HOOVER, Ala. — The odds you’ll get Nick Saban to mention a name from his heralded Alabama freshman class in regard to this season are a little less likely than, I don’t know, getting him to talk Sigmund Freud.

“I’m from West Virginia, man,” Saban said in response to a question about his interest in psychology. “We don’t even know who Freud is up there.”

Saban will acknowledge his incoming class is talented. But he doesn’t want to build any expectations among his freshmen because, well, they’re freshmen. Asked which freshman linebacker can fill the void left by the pending suspension of Prince Hall, Saban gave a terse response.

“I don’t,” he said. “I expect to take all the players that we have and work with them.”

Well, fine. But the players? They’ll talk. They’ve seen the freshmen at summer workouts, in the weight room and competing in 7-on-7 drills.

And the impression left on veterans such as center Antoine Caldwell and safety Rashad Johnson is basically this: Oh my gosh.

“These guys have come in and done 10 times better than I thought they would,” Caldwell said. “They’ve come in and they’ve really got what we’re trying to do around here. They’ve really bought into it.

“(Receiver) Julio Jones has been everything I thought he would be. It’s not often when a guy comes in (from) that high a pedestal out of high school, but he’s come in, he’s as fast as I thought, stronger than I thought. He’s been everything I thought. He’s got a lot of promise and potential. Right now, this whole freshman class we got has us really excited about what’s coming.”

That will certainly prompt Alabama fans to experience an extra sense of excitement for the upcoming season, which starts Aug. 30 at the Georgia Dome against Clemson.

Fans of the Tide know, like other SEC followers, that Alabama is woefully thin at linebacker beyond sophomore Rolando McClain. Tide fans need to hear Johnson talk glowingly about all-world incoming linebacker Jerrell Harris, and he did.

Alabama’s offense desperately needs Jones to become a threat at receiver, and according to Caldwell and Johnson, he will.

“If I had to put my money on anybody, I’d probably say Julio has been the one that’s stood out,” Caldwell said. “He’s done a great job so far. I’m telling you, whatever the ‘it’ is, they’ve got it. I’ve got to credit Coach Saban — and some of us with the time we put in — getting those guys. I just haven’t seen a group that wants it as bad as they do.”

During his time at LSU, Saban never hesitated to play freshmen. He reiterated that philosophy Thursday and, just barely, added some pressure to the No. 1 class of recruits in America.

“I do think how these guys develop will have something to say about the kind of success and how much our team improves this year,” Saban said.

Yeah, this year. Now. Because, unfortunately for Saban, he reads about LSU coach Les Miles’ jabs at his program and just has to accept it. Saban offered no retort Thursday.

What could he say? At least they kept the game against Louisiana-Monroe close?

“He told the truth,” Saban said. “He told it like it was.”

And Saban is also telling the truth. Yes, his class is probably talented. And, no, he can’t possibly know who will contribute before he sees the freshmen in pads. Saban didn’t even stumble and say “you never can Jerrell” instead of “you never can tell.”

That would be a Freudian slip, you know?

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