Satan...I Mean Saban...Reveals The New Face of Recruiting

Saban and his ilk do some shady things.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/118914-alabama-recruiting-nicks-tricks

Holy shit. 8 available scholarships. EIGHT. He just signed 27. He has to cut 19 players. Holy shit.

This is appalling. I guess I never really studied the numbers behind it all. Thanks for the post.

It will eventually hit the media in a big way, I think. Some recruit ESPN has hyped will fall short, get cut, then get an interview and spill the beans or something. Who knows, maybe ESPN can do something positive for once?

This is pretty egregious, but this has been going on for some time. Heck, even back during Bear Bryant's run, he was notorious for signing kids and plunking them on the bench for the sole reason to keep them from going to other programs. The Alabama administration is complicit in all of this - they know how many kids he recruits every year, they know how many qualify academically each year, and (hopefully) some of them have done the math and realized that he is promising more scholarships to kids than he has on hand. A school that cared about its reputation as a place of higher learning would step in and tell Saban that while they are willing to play ball with him to an extent, this abuse of the rules needs to stop. I doubt that will ever happen, of course, since winning on Saturday seems to trump being respected Sunday through Friday at some of these schools.

EDIT: And this isn't just me whining. What Saban is doing isn't "creative recruiting", and he didn't invent/outsmart other coaches in this approach. People know that you can fudge with the numbers a bit to make virtually any class fit, but it usually requires kicking out 19-year-old kids who are "underperforming", over-promising to 17-year-olds who probably would love nothing more than to don the Alabama uniform, and basically traficking in kids' futures.

I used to have to cut 10 players all the time in NCAA 06 back in the day. Even then I wanted to keep them, and I felt bad for the little fake players. This is real life, and he needs to tell 19(!) kids that they need to pack up and that they have been lied to.

How do we save the world and tell everybody about this then?

Up in the north, football is a passion. Down south, it's a religion. When people have a religious fervor about something, they'll excuse if not celebrate any sin, misbehavior, or outright criminal activity as long as it's seen to be in support of that religion.

As a case in point, take a look at the comments after the Bleacher Report article from 'Bama fans. All their comments are about how great the recruiting class is, which means they essentially missed the point of the whole article. I suspect if you asked them about Saban's overrecruiting, they'd look at you with either a blank look of incomprehension or a dark look of overt hostility, since you'd be implicitly criticizing their religion.

Wasn't Marquise Maze a decommit from last year?

Just curious, but where do these roster numbers come from? I can't specifically tell on the school's roster who is actually on scholarship. Additionally, how many guys are RS JR's who aren't contributors, which even Brian concedes are owed nothing for a fifth year on a scholarship.

What I'm trying to say is, I can't believe that number of 8 available scholarships, pre-shenanigans can be accurate. I'm not defending Saban, and I'm sure he is going to cut some guys in a highly questionable manner, but I think we should have the actual numbers before we heap our scorn.

But *part* of the difference in attrition rates between the areas is due to the academic standing of the kids entering each program. There is a lot more academic-related turnover - kids simply never making it to the school or unable to last while in school - in SEC territory. In these cases it's not so much a matter of the "evil coach" cutting players ... but looking at the numbers above, there are plenty of examples where that will be exactly the case.

p.s. - am I the only one looking at that list and thinking that Marquis Maze would have made a perfect slot receiver at M? Damn reverse snake-oil....

Can RichRod snake oil (sorry for the use of vocab but couldn't think of a better word) any of these guys who won't end up with a place?

Has a great little section about the recruiting of Michael Oher. The best line: "Dealing with Phil Fulmer was like dealing with the town mayor; dealing with Nick Saban was like dealing with the President of the United States."

I agree the loophole has to be closed. As to why Saban can get guys even when the depth chart is stacked, well, he's the friggin' President of the United States! The book leaves no doubt that Saban is a world-class recruiter.

Good research and strong argument.

There needs to be stronger policy and/or penalties against this sort of thing.

Quick story about Alabama... I was in New Orleans over the holidays, and just happened to be driving back up north literally during the Sugar Bowl. The strangest thing was, that despite driving for over two hours in the state of Alabama, I literally saw 14 CARS on the interstate the entire way!! Dude, FOURTEEN!! Everyone was at home watching the Utes tear it up.

I guess what I'm saying is, they probably won't even care about all these poor kids as long as the wins keep comin'.

I can hardly believe it. Corruption and greed where big money is at stake? Really? I am shocked.

I agree that Saban's tactics are 100% unethical. But it's a little disingenuous to imagine what Michigan's team would look like with an extra class. RR didn't even use up the scholarships he was given the past couple years. It's not like there were a number of 4 and 5 stars he had to turn away because the cupboard was full. Yes, Nick Saban is pulling off some shady shit, but you have to give him credit for getting so many 4 and 5 star players interested in his program.

This practice is spreading (See UNC and Ole Miss). If the NCAA doesn't do something about it, it will become common place as schools realize that they are at a marked disadvantage if they don't follow the same practice.

My preferred approach would be to make each signed LOI count against a schools scholarship limit for four years, regardless of whether or not the player remains at the school. This gives the school added incentive to make sure the players get the grades and stay out of trouble. Maybe the limit would need to be increased from 85 to 90, but it still seems workable.

"difference in attrition" won't make up 20 kids; and as for not wanting to jump on him until it's more concrete...

http://www.bamasportsreport.com/2009/01/04/scholarship-numbers-january-4...

If 'Bama themselves see it, is it good enough for you yet?

Alabama's graduation rate must be hideous. Shouldn't they be penalized a couple of scholarships under the new rules?

We need to get the blogsphere together and organize a method by which we get attention for this. Whether it is trying to drag ESPN into the fray with an Outside the Lines piece, appealing to the NCAA, or something else - I don't know.

Something needs to be done. This is horrible for the kids involved and gives an unfair advantage to certain programs willing to do this.

Somebody from RollBamaRoll or AOL will immediately refute your claims, and when 15 members of the Alabama team suddenly start failing their Electromagnetism classes and have to be regrettably cut due to academic problems, they'll claim that this practice was fine.