🏈 Stewart Mandel: Decoding Nick Saban's diatribe in defense of oversigning

[BAMANEWSBOT]

Feb. 2 marked another joyous Signing Day in Tuscaloosa, Ala. For the third time in four years, a major recruiting site (Rivals.com) deemed Alabama's class the nation's best. On the heels of that past success at 'Bama and two No. 1 classes at LSU, the 2011 haul further enhanced coach Nick Saban's reputation as the sport's most renowned recruiter.

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[TerryP]

Winners...easiest to pick on.

Sucks to be a Bama fan...

 

[cjaytch]

Losers... they write for SI...

 

[psychojoe]

We have so many seniors; we have some guys going out for the draft. Nobody really knows how many guys we had on scholarship last year, but it wasn't 85, I can tell you that.

I can think of four pretty well regarded players whose parents are well enough off to pay their way.

I'm not saying they are doing so, but it does gives us flexibility.

 

[UAgrad93]

I enjoyed listening to CNS in his presser Wed. I think he shed light to some that want to point fingers. As long as CNS is raking in talent and kicking arse, he will continue to be criticized for any thing he does.

 

[TerryP]

winner

 

[4th-and-1]

what i think is funny about these reporters is that they sit there and disect his words, and contemplate their words to twist things around into whatever they can get out of them.. saban on the other hand does not have the luxery to proofread or plan what he says.. i am sure he has points that are outlined, but he is answering any question that is thrown at him LIVE..

the funny thing about this is that he still wins most of the time.. i would love to see saban interview some of the reporters and watch them stumble about trying to say the right thing.. i bet the sweat would be pouring off them and their cocky demeanour would be reduced to scared schoolboy antics.. much like somebody who was about to lose their lunch money..

 

[shipley00]

I can't believe I'm even responding to the article, but oh well...

The counterpoint to that is receiver recruit Daryl Collins, who originally committed to the Tide last March but signed with Kentucky on Wednesday because he would have had to grayshirt at Alabama. Was Saban up front with him about the possibility? "I didn't think I was going to be grayshirted," Collins said Wednesday. "It affected [my decision] big time." Does that qualify as "creating an opportunity for a guy to come here, not taking one away?"

Which is worse, actually telling the kid BEFORE he signs that he may have to grayshirt, or tell a kid he'll be a starting RB for you, when every other school on the planet is telling you LB, then switch him to LB a year from now?

How is honesty a bad policy in today's environment of dirty recruiting?

 

[foshman]

I can't believe I'm even responding to the article, but oh well...



Which is worse, actually telling the kid BEFORE he signs that he may have to grayshirt, or tell a kid he'll be a starting RB for you, when every other school on the planet is telling you LB, then switch him to LB a year from now?

How is honesty a bad policy in today's environment of dirty recruiting?

In this case it's not. Saban told the kid upfront and it changed his decision. Difficult to complain about that.

As for the Calloway remarks, Auburn's coaches reportedly believed Calloway to be the best in state recruit at RB in Malzahn's system since they have been in Auburn (so 3 years.) I am sure they figured he was a good LB too but they recruited him as a RB. Period. There was no seediness about it. They came very close to turning down Kris Frost because they weren't sure they had a spot for him at LB around the same time.