Saban's former LSU players have mixed feelings about his success at Alabama

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Spears, Green and Hester still speak of Saban in glowing terms. But this week their feelings of admiration for Saban are competing with their disgust for what his Alabama teams have done to their beloved Tigers.

"It burns me up," Green said. "Nick Saban is going to be Coach Saban. He's going to coach those guys. He's going to prepare those guys. We know what he's been doing the last however many number of years in NCAA football. It hurts to see that. You come in there and see the Alabama guys, roll tide this and that. Man, come on Tigers, we've got to beat them."

"As far as competition, it has pissed me off to the utmost because I bleed purple and gold," Spears said. "I am LSU through and through and I have even been on record saying it on national television. I am not an Alabama fan. I am a Coach Saban fan."

"I am pissed when Alabama beats LSU," Spears said. "But I am happy Nick Saban is winning national championships. That's just a part of it. I differentiate between it."

Hester has learned to do the same. When he began his college career, Hester was playing for Saban. By the time he was finishing it, in 2007, he was going toe-to-toe with a rival program coached by Saban.

"At first, I am not going to lie, it was a weird deal," he said. "The guy who recruited you and a guy you played for and all of a sudden he's at a school on the same side of the conference as you are."

Hester paused for a second.

"And now they are winning national championships," he continued.

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