"A really underrated shade of his" - When former Alabama star Amari Cooper opened up about $80m-worth Nick Saban's humor

Amari Cooper was one of the top wide receivers who played under Nick Saban at Alabama. The Miami native arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2012 as a consensus four-star recruit and became a starter as a freshman. He left an indelible mark on the program in his three seasons.

Cooper appeared on the “Dan Patrick Show” in June 2019 and discussed a number of things about Nick Saban and his time under him at Alabama. He also discussed a couple of things about his career with the Dallas Cowboys at that time.

As the discussion proceeded, Dan Patrick asked Cooper who he thought was funnier between Saban, whom he spent time under at Alabama and Jason Garrett, who was his coach at the Dallas Cowboys then. He used the opportunity to describe how Garrett's sense of humor differs from Nick Saban's.

On the topic of Saban, who has a net worth of $80 million according to CNW, Cooper said:

“Coach Saban is really like — that's a really underrated shade of his, like he's actually a really funny guy,” Cooper said (timestamp 0:58). “He has these jokes that he intentionally tells and they're all pretty much funny."

“Garrett doesn't really intentionally tell jokes like Saban does, so it's a hard question to answer because Garrett is naturally funny as well.”

Amari Cooper recorded significant success under both coaches. Under Saban, he won the Biletnikoff Award for the best receiver in the country while also earning a Unanimous All-American honor before heading to the NFL. He was also a two-time Pro Bowler under Garrett.

Amari Cooper explains why he opted to play for Nick Saban at Alabama

Amari Cooper was a highly sought prospect during his recruiting process. He received offers from many reputable college football teams, including Ohio State, Miami and Florida State, before opting to play at Alabama. He explained to Dan Patrick why he made the decision:

"Just because I like what they stood for,” Cooper said (timestamp 0:15). “I like that they were winning, obviously, that's the most important thing. But just the way he coached the game, he approached the game. It was all about hard work there."

“It wasn't any promises that most recruiters would do and tell you you would come in and be a starter. He just gave me the flat-out truth that if I was good enough to play as a freshman, I would play. And that's all I really wanted to hear because I really just wanted to compete for a spot. And so, I think they did everything the right way.”

Amari Cooper finished his college football career at Alabama with 228 receptions for 3,463 yards and 31 touchdowns in 40 games. He played a crucial role in the Crimson Tide's BCS national championship victory in 2012.

Aside from the Biletnikoff Award, he won the Paul Warfield Award, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, a First-team All-SEC honor and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2014 before heading to the NFL.