FootballFanatic 4 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 The call began by asking for opinions on bowl games, but it quickly became clear that guys who make a living looking for professional football players don't care much about BCS rankings, or what college team is going to play in what bowl game. They are interested in talent - finding players they believe have the ability to play at the next level. And one team they all seem to like is LSU. One NFL scout said walking into the LSU locker room was like walking into an NFL mini-camp, because everywhere he looked he saw players who at least looked as if they have a chance to play on Sundays. Which means, according to more than one such NFL professional, what they see when they visit LSU is what they expect to see when they visit Alabama in the next few years, since Nick Saban is the one responsible for so much of the LSU talent. As for Saban's problems at Alabama - well, some people close to Mike Shula say the former coach is not terribly surprised at what has happened in Tuscaloosa this year. Shula is happily coaching quarterbacks for the Jacksonville Jaguars, earning $800,000 a year ($300,000 from the Jags, $500,000 from Alabama as part of his settlement). He is not interested in talking about Alabama football, not even to answer some of the claims that the players his staff recruited have, to be politically correct, "character issues." Shula is not interested in getting into that conversation because, according to a person close to Shula, he recruited these players and is loyal to them. But also, he knows he was taking some chances with some of the players he signed in his first couple of recruiting classes. Apparently Shula felt forced to roll the dice a little. He was, after all, facing an uphill battle. The program was under NCAA sanctions and the school's football reputation was suffering because of the turmoil. Shula was a first-year head coach with no college experience, which made him fodder for the not-so-subtle doubts planted in recruits' homes by rival coaches. Shula's recruits received respectable rankings based on talent, but recruiting rankings are often based as much on the school doing the recruiting than the actual recruit, which is why an individual recruit's rating often seems tied to the perceived quality of the school offering him a scholarship. Although Shula has said nothing, you get the impression from talking to people close to him that he wasn't surprised by many of the stories that came out of Tuscaloosa this past year. Add that to Saban's reputation for being demanding and impatient - everything that Shula was apparently not - and it's easy to see why players who might have been protected by the first coach didn't respond to the next one. Shula did like the talent and character of his last couple of recruiting classes. NFL talent scouts expect it will get even better under Saban. They tell you to look to LSU to see the future at Alabama. Ray Melick's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Write him at rmelick@bhamnews.com I love the part where Shula spoke about issues that he never commented on publicly but his hairdressers cousins automechanics libraians sister in law said Shula knows why Saban isn't at fault. Holy coping mechanism's batman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weglchamp 0 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Shula's recruits received respectable rankings based on talent, but recruiting rankings are often based as much on the school doing the recruiting than the actual recruit, which is why an individual recruit's rating often seems tied to the perceived quality of the school offering him a scholarship. For all our bammer friends in denial that justify everything with their recruiting rankings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdaREALsecTigers 2 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Don't worry bama, Ray "I was protecting Saban" Mellick has unnamed sources who "expect" you guys to have talent one day. Huh??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTim 3,457 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 It is as much about coaching as it is about "talent". Someone must coach 'em after they sign. little nicky didn't fair too well in that department either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashandarei 0 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 For all our bammer friends in denial that justify everything with their recruiting rankings. Soooooo, you're saying we have good ranking because they decided to come to Alabama? Then what does that say about how people see your school if you are so low? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weglchamp 0 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 They know the bammer idiots will shell out the dough for their service, so they tell them what they want to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsixfive 328 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Shula's recruits received respectable rankings based on talent, but recruiting rankings are often based as much on the school doing the recruiting than the actual recruit, which is why an individual recruit's rating often seems tied to the perceived quality of the school offering him a scholarship. Did anyone catch this? One of them finally admitted it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebdawg 5 Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Which means, according to more than one such NFL professional, what they see when they visit LSU is what they expect to see when they visit Alabama in the next few years, since Nick Saban is the one responsible for so much of the LSU talent. Good math, too. 85 scholarship players minus 30 who were signed by Saban leaves 55 signed by Miles. The last two classes at LSU were the highest ranking classes they have had. Saban's were top 10, top 15. Miles have been top 2. Both are good recruiters, neither have proven to be anything special on Saturdays. Shoot, even the Great Pumpkin won a MNC after five years of great recruiting (i.e. cheating) and he is the worst coach in the SEC (that has never lost to ULM). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PChamp119 96 Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 You guys don't think Saban helped recruit some of the players Miles brought in? Especially Miles' first and second seasons? You guys don't think Saban's affect on LSU (winning a NC) helped Miles bring in talent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebdawg 5 Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 You guys don't think Saban helped recruit some of the players Miles brought in? Especially Miles' first and second seasons? You guys don't think Saban's affect on LSU (winning a NC) helped Miles bring in talent? Some, but Miles was a proven recruiter at OSU. Just as good as Saban. At the same time, you guys don't think DiNardo helped recruit some of the players Saban brought in? Especially Saban's first and second seasons? You guys don't think Shula helped recruit some of the players Saban brought in? Especially this season? You guys don't think Saban gets some credit for the Dolphins being winless? It goes both ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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