Saban and recruiting

[AURandy56 148]

I have a legitimate question--at least it is to me. What does he do that he, year in and year out, hauls in the #1 recruiting class? What does he do that all the other coaches in the NCAA Div. I football don't do that hauls in the groups he brings in? I'm not looking for answer like the benefits from the REC or new suits or anything like that---there must be something he does that the other coaches just haven't caught on to yet. I mean, he is a fantastic coach, no doubt about that; but from all I've seen and heard, and even from some of his biggest boosters like Paul Finebaum, he is not the most pleasant person to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Does anyone have an answer? Hell, I heard on one of the radio shows the other day that he's heading for another #1 class in 2015 with the few he's already got committed.

BTW, I really like the class AU is bringing in. I do wish Evans had come aboard, but he didn't. Life goes on.

[keesler 5,924]

IMO - he goes after a kid and their family strickly from a professional angle, like it's a career/buisness decision. I don't know that Saban has it in him to do a lot of butt kissing, glad-handing, buddy-buddy, fluffing ego type stuff with these talented 4-5* players.

I've read that he gets down to buisness and lets the accomplishments of his teams speak for themselves. Look at the uat trophy cabinet since he's been there, that alone doesn't require NS to sell too much. A look at the last few years NFL draft and where his players are drafted and NS doesn't have to do a sales pitch for 5*'s. He shows them the results. Stability in a program is key to consistantly bringing in top classes, that's why uat pretty much get the pick of the litter.

UAT's class appears head and shoulders above some other teams right now. But I wonder what Sumlin & aTm are selling these days, they just brought in another top class. And they are recruiting against some big schools in state. Goofy ass Les Miles has another top 3 class at LSU. Urban Meyer is rockin it at OSU, Jimbo is loaded again with a top 5 class.

[au75 75]

I agree ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[berrytgr 0]

But I wonder what Sumlin & aTm are selling these days, they just brought in another top class. And they are recruiting against some big schools in state.

Quite a few people predicted that aTm would start recruiting great when they came to the SEC. aTm already recruited pretty well before that, and now they can offer Texas kids a chance to play in the SEC and stay in their home state. Their stadium will be the largest in the SEC when the expansion is completed. They will haul in top 10 classes now with little effort.

Back to saban, for some reason he has the top kids convinced that the best path to the NFL goes through tuscaloosa. I am not sure why so many kids fall for that line but they do. As we have seen from his time as a guest analyst for espn, saban can be charming if he wants to.

[AU64 10,122]

But I wonder what Sumlin & aTm are selling these days, they just brought in another top class. And they are recruiting against some big schools in state.

Quite a few people predicted that aTm would start recruiting great when they came to the SEC. aTm already recruited pretty well before that, and now they can offer Texas kids a chance to play in the SEC and stay in their home state. Their stadium will be the largest in the SEC when the expansion is completed. They will haul in top 10 classes now with little effort.

Back to saban, for some reason he has the top kids convinced that the best path to the NFL goes through tuscaloosa. I am not sure why so many kids fall for that line but they do. As we have seen from his time as a guest analyst for espn, saban can be charming if he wants to.

Can't knock his success.....though I expect AU will give him all he wants for the next few years and as good as their class is by the star rankings....AU's is no slouch and Gus looks to have mostly gotten the guys he needs. JMO but all those 5* players sitting on the bench are not doing that much for the success of the team....and they lose/ process (one way or the other) more 4* and 5* players than the typical SEC team even signs in a given year..

[keesler 5,924]

When you bring in 4 to 5 five stars and more than a dozen 4 stars like NS has done this year, then you have no choice but to force some of them to ride the pine. That's just the way it is over there now, and the recruits, their parents, and their HS coaches are well aware of the roster status.

One thing that's a little weird that I noticed the year is that of the 25 to 26 players they signed, only half a dozen were in-state kids. The other 20 are out of state guys. The are reaching far and wide for their talent.

[selias 2,398]

When you bring in 4 to 5 five stars and more than a dozen 4 stars like NS has done this year, then you have no choice but to force some of them to ride the pine. That's just the way it is over there now, and the recruits, their parents, and their HS coaches are well aware of the roster status.

