As the opt-outs continue to mount around college football, with marquee SEC players making the tough decision not to play this fall, it’s a testament to the level of buy-in in Tuscaloosa that not a single Alabama player has made the decision to sit out the season.

That’s not to say players should be judged harshly for making the decision to opt-out, every individual situation is unique and has to be made accordingly, but all training camp, the message out of Tuscaloosa has been one of players and coaches eager to make up for last season’s failures.

After hearing multiple members of the program discuss the “disappointing” 11-2 season from last fall, and now having the entire team working toward playing this season, there should be plenty of optimism in Tuscaloosa when it comes to Alabama making another run at an SEC — and potentially national — championship.

Nick Saban didn’t go that far during his recent press conference but he did praise the level of commitment his players have shown during camp.

“I’m excited about the fact that we have a bunch of guys that are committed to playing,” Saban said on Wednesday. “I know there’s a lot of things going on in the world right now that can affect that — as we see on a daily basis in terms of choices and decisions that players make. But I think it’s important that once you make a commitment to doing something that it creates more value for you if you do it the right way and you focus on what you need to do to be the best player you can be and control the things that you can control.”

The way the Alabama coach views it, his players also understand they have a lot to gain individual by taking the field this fall.

“I think everybody on our team can create value for themselves by playing. We’re going to play a lot of good competition playing all SEC games this year,” Saban continued. “We have a chance to have a pretty good team, but there’s going to be a lot of variables that we have to overcome this year relative to the circumstances that we’re in, so I’m excited about the fact that the players are committed and I’m hopeful that everybody will stay very much committed.

“I have no reason to think that they won’t, but it’s a changing time right now in terms of how people get affected by various things. But our guys have been really, really good about it, and I really enjoyed the fact that once these guys made a decision to try to play and try to accomplish something, they’ve always stayed pretty much committed to it.”

That’s not something that can be said across the SEC, as LSU and Georgia — two of Alabama’s biggest competitors in the league, have recently suffered opt-outs from players poised to play a huge role this fall.