Plaxico Burress, who played for Nick Saban at Michigan State, was one of the many voices criticizing Nick Saban last week for his comments at SEC Media Days.

Burress didn’t hold back, either.

Burress and others criticized Saban over the comments he made about the NFL draft evaluations. Saban suggested some players may have been distracted by draft grades before the Crimson Tide’s loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

Today, however, Saban was asked about Burress’ comments for the first time on ESPN’s Car Wash, and AL.com had the transcript.

“Plaxico Burress was a great player for us,” Saban said on ESPN. “He was a fantastic player. He had a great career. He made the right decision to go out for the draft. He was a first-round draft pick. He had a great career as a pro player. I’m proud of what Plaxico Burress has been able to accomplish.

“I’ve never knowingly told a player any information that I get, I get from someone else. And I can’t even remember the conversation. I actually left Michigan State right after the Penn State game. I didn’t stay for the bowl game when I went to LSU and that was Plax’s senior year. We’re proud of what he’s been able to do and we’re happy to see him have as much success as he’s had.”

Later appearing on The Herd, Saban was asked how he felt when all the criticism was dished out in his direction.

“That’s the time we live in,” Saban said. “That’s the way it is right now. I think our focus is on doing the best we can to help our players personally, athletically and academically and help them launch their careers when they leave so they get the best opportunities in life. I want our player to focus on the vision they have, not the circumstance they’re in.

“So sometimes, this criticism needs to be deflected on me and I’m fine with that. But I also think there some things that need to be said, whether people want to hear them or not. I still think they need to be said and I’m going to say them.”

Whatever Nick Saban says is like a lightning rod around college football. I would argue other than Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Saban is the most influential voice in all of college sports. So, when he talks, naturally, everyone is listening.

And everyone was listening, and many wrote articles critiquing his every word.