Max
Member
As spectators, we all love a thrilling game that comes down to the final seconds, like last Sundayās Super Bowl.
Coaches hate that. Theyād rather just play well, win 40-0 and move on to the next game.
That was the general feeling from Nick Saban when it came to this seasonās recruiting class, ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the country depending on whatever rating system you believe, if any.
āOne of the very good things about this class was that we had very little drama today,ā Saban said.
For the most part, Alabamaās class has been finished for a couple of weeks. Many of the top 100 players that signed with the Crimson Tide were committed for months. Roughly a third of the class has been enrolled since January. There were a couple of players that Alabama didnāt get in the end and one that they did sign, wide receiver Dayton Charlot. Even Charlot didnāt seem to wait for the purpose of committing on national television. He probably did the smart thing by not committing (or, technically, decommitting before signing anyway) since heās coming from Louisiana and didnāt have to deal with as much local pressure this way.
Alabama didnāt have a single breathless press conference. The Crimson Tide had offers out to K.J. Hill (Ohio State) and CeCe Jefferson (Florida) but no one was shocked when they went elsewhere. So, maybe it wasnāt a 40-0 win, but more like a 35-10 victory where you run out the clock at the end.
That isnāt as easy as it sounds. A commitment generally means a prospect is recruiting more intensely, not less, since all the competition knows who to try and shoot down. Plus, Saban notes, āif a guy doesnāt flip, heās a forgotten man to you (media) guys,ā and no one likes being a forgotten man, especially in todayās world.
In fairness, Alabama doesnāt back away from recruiting certain players who have committed elsewhere either. Even if Saban doesnāt like it, he recognizes itās the way the game has to be played. Not every year is without drama ā remember Cyrus Kouandjioās recruitment, or Rashaan Evansā? But there seemed to be less of that this year, as Alabama loaded up early and, for the most part, held on, even against fierce local competition.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20150204/NEWS/150209812/1015?p=2&tc=pg
Yes, defensive back Rico McGraw (Georgia) and tackle Isaiah Prince (Ohio State) switched, but high-profile out-of-state targets like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Adonis Thomas, Kendall Sheffield and Damien Harris held firm ā in part because of hard work.
āWe donāt change the way we recruit guys just because they commit, because more and more guys flip,ā Saban said.
Hard work, though, kept that from happening to UA, at least this year, leaving National Signing Day both successful and a bit dull. The only hint of controversy came when Saban was asked twice about signee Jonathan Taylor, who was dismissed from Georgia after allegations of domestic abuse. Clearly, he knew those questions were coming and gave an answer similar to the one he gave about resigning D.J. Pettway, citing āa second chanceā and noting that while he would never ācondoneā domestic violence, he also would not be quick to ācondemnā a player to a lifetime ban without examining all the circumstances.
Beyond that, Sabanās day was quiet. He has probably already moved on to the next one, the 2016 class. If that lacked fireworks, it also means that nothing blew up ā just the way a coach likes it.
Coaches hate that. Theyād rather just play well, win 40-0 and move on to the next game.
That was the general feeling from Nick Saban when it came to this seasonās recruiting class, ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the country depending on whatever rating system you believe, if any.
āOne of the very good things about this class was that we had very little drama today,ā Saban said.
For the most part, Alabamaās class has been finished for a couple of weeks. Many of the top 100 players that signed with the Crimson Tide were committed for months. Roughly a third of the class has been enrolled since January. There were a couple of players that Alabama didnāt get in the end and one that they did sign, wide receiver Dayton Charlot. Even Charlot didnāt seem to wait for the purpose of committing on national television. He probably did the smart thing by not committing (or, technically, decommitting before signing anyway) since heās coming from Louisiana and didnāt have to deal with as much local pressure this way.
Alabama didnāt have a single breathless press conference. The Crimson Tide had offers out to K.J. Hill (Ohio State) and CeCe Jefferson (Florida) but no one was shocked when they went elsewhere. So, maybe it wasnāt a 40-0 win, but more like a 35-10 victory where you run out the clock at the end.
That isnāt as easy as it sounds. A commitment generally means a prospect is recruiting more intensely, not less, since all the competition knows who to try and shoot down. Plus, Saban notes, āif a guy doesnāt flip, heās a forgotten man to you (media) guys,ā and no one likes being a forgotten man, especially in todayās world.
In fairness, Alabama doesnāt back away from recruiting certain players who have committed elsewhere either. Even if Saban doesnāt like it, he recognizes itās the way the game has to be played. Not every year is without drama ā remember Cyrus Kouandjioās recruitment, or Rashaan Evansā? But there seemed to be less of that this year, as Alabama loaded up early and, for the most part, held on, even against fierce local competition.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20150204/NEWS/150209812/1015?p=2&tc=pg
Yes, defensive back Rico McGraw (Georgia) and tackle Isaiah Prince (Ohio State) switched, but high-profile out-of-state targets like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Adonis Thomas, Kendall Sheffield and Damien Harris held firm ā in part because of hard work.
āWe donāt change the way we recruit guys just because they commit, because more and more guys flip,ā Saban said.
Hard work, though, kept that from happening to UA, at least this year, leaving National Signing Day both successful and a bit dull. The only hint of controversy came when Saban was asked twice about signee Jonathan Taylor, who was dismissed from Georgia after allegations of domestic abuse. Clearly, he knew those questions were coming and gave an answer similar to the one he gave about resigning D.J. Pettway, citing āa second chanceā and noting that while he would never ācondoneā domestic violence, he also would not be quick to ācondemnā a player to a lifetime ban without examining all the circumstances.
Beyond that, Sabanās day was quiet. He has probably already moved on to the next one, the 2016 class. If that lacked fireworks, it also means that nothing blew up ā just the way a coach likes it.
