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By Alex Byington Sports
MOBILE — Alabama coach Nick Saban's reputation precedes him, even in the NFL, where he was an assistant for Jerry Glanville and Bill Belichick and spent two years as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
For his players looking to step up to the pros, that's a good thing.
"He was the DB coach at the Houston Oilers when I was the DB coach at Pitt," Chicago Bears head coach John Fox said Tuesday, following his first practice coaching the North team for Saturday's Senior Bowl in Mobile. "So we kind of came up through the college ranks about the same time, sprung into pro football about the same time, and obviously he’s gone back to college as a head coach in a couple of different settings and had a lot of success.”
How Saban has achieved that success is just as much a part of his reputation.
“A lot of it is what they’ve been exposed to scheme-wise,” Fox said. “I think primarily up to this point (Alabama has) been a pro-style offense and defense, (and) I think that helps guys transition to the National Football League.”
The numbers back that up. Alabama has had 55 players drafted, including an NCAA-best 18 in the first round. This past season, 42 former Alabama players were on NFL rosters, although not all played for Saban.
Saban and Alabama had a league-high six former players named to the Pro Bowl: Oakland’s Amari Cooper, New England’s Dont'a Hightower, Baltimore’s C.J. Mosley, Atlanta’s Julio Jones, Green Bay’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and the New York Giants’ Landon Collins. Since 2012, 10 Tide players have been named All-Pros a total of 16 times.
“Whenever you’re dealing with human talent, it’s not automatic,” Fox said. “But they’ve obviously had a lot of guys in the league that have performed well, so we consider that.”
Saban often uses that connection to the NFL as a recruiting tool. It’s one reason Alabama has potentially its seventh consecutive No. 1 recruiting class.
“You know that if they’re competing for national championships every year, competing for the playoffs, that means they’re stacking their roster with good talent,” said Marc Lillibridge, director of Elite Performance, who has 20-plus years of experience as an NFL agent and scout with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. “A lot of (NFL scouts) know that … because everybody knows Nick Saban can recruit. So you’re going to go into that school and find those guys.”
League personnel also value intangible qualities Saban's players tend to have, including work ethic.
“Teams know that they’re getting a player that played at a program that demanded effort, demanded that trademark toughness,” said CBSSports.com senior NFL draft analyst Dane Brugler. “They’re not all going to be Ryan Andersons or OJ Howards — there will be some misses — but you know first and foremost he’s going to bring talent to Tuscaloosa, and then he’s going to develop them.”
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
For his players looking to step up to the pros, that's a good thing.
"He was the DB coach at the Houston Oilers when I was the DB coach at Pitt," Chicago Bears head coach John Fox said Tuesday, following his first practice coaching the North team for Saturday's Senior Bowl in Mobile. "So we kind of came up through the college ranks about the same time, sprung into pro football about the same time, and obviously he’s gone back to college as a head coach in a couple of different settings and had a lot of success.”
How Saban has achieved that success is just as much a part of his reputation.
“A lot of it is what they’ve been exposed to scheme-wise,” Fox said. “I think primarily up to this point (Alabama has) been a pro-style offense and defense, (and) I think that helps guys transition to the National Football League.”
The numbers back that up. Alabama has had 55 players drafted, including an NCAA-best 18 in the first round. This past season, 42 former Alabama players were on NFL rosters, although not all played for Saban.
Saban and Alabama had a league-high six former players named to the Pro Bowl: Oakland’s Amari Cooper, New England’s Dont'a Hightower, Baltimore’s C.J. Mosley, Atlanta’s Julio Jones, Green Bay’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and the New York Giants’ Landon Collins. Since 2012, 10 Tide players have been named All-Pros a total of 16 times.
“Whenever you’re dealing with human talent, it’s not automatic,” Fox said. “But they’ve obviously had a lot of guys in the league that have performed well, so we consider that.”
Saban often uses that connection to the NFL as a recruiting tool. It’s one reason Alabama has potentially its seventh consecutive No. 1 recruiting class.
“You know that if they’re competing for national championships every year, competing for the playoffs, that means they’re stacking their roster with good talent,” said Marc Lillibridge, director of Elite Performance, who has 20-plus years of experience as an NFL agent and scout with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. “A lot of (NFL scouts) know that … because everybody knows Nick Saban can recruit. So you’re going to go into that school and find those guys.”
League personnel also value intangible qualities Saban's players tend to have, including work ethic.
“Teams know that they’re getting a player that played at a program that demanded effort, demanded that trademark toughness,” said CBSSports.com senior NFL draft analyst Dane Brugler. “They’re not all going to be Ryan Andersons or OJ Howards — there will be some misses — but you know first and foremost he’s going to bring talent to Tuscaloosa, and then he’s going to develop them.”
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