One thing that's a little weird that I noticed the year is that of the 25 to 26 players they signed, only half a dozen were in-state kids. The other 20 are out of state guys. The are reaching far and wide for their talent.

Was the talent level down in the state this year or are we just closing the in-state gap forcing them to cast a wider net?

[keesler 5,924]

When you bring in 4 to 5 five stars and more than a dozen 4 stars like NS has done this year, then you have no choice but to force some of them to ride the pine. That's just the way it is over there now, and the recruits, their parents, and their HS coaches are well aware of the roster status.

One thing that's a little weird that I noticed the year is that of the 25 to 26 players they signed, only half a dozen were in-state kids. The other 20 are out of state guys. The are reaching far and wide for their talent.

Was the talent level down in the state this year or are we just closing the in-state gap forcing them to cast a wider net?

I don't know, they've been pounding the pavement out of state pretty good for a couple of years. When they can attract guys from Iowa, Minnesota, Virginia, Cali, NJ, etc. I guess talent is talent.

[Barnacle 9,064]

I agree with the above, I think their program sells itself, and that in itself is an incredible selling point. Also, as far as their talent and depth is concerned, I would imagine that Saban tells them that if they come in and work their tails off and do everything asked off them that the rest will take care of itself. I believe he challenges the egos and competitive nature of these kids and basically says if you want to play you are going to have to compete and win against my roster (the best) , and if you can do that, then you can be great. It is a 'are you man enough' kind of challenge. It is a great blue print, because as mentioned above these kids know who is ahead of them, and so Alabama attracts fierce competitors. Don't get me wrong every kid wants playing time, but I think he kind of says if that's all you are looking for you are looking in the wrong place, and I think kids want to prove that they can do it. And he can say the rewards are great, then point to the Rings and draft picks. It is a compelling argument if you are one of the top recruits. People want to talk about riding the pine, but if I am Nick Satan I am just going to look the kid in the eye and say, if you don't think you can do it, then don't come here. As men, we want to prove ourselves, period.

[WhiteTiger 2]

I heard Bo Scarbrough say yesterday that he knew that they had great Running back there already but he knew what he could do and he planned on being a running back. Not an exact quote.

[eagle76 1]

Heard this from a bammer friend yesterday and as much as it pains me I must agree. He said that cns INTERVIEWS highschool recruits whereas all other schools RECRUIT highschool recruits. bammer and ns basically choose who they want whereas all the rest are trying to get the guys to come to their school. Not totally true but looking back at his success it is close. bammer and ns are selling the road to the nfl - no doubt - with a few championships thrown in. But most of these kids would trade 4 mnc's for an nfl contract. ns runs his program as a BUSINESS - the farm team to the nfl. College basketball has been this way for several years and now it has enveloped the college football world.

[AU64 10,122]

Heard this from a bammer friend yesterday and as much as it pains me I must agree. He said that cns INTERVIEWS highschool recruits whereas all other schools RECRUIT highschool recruits. bammer and ns basically choose who they want whereas all the rest are trying to get the guys to come to their school. Not totally true but looking back at his success it is close. bammer and ns are selling the road to the nfl - no doubt - with a few championships thrown in. But most of these kids would trade 4 mnc's for an nfl contract. ns runs his program as a BUSINESS - the farm team to the nfl. College basketball has been this way for several years and now it has enveloped the college football world.

The coaches at Kansas, Ariz, Kentucky and Duke basically interview players too....and select who they want. That's life and the other schools do the best they can with what they get. And some of those schools have their problems with the fact that there is only one ball and five guys who are used to shooting whenever they want to.

NS is about the same place as Coach K, etc....and so be it...he still has to win the games on the field and bama is not unbeatable despite all that talent.

If you want to believe AJMc, having a bunch of prima donna 5*s has it's down side too. Some kids thinking they just have to show up and should have a starting slot....and some unhappy and causing problems because they are not playing. We see some evidence of that with top kids leaving the program.....being processed as we call it....but that option was there from the start and most bama signees know it.

