How does this look to Prospects and/or Parents....

[The Prowler 1]

Just thinking out loud here.....

A player, for one of the Universities, gets arrested for selling Cocaine and that it has become known that Drugs are all over said University. That gives the University 10 players that have been arrested in the past year. Then, on the same day as all of that goes down, the instate rival of that University gets a commitment from a player that was a standout at the past camp, the past camp that the other prospects attended....and #17 to boot.

[AUChizad 0]

Honestly, you've got that mess over there, and the subject of "Hard Fighting Soldier" over here.

It seems like a no brainer for any parent with a hint of moral fiber.

[Shire5k 19]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

[FootballFanatic 4]

Its a marvelous circus over there. Saban has his head in the sand and he is getting his rear end kicked over and over by his own players, other teams, and his own asst coaches.

I thought when Alabama hired Saban they were going for an Epic story, now I understand that its a Tragic Comedy.

[AUesquire 1]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

Drugs? On a college campus? Kids getting high?

Whatever dude, you just lost all cred.

[The Prowler 1]

Yeah....all credibility is lost now. LOL. I know that it goes on everywhere, parents know that it goes on everywhere. But, it isn't plastered all over the news, only at SPuat.

[AUChizad 0]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

The point being, this is a player distributing cocaine. These other arrests on the strip, the armed robbery, all of that is with the players. This is the peer group these parents are throwing their kids into. You're right, if it were just that the school had a rampant drug problem, it wouldn't be an issue. But let it be known, that while I know Auburn is not cocaine free, it sir, is no Tuscaloosa. That's just a known fact.

Anyway, if I were a parent, I'd be concerned with what kind of role model is Saban? What kind of control does he have over this team? Clearly not much. I wouldn't want my kids going to a place where the inmates run the asylum. I'd want them to go somewhere as described in Hard Fighting Soldier.

[AUisAll 2]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

The point being, this is a player distributing cocaine. These other arrests on the strip, the armed robbery, all of that is with the players. This is the peer group these parents are throwing their kids into. You're right, if it were just that the school had a rampant drug problem, it wouldn't be an issue. But let it be known, that while I know Auburn is not cocaine free, it sir, is no Tuscaloosa. That's just a known fact.

Anyway, if I were a parent, I'd be concerned with what kind of role model is Saban? What kind of control does he have over this team? Clearly not much. I wouldn't want my kids going to a place where the inmates run the asylum. I'd want them to go somewhere as described in Hard Fighting Soldier.

What he said.

[WarDamn 0]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

I would like to take the time to agree with you here on this one instance. That being said, the fact is that he isn't at Auburn. Auburn doesn't want that kind of player. He doesn't fit our "I'll take a 3 star with character and heart over a 5 star with all the talent in the world," recruiting mentality that you bammers have been crowing over and bashing us for years about.

and I thank God for it.

[CircleDrill 178]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

How much money are you willing to lay down to back up your mouth that we have a player at Auburn who is a cocaine distributor?

[quietfan 233]

Well, I suppose there could be some parents who think "Gee, by the time the implosion is over and the smoke clears in Tuscaloosa, my son could be starting LB/Quarterback/whatever as a freshman..."

As many have expressed, I don't think the point is about a single dumbass selling coke in Tuscaloosa or Auburn, or whether either campus is drug free (Not!-in both cases). It's about a perceived culture in Tuscaloosa...a history of 10 arrests, 4 textbook thieves, and ambiguous disciplinary demonstrations by the coach in just the last year on top of myriad other scandals in the last decade.

[Shire5k 19]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

How much money are you willing to lay down to back up your mouth that we have a player at Auburn who is a cocaine distributor?

That's not what I said. I said, IF a player wanted to do so, he could. It's not like your school is immune to something that happened to ours...it just happened to ours and not yours. We got Jimmy Johns. You didn't. We got a cocaine dealer. You didn't. It's an individual issue.

I can't say definitively whether he would have acted different at your school or not. That's impossible to tell, but a thug is a thug is a thug.

[CircleDrill 178]

That's not what I said. I said, IF a player wanted to do so, he could. It's not like your school is immune to something that happened to ours...it just happened to ours and not yours. We got Jimmy Johns. You didn't. We got a cocaine dealer. You didn't. It's an individual issue.

I can't say definitively whether he would have acted different at your school or not. That's impossible to tell, but a thug is a thug is a thug.

