach in college football history, who has plenty of NFL experience as well, nearly every prospect that signs with the Crimson Tide has the opportunity to advance to the game’s highest level at some point.

If they put in the work that’s demanded of them by Nick Saban, of course.

That’s something Calvin Ridley touched on during his recent appearance on Pro Football Talk with Mike Florio. After Florio asked Ridley what he was doing to keep himself occupied leading up to the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft, the former Alabama receiver claimed he was keeping his head down and working every day.

“I just keep working, no days off,” Ridley said on the show. “If I take days off, I’m going to get behind. I can’t get behind, I just keep working; and actually, I feel better when I do that.”

Florio then asked how much of that work ethic is a direct product of playing for Saban at Alabama?

“Yeah, a lot of it, I think,” Ridley answered. “Coach Saban puts us through a lot and I think I caught on to it. It’s a habit now. I feel weird when I’m not doing something.”

Based on that answer, it should come as no surprise that Alabama has had 22 players drafted in the first round by the NFL over the last decade. Florida ranks second in the SEC in that category with 14 first-round selections over the last decade. That type of dominance certainly has to do with the enormous talent that arrives in Tuscaloosa every year but Saban’s program has sustained itself for so long thanks to the work put in once those talented recruits arrive until the time they leave.

Just ask Ridley, he’ll tell you much the same.