Nick Saban Refutes Allegations, “We Don’t Tamper With Anybody”
College football has been a frenzied storm in recent weeks, and as talks surrounding the effects of both the transfer portal and NIL have spiked, a new problem has emerged, one that has caused quite a stir among coaches.
Last week, Scott Satterfield, current head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, implied that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide had participated in tampering when it comes to former Cardinal Tyler Harrell.
Read More: Louisville Head Coach Alleges Crimson Tide Tampering |
Harrell recently made the decision to transfer away from Louisville in favor of Alabama, confirming his move to the Crimson Tide just ten days after initially entering the transfer portal.
At the Regions Tradition Pro-Am Golf Tournament in Hoover, AL, Nick Saban himself was asked about tampering within the sport, responding with, "When you have a guy leave your program and go someplace else the day after the game, I don't have any evidence that anything happened and I'm not making any accusations, but it makes you wonder."
"Hopefully, we have enough honesty and integrity out there amongst us professionally in our sport that people are gonna abide by the rules," Saban said.
When asked to respond to Satterfield's allegations, Saban said, emphatically, "We don't tamper with anybody, so I don't know of anything or anybody that tampered with him."
Speaking further on the topic, coach said, "I don't really know that anybody's ever tampered with our players. I just think sometimes when things happen, it makes you wonder."
The Crimson Tide has landed five transfer players, including Harrell, this offseason in Jahmyr Gibbs from Georgia Tech, Jermaine Burton from Georgia, Eli Ricks from LSU and Tyler Steen from Vanderbilt, while nearly 30 players from last year's team have entered the transfer portal themselves.
Alabama is known for reloading with stellar recruiting classes year in, year out, but could dipping into the transfer portal be the Saban's new blueprint for success?