Nobody is saying Auburn is a drug free campus. But you are essentially saying "bah, this happens everywhere....just kids being kids....boys being boys...." and that people in the spotlight like players can do it just as easily as anyone ANYWHERE else.

You are saying because any campus has drugs on it that any football program could have drug dealers in it. And I know, and everybody else reading this knows, you are wrong.

One of the oldest philosophical arguments: nature vs. nurture. Are people born the way they are or do their surroundings make them who they are?

I am here to tell you that kids that come into our football program leave it a better man, and you can't say that for AlabamaPERIOD. THAT is the problem with Alabama's football team right now. The house that was built on CLASS and CHARACTER with a coach that that did things like taking men to Junction so that only the ones with the strongest will would survive....has been sacrificed for glamor and rock stars because they are so completely desperate for wins that they will absolutely do ANYTHING to get them. Anything.

Heck, Nick Saban might wind up in prison before this is all over, and the only thing they care about is what freakin' bowl game they are predicted to go to??

Alabama needs to take a long, hard look within and figure out why they have fallen SO FAR from the wagon when it comes to class and character. Until they do that, this stuff is just going to continue.

[AU_tiger_2000 0]

You act like if a kid wanted to get his nose dirty he couldn't do it at Auburn. Jimmy Johns was a **** up. He would have been a **** up at Auburn, too. If you're trying to claim that Auburn is drug free...well, to be blunt, you're either blind or a liar. Drugs are everywhere. That's the sad fact.

How much money are you willing to lay down to back up your mouth that we have a player at Auburn who is a cocaine distributor?

That's not what I said. I said, IF a player wanted to do so, he could. It's not like your school is immune to something that happened to ours...it just happened to ours and not yours. We got Jimmy Johns. You didn't. We got a cocaine dealer. You didn't. It's an individual issue.

I can't say definitively whether he would have acted different at your school or not. That's impossible to tell, but a thug is a thug is a thug.

I think that's the point. A kid causes trouble cause he is a thug. Alabama seems to have a lot of troublemakers (thugs). What parent wants to send their kid to a school with thugs?

Auburn, players don't get arrested for thuggish activities (or not as often, always a couple of bad apples). Parents should want to send their kids to Auburn where the kids keep their noses clean

[lca408 366]

I agree with AU_tiger_2000. Parents should want to send their kids to Auburn, but not just because of this one incident.

It would be very much different if this was the only incident. 10 arrests since Saban has been there. They're not all his fault, and certainly, the severity of the incidents vary from case to case, but the plain and simple fact is that THIS KEEPS HAPPENING. Whatever course of discipline Nick Saban professes to employ obviously isn't working. For that matter, I believe the extraordinary number of arrests in the last year and a half is an indication that there is a systemic problem which infects the UAT athletic department, with a special emphasis on the football program.

The "win at all costs" attitude has been quite clearly established well before this unfortunate incident. The half game suspension of DJ Hall is a perfect example of this infection. Jimmy John's actions are his fault. The blame lies squarely upon his shoulders. But his transgressions are just the latest in a string of embarassments to the once proud football legacy of Alabama.

I'm not here to say that some students at Auburn don't do drugs. I'm sure that many of them do. I'm not here to say that the entire Alabama football team is involved in massive drug-ring, headed by Johns, Saban, and Mal Moore. What I am saying is that there is a huge problem over there. If this were happening to Auburn, I would be soo freaking mad at Tommy Tuberville, the rest of the coaches, and the University for being soo lax on the discipline of their players.

Maybe if Johns had recieved proper discipline, he would not have been selling cocaine. Maybe not. He is what he is, and maybe nothing would have worked. But, Johns isn't the only offender. If Saban and Alabama had been pursuing any type of strict discipline, they would not have had 10 players arrested in the last year and a half.

Maybe this will sway recruits to other schools including Auburn. Maybe it won't. What I am comforted by is the fact that Tommy Tuberville has kept the young men who follow him out of trouble for the most part. I am comforted by the fact that there is no underlying disease that the program or the University is stricken with, other than the usual bickering and politics that accompanies the administration and budget of schools. What disturbs me is that this will dissuade young men and women from attending a truly fine school like Alabama for its many programs of study. I am disturbed by the corruption of young minds that is going on there. I pray that such wickedness be ended soon.

Ryan

[AUChizad 0]

If Saban and Alabama had been pursuing any type of strict discipline, they would not have had 10 players arrested in the last year and a half.

This is just in the last year. There were more in the first half a year. Saban's arrest count is above 10.

