re: Alabama is not RBU, WRU, LBU or any other <insert position>U. We are NFLU.

Couldn't this theory also apply in reverse? Because Alabama has one of the best coaches in the history of college football, Alabama players are more likely to play to their absolute maximum potential, thus they don't have as much room for improvement as other potential professional football players.

The flip side is that you know they can be coached, but I'm still not sold on this theory that somehow playing for Alabama should increase your draft stock.

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thefloydian
Alabama is not RBU, WRU, LBU or any other <insert position>U. We are NFLU.
Couldn't this theory also apply in reverse? Because Alabama has one of the best coaches in the history of college football, Alabama players are more likely to play to their absolute maximum potential, thus they don't have as much room for improvement as other potential professional football players.

The flip side is that you know they can be coached, but I'm still not sold on this theory that somehow playing for Alabama should increase your draft stock.

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I think it's 2 fold actually..look at Hightower, he was NFL ready, as was Julio but they both continue to improve even though they started the day they arrived on campus til the day they leave. But look at Jesse Williams, who is still so new to the game and so raw that 2 short years with Saban at 2 different positions really hasn't even scratched the surface of his potential. This guy can be coached and molded in any way the team who drafts him wants.

As to your point, I believe we saw this very thing with Ingram, he was tapped out, he had peaked and went to a terrible offense for his skill-set. Also, Marcel could have been one of the NFL's best but those morons wanted him to pack on more weight and play heavier than he had his entire career......just don't understand.

I believe it has to be looked at in this light. Playing at Alabama does answer a lot of questions about the players, but not necessarily about their potential in the NFL. I think from a team player, character, work ethic, maturity, and understanding of the game standpoint, it does favor the Bama players. But from a potential standpoint, it still has to be done on an individual basis.

I hear Kiper and Todd McTurd talk about Milliner not being as gifted as Dre....I see the opposite, I see Dee being the much better NFL corner than Dre.

Look at Quentin Dial, that freaking guy could very well be a pro-bowler one day if he lands in a 4-3 system with a solid coach. We just didn't get the most out of him, we didn't have the best fit for him system wise and had limited time to bring him along.

I am one of the few who will admit, if Clowney had come to Bama, he wouldn't be doing the type of damage he is doing now in our system.

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The flip side is that you know they can be coached, but I'm still not sold on this theory that somehow playing for Alabama should increase your draft stock.

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You seem to be stuck on whether or not this perceived bump in NFL draft stock should be there. I really don't know if it should be there. I completely understand your doubts and reservations about whether or not this bump is accurate in the sense that these players go on to have good nfl careers. All I'm saying is that it is there, at least in many people's eyes that are connected to the NFL. And this helps us in recruiting and getting better and more talented players.

Ask any recruit what the number one reason that they would consider Alabama and theifