Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Alabama coach Nick Saban left both fans and reporters in the dark on Monday, announcing that he won't be releasing a depth chart ahead of the team's 2023-24 college fooball season opener.

Saban will keep us all guessing ahead of the game against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday.

But to his credit, the 71-year-old at least made the reasoning behind the decision clear.

"I know that your number 1 focus is not on the game, it's on the depth chart," Saban told the press on Monday.

"And look, there's a lot of competition on the team, and when we put a depth chart out, you all think that's final. Like this is etched in stone, that it's going to be this way forevermore just because we've come out of fall camp and that's where it is."

Saban added that he's trying to limit distractions and wants everybody on the roster to continue to fight for playing opportunities. He also suggested that depth charts can create a lack of motivation at the worst possible time.

"It creates a lot of distractions on our team, creates a lot of guys thinking 'Well, this guy won the job now and I'm not going to play' or whatever. And quite frankly we don't need that," Saban continued. "I want all our guys to continue to compete, continue to compete for playing time to try and play at the highest level and I don't want anybody on our team to think they're a backup player or whatever."

The question is now whether fans can expect to continue being denied Alabama's game day depth charts going forward.

After failing to qualify for the College Football Playoff last season, Alabama enters the year ranked No. 4, their lowest spot in over a decade. The Crimson Tide will host Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 7:30 PM EDT.