[AU Cav 0]

If Saban and Alabama had been pursuing any type of strict discipline, they would not have had 10 players arrested in the last year and a half.

This is just in the last year. There were more in the first half a year. Saban's arrest count is above 10.

Consider that there are 85 scholarship players, those numbers are even more absurd.

I can see Saban at the first team meeting this fall. "Look at the four guys sitting to your left. Now look at the four guys sitting to your right. One of you is going to jail!"

[sogaaufan 27]

I honestly don't know how much of a effect it would have. I went to Auburn back in the eighties and had TONS of friends and family that went to UA at the same time. Tuscaloosa was known to be a drug infested cesspool even back then. I'm not saying Auburn was drug free by any means, but Tuscaloosa was another thing alltogether. It was off the charts. I've got my suspicions that it had been that way for years before and it obviously hasn't gotten better since. The only thing that has changed is that it is getting a little publicity now.

There will always be a certain type of player that wants to win at all costs and a certain type of parent that wants their child to win at all costs. There are also parents and players in the state that will wind up at Bama no matter what.

[WAR-MATT 2]

I honestly don't know how much of a effect it would have. I went to Auburn back in the eighties and had TONS of friends and family that went to UA at the same time. Tuscaloosa was known to be a drug infested cesspool even back then. I'm not saying Auburn was drug free by any means, but Tuscaloosa was another thing alltogether. It was off the charts. I've got my suspicions that it had been that way for years before and it obviously hasn't gotten better since. The only thing that has changed is that it is getting a little publicity now.

There will always be a certain type of player that wants to win at all costs and a certain type of parent that wants their child to win at all costs. There are also parents and players in the state that will wind up at Bama no matter what.

I think it's called "blind faith"......

[Bama My Heart 5]

I honestly don't know how much of a effect it would have. I went to Auburn back in the eighties and had TONS of friends and family that went to UA at the same time. Tuscaloosa was known to be a drug infested cesspool even back then. I'm not saying Auburn was drug free by any means, but Tuscaloosa was another thing alltogether. It was off the charts. I've got my suspicions that it had been that way for years before and it obviously hasn't gotten better since. The only thing that has changed is that it is getting a little publicity now.

There will always be a certain type of player that wants to win at all costs and a certain type of parent that wants their child to win at all costs. There are also parents and players in the state that will wind up at Bama no matter what.

I think it's called "blind faith"......

You just have no idea how bad Tuscaloosa has become. The crime rate is off the chart. Just this week there were 12 reported break-ins in a rather "rich" side of town, and I only say that to show that it doesn't matter where you live here there is crime. I have not been seen the drug issue from a personal point of view, but I do know about the break-ins, and had it happen to my own home this year. I know that there is crime in every city, but I was just not used to something like I have found here. I came to Tuscaloosa after living in Troy for a very long time, and we just didn't have these problems to this degree there.

I really don't know what can be done about it. I am not making light of any of the arrests that were made on the strip this year, but I do think that maybe the police could put more energy protecting the citizens of Tuscaloosa's homes than worrying about someone yelling at passing cars in the street.

I can tell you from personal experience that when your home is broken into here, the police will pretty much tell you that you won't get your things back, and that there is not much they can do about it. They do suggest that you purchase an alarm system(which I did)but those are not a guaranteed thing, because they take so long to respond.

I love my University and my football team, but I would like to pick them up and move it to another city..ha.

[Hoopie 6]

I honestly don't know how much of a effect it would have. I went to Auburn back in the eighties and had TONS of friends and family that went to UA at the same time. Tuscaloosa was known to be a drug infested cesspool even back then. I'm not saying Auburn was drug free by any means, but Tuscaloosa was another thing alltogether. It was off the charts. I've got my suspicions that it had been that way for years before and it obviously hasn't gotten better since. The only thing that has changed is that it is getting a little publicity now.

There will always be a certain type of player that wants to win at all costs and a certain type of parent that wants their child to win at all costs. There are also parents and players in the state that will wind up at Bama no matter what.

I think it's called "blind faith"......

You just have no idea how bad Tuscaloosa has become. The crime rate is off the chart. Just this week there were 12 reported break-ins in a rather "rich" side of town, and I only say that to show that it doesn't matter where you live here there is crime. I have not been seen the drug issue from a personal point of view, but I do know about the break-ins, and had it happen to my own home this year. I know that there is crime in every city, but I was just not used to something like I have found here. I came to Tuscaloosa after living in Troy for a very long time, and we just didn't have these problems to this degree there.

