There might not be a more important player to his team in the SEC this year than Trevor Releford is to Alabama. As the only scholarship senior on the team, Releford will be a big determining factor on how this team plays this season.

The point guard spoke at SEC Media Days on Thursday and talked about the things he's focused on leading into his final year. The first priority he has is being a leader on a team with five first-year players.

"Me and coach just had a meeting and he told me I need to lead by example on and off the floor," Releford said. "And show these young guys how we play at Alabama and the way we handle things."

Anthony Grant announced earlier this week that junior Levi Randolph will miss several weeks with a knee injury, which increases the pressure on an already-thin roster. This team already understood the emphasis on conditioning and that's even more important following the injury news.

"With the numbers being being how they are, coach has talked to me and told me that I had to be in the best shape possible going into the season," Releford said.

"In the offseason, that was the biggest thing I worked on, getting my body into shape and conditioning well to get ready to play high minutes."

Releford, who was named preseason All-SEC first team by the media on Wednesday, said he has lost '"10+ pounds" since last season. It seems the entire team has taken conditioning to heart, as Grant told The Chris Stewart Show that Nick Jacobs had lost over 20 pounds since last year.

Alabama's first exhibition game of the year is November 4 against West Alabama.

Watch Trevor Releford's entire interview below.

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