Alabama redshirt junior defensive lineman D.J. Pettway has a chance to win a fourth national championship in four years, but that's not what had Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban so passionate late Saturday afternoon.
Pettway was dismissed from the program in February 2013 for second-degree robbery following multiple on-campus incidents that resulted in the departures of three other players. The 6-foot-2, 265-pounder played last season at East Mississippi Community College and was allowed last December to return to Tuscaloosa.
His season totals for the 12-1 and top-ranked Tide include 22 tackles, five quarterback hurries, two tackles for loss and a sack, but Pettway also graduated last weekend and is set to begin postgraduate work next month.
"There is always a lot of criticism out there when somebody does something wrong," Saban said in his final news conference of the year in Tuscaloosa. "Everybody wants to know how you're going to punish the guy, but there are not enough people out there wanting to give him a second chance.
"Where do you want him to be? Do you want him to be in the street? Or do you want him to be here graduating?"
Pettway redshirted in 2011, when Alabama defeated LSU for the national championship. He played in 12 games for the 2012 Crimson Tide and had a sack in the 42-14 rout of Notre Dame in the BCS title game.
Yet several weeks after the rout of the Irish, Pettway was dismissed along with Brent Calloway, Tyler Hayes and Eddie Williams.
Saban called the actions of the four players "unacceptable" and said they "do not reflect the spirit and character that we want our organization to reflect."
Hayes and Williams were given no chance of returning to Alabama, but Pettway transferred to East Mississippi and racked up 45 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. EMCC won the junior college national championship, giving Pettway three titles to celebrate in three years.
More importantly, Pettway behaved off the field and earned a second chance with the Crimson Tide.
"I learned how to be more courageous," Pettway told reporters earlier this year. "If I see anything, or if I am around anything bad happening around me, I am willing to stop it or step forward. I'm willing to be the man that makes a change.
"I'm willing to help anyone around here. I've learned just to be more positive and be more grateful."
Saban already had a raised voice Saturday when he brought up one of his former Michigan State players, receiver Muhsin Muhammad. Saban said he suspended Muhammad at one point but did not kick him off the team.
Muhammad not only went on to a 14-year NFL career, including 11 seasons with the Carolina Panthers, but founded and operates the charitable M2 Foundation for Kids. Saban said Muhammad has seven children, including a daughter who attends Princeton University.
"Who was right?" Saban said. "I feel strong about all the criticism out there about a 19-year-old who makes a mistake, and you guys kill him. Where do you want him to be?
"Do you want to condemn him to a life sentence, or do you want him to have his children going to Princeton?"
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.