I really don't know what can be done about it. I am not making light of any of the arrests that were made on the strip this year, but I do think that maybe the police could put more energy protecting the citizens of Tuscaloosa's homes than worrying about someone yelling at passing cars in the street.

I can tell you from personal experience that when your home is broken into here, the police will pretty much tell you that you won't get your things back, and that there is not much they can do about it. They do suggest that you purchase an alarm system(which I did)but those are not a guaranteed thing, because they take so long to respond.

I love my University and my football team, but I would like to pick them up and move it to another city..ha.

Elect the right mayor, revamp and add to the police, increase undercover work and agressively pursue each crime. The crime in our town dropped dramatically when we did this. 2 small gangs were completely eliminated. This will cost some tax dollars to do.

[AU alum 2]

Here is what I was told by an Alabama fan. This arrest and all the others won't matter to recruits or parents because, SPUAT has "tradition". No comment necessary.

[PChamp119 96]

Guys, you can spin the drugs and arrests all you want. In the end - recruits don't give a damn. That is the bottom line. Parents don't give a damn either. You guys were bringing up this exact same crap when Saban was hired. "How will this look to recruits and their parents - a coach lies to his players and says repeatedly he is not going to be the head coach at Alabama, then he just leaves with a phone call. The guy only cares about money and himself."

And then there was the "How does this look to recruits - Auburn has beaten Alabama FIVE times in a row. They are our whooping boy and the program is heading for even worse times ahead."

Well guess what, the guy pulled in the #1 recruiting class.

Get it through your skull - recruits care about playing time and where they feel comfortable. Saban somehow is a great recruiter. Whatever he does works to get the prospects he wants. And it doesn't matter that he has players running into problems with the law or that Auburn has defeated them six times in a row. It just doesn't matter to them. They may have grown up Alabama fans, so that is all that matters to them. Their parents may be big Alabama fans and that is all that matters to them. There are countless reasons.

Find me some recruits that will come out publically and state "Yea, Alabama showed some interest in me, but it wasn't the place for me with all their recent crime." or "Yea, Saban visited me, but the way he treated the Miami Dolphins was just wrong and I don't like his moral character." or "Why would I go to Alabama? I grew up a fan of theirs, but Auburn has beaten Alabama six times in a row! They are truly the better program. The coaches and the University are about equal between the two, that streak is what brought me in."

These three factors, as much as you want to believe, are truly not a factor in determining where these kids go to school.

[AU Cav 0]

They may have grown up Alabama fans, so that is all that matters to them. Their parents may be big Alabama fans and that is all that matters to them.

That is always been the primary reason I feel players in Alabama go to Alabama. We all know how much we love our football down here and kids generally are fans of an area team. Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, Tennessee, they all have a big base of local kids to choose from. Successful coaches at Auburn have long knew that you won't flip the state and you gotta make kids from outside the area believe Auburn is the right place for them. Although it happens (Bo Jackson, Brandon Cox), Alabama fans rarely play football at Auburn and Auburn fans rarely play at Alabama.

Extreme circumstances like probation and just flat out losing most of your games can break this rule, but a kid who grew up watching games in his dad's Alabama room isn't going to go to Auburn because we've beat them six times in a row. They are going to go to Alabama because they hate us or they are going to go out of state.

That's just my opinion. It's why I don't worry about not getting a lot of the top guys in the state. Those guys weren't going to Auburn at birth. What hurts is when kids from where I live, Columbus, don't go to Auburn. Fortson was painful for me. I had every belief that he was going to Auburn. Then rumors started to circulate town about what was really going on with FSU. One of my good friends used to live in Tallahassee and is an FSU fan and he was miffed. No player is worth what it's going to cost FSU.

[CircleDrill 178]

I can tell you from personal experience that when your home is broken into here, the police will pretty much tell you that you won't get your things back, and that there is not much they can do about it. They do suggest that you purchase an alarm system(which I did)but those are not a guaranteed thing, because they take so long to respond.

Dogs are way better than any alarm system you could buy, and dog food costs way less than paying someone to sit at a computer and turn your alarm off when it triggers instead of calling the cops like they are supposed to. Any place anyone I have ever known lived in with an alarm, they were surprised the first few times they accidentally set it off and the company didn't call and the cops never came.

A dog will take care of business pretty much every time if you have a good one.

I hear pit bulls are great guard dogs, and I know where you can get some that will be needing a new home.