Nick Saban’s Comments on Recruiting Should Scare the Rest of College Football
Alabama head coach Nick Saban doesn't say a lot during media appearances, but something stood out during his stop inside the main room at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide's 'struggles' on the recruiting trail leading up to National Signing Day in February led to one of Saban's worst classes since taking over in Tuscaloosa. A program that came to expect the top collection of talent suddenly found its class ranked towards the bottom of the top 10. A ranking like that might be celebrated at 99% of the schools around the country, it led to a number of coaching changes on Alabama's staff this offseason.
The impact of these changes are already being seen. The 2019 class ranks No. 1 again with 20 total commitments and the momentum doesn't seem to be slowing down one bit. Now there's this statement from Saban at SEC Media Days, which should worry every other program in college football.
"I think this is also one of the better recruiting staffs that we've had, and I think that's going to be beneficial for us in the future as well."
That's quite a statement for a program that's dominated recruiting over the past decade, but Saban said this staff has made a good transition this offseason.
"With six new coaches this year, a new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator, new special teams coordinator, I am really pleased with the transition, how the players have sort of responded from relationship standpoint with all of those coaches, how those coaches have done a very good job of buying into the things that we want to do and how we want to do them. The new energy and enthusiasm and ideas that they brought to the organization I think are going to be a long-term positive."
If these comments today are any indication of what's to come in recruiting, look out. Alabama's class might only get stronger.