Like golf, you play the ball where you find it....and AU's doing a good job in that regard...IMO

[keesler 5,924]

Heard this from a bammer friend yesterday and as much as it pains me I must agree. He said that cns INTERVIEWS highschool recruits whereas all other schools RECRUIT highschool recruits. bammer and ns basically choose who they want whereas all the rest are trying to get the guys to come to their school. Not totally true but looking back at his success it is close. bammer and ns are selling the road to the nfl - no doubt - with a few championships thrown in. But most of these kids would trade 4 mnc's for an nfl contract. ns runs his program as a BUSINESS - the farm team to the nfl. College basketball has been this way for several years and now it has enveloped the college football world.

It's absolutely an interviewing process with uat recruiting. Those coaches don't have to put on a show to sell their product, they don't have to promise the possibility of playing for championships or getting into the pro's, they don't have to sell the stability and continuity of the program. Those recruiters look at talent, review tape, and then they interview the guy to try to get a feel for him to see if he can hack the "process" if they choose to take him.

I'll say this, any player that signs with uat has to have a lot of confidence in their abilities. Because they could most definitely take an easier route at another program and if they can't work at the level of that roster and excel then they will likely be toast.

[AuburnGrad97 37]

What most kids don't realize is that if you are a great player, the NFL will find you. Watch a game, and you'll see the starting line-ups announced with players from all divisions, big schools, little schools, etc. Unless I've been watching the wrong games, I've never seen an NFL team with 8-10 bammer grads on the starting roster.

This is what lil' Nicky sells these kids. You can't get to the NFL first round unless you're at bammer. The kids eat it iup, the parents are already looking forward to the days of their kids taking care of mom and dad for the rest of their days, and Nicky says "at bammer, we'll get you there quicker than anybody else". Until the kids/parents realize that bammer doesn't always equal NFL 1st round, it will continue to be this way.

The bright side is that the NFL is starting to point out that most bammer players that are drafted 1st round are lazy, prima donna's that have to "re-learn" everything because they weren't coached up while at bammer. I've heard this about many of the recent bammer 1st rounders. But, until the multi-million dollar contracts stop being given to these bammer players, Nicky has the leverage on his side.

[WhiteTiger 2]

There are a lot of bad things that we can say about the turds but players not being ready for the NFL is not one of them. This may now and again but several of then are starting and one of them just made RY.

[blueridge 29]

And, if all else fails, he can offer Rueben Foster's mom a job in Tuscaloosa. What did he do to land Cyrus K.- after the kid announced he was going to Auburn bright and early on NSD? No offense intended, but all of this fol de rol about Saban selling success does not explain the weird lengths Bama goes to in recruiting against Auburn. Saying Saban interviews recruits is nonsense-the kind of thing a turd says when the truth doesn't matter. It is quite obvious that Saban & Co tell kids (and their parents) anything the kid wants to hear to get them to sign with UAT.

[plainsman04 0]

Out of 10 kids you don't know which ones will pan out at the college level, and which ones will not. How can you possibly know out of this same group of 10 which are the 5 stars? The reality is that bammer's class and Auburn's class are not as far apart talentwise as the recuriting services would like you to think.

[E'Town4Bama 109]

According to 247Composite (a ranking system that uses an aggregate of all the recruiting services), in the class of 2014... Bama got the number 1 and/or 2 player from, Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklohoma, South Carolina, and Iowa. Thats insane. 10 states... and that doesnt include the number 1 JUCO player in California who had offers from everyone.

Alabama did slack up last year but you can't win them all.

[AUIH1 1,515]

IMO - he goes after a kid and their family strickly from a professional angle, like it's a career/buisness decision. I don't know that Saban has it in him to do a lot of butt kissing, glad-handing, buddy-buddy, fluffing ego type stuff with these talented 4-5* players.

I've read that he gets down to buisness and lets the accomplishments of his teams speak for themselves. Look at the uat trophy cabinet since he's been there, that alone doesn't require NS to sell too much. A look at the last few years NFL draft and where his players are drafted and NS doesn't have to do a sales pitch for 5*'s. He shows them the results. Stability in a program is key to consistantly bringing in top classes, that's why uat pretty much get the pick of the litter.

UAT's class appears head and shoulders above some other teams right now. But I wonder what Sumlin & aTm are selling these days, they just brought in another top class. And they are recruiting against some big schools in state. Goofy ass Les Miles has another top 3 class at LSU. Urban Meyer is rockin it at OSU, Jimbo is loaded again with a top 5 class.

Agree. However; as long as we have competent coaching we will be competitive as long as we continue to sign Top 10 classes.

wde

[lionheartkc 6,150]

Of course, it doesn't hurt their ability to recruit at all that pretty much every major sports network is constantly kissing their big crimson butt. Even when they lose, they are national headline #1 while teams like Auburn have to go to the National Championship game or have plays like the kick 6 in order to get that kind of coverage. In our 3 win season, I would be willing to bet a lot of the players bama recruited, and even guys like Braden Smith didn't even know where Auburn was (probably Georgia... as I'm often told by folks around here).

The thing that amazes me is that they seem to get past the fact that the town sucks, the coach consistently, publicly throws the team under the bus for his failures, the process is known for ending careers before they have a chance to start, and the fan base is primarily made up of people you really don't want to be associated with in any way. I honestly think they make up for that with the fact that the players can pretty much do whatever they want with little chance of repercussion, as long as they are part of winning games.

[johnjacob 44]

I have a legitimate question--at least it is to me. What does he do that he, year in and year out, hauls in the #1 recruiting class? What does he do that all the other coaches in the NCAA Div. I football don't do that hauls in the groups he brings in? I'm not looking for answer like the benefits from the REC or new suits or anything like that---there must be something he does that the other coaches just haven't caught on to yet. I mean, he is a fantastic coach, no doubt about that; but from all I've seen and heard, and even from some of his biggest boosters like Paul Finebaum, he is not the most pleasant person to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Does anyone have an answer? Hell, I heard on one of the radio shows the other day that he's heading for another #1 class in 2015 with the few he's already got committed.

BTW, I really like the class AU is bringing in. I do wish Evans had come aboard, but he didn't. Life goes on.

Really are you kidding-he does what bama has always done-he shows them the money.$$$

[keesler 5,924]

According to 247Composite (a ranking system that uses an aggregate of all the recruiting services), in the class of 2014... Bama got the number 1 and/or 2 player from, Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklohoma, South Carolina, and Iowa. Thats insane. 10 states... and that doesnt include the number 1 JUCO player in California who had offers from everyone.

Alabama did slack up last year but you can't win them all.

DAMN! Say what you want but when your program pulls the top couple of players in 10(TEN) different states that's a level all it's own.

[Tiger4life25 74]

According to 247Composite (a ranking system that uses an aggregate of all the recruiting services), in the class of 2014... Bama got the number 1 and/or 2 player from, Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklohoma, South Carolina, and Iowa. Thats insane. 10 states... and that doesnt include the number 1 JUCO player in California who had offers from everyone.

Alabama did slack up last year but you can't win them all.

some one keeps forgetting to flush the toilet

[Tiger4life25 74]

And, if all else fails, he can offer Rueben Foster's mom a job in Tuscaloosa. What did he do to land Cyrus K.- after the kid announced he was going to Auburn bright and early on NSD? No offense intended, but all of this fol de rol about Saban selling success does not explain the weird lengths Bama goes to in recruiting against Auburn. Saying Saban interviews recruits is nonsense-the kind of thing a turd says when the truth doesn't matter. It is quite obvious that Saban & Co tell kids (and their parents) anything the kid wants to hear to get them to sign with UAT.

finally someone that gets it

[eagle76 1]

And, if all else fails, he can offer Rueben Foster's mom a job in Tuscaloosa. What did he do to land Cyrus K.- after the kid announced he was going to Auburn bright and early on NSD? No offense intended, but all of this fol de rol about Saban selling success does not explain the weird lengths Bama goes to in recruiting against Auburn. Saying Saban interviews recruits is nonsense-the kind of thing a turd says when the truth doesn't matter. It is quite obvious that Saban & Co tell kids (and their parents) anything the kid wants to hear to get them to sign with UAT.

That's exactly the point of his "interviewing" process. The staff at uat does a great job of finding the kids they want and determining what that kid/family wants. Then during the "interview" process, saban and staff concentrate on what the kid/family wants to hear. This is a strategic process. First saban and co determine who they want, then they interview the kid/family and specifically talk to the wants of the kid/family. When the turds come to you and basically "give" you what you want, I can see how it is hard to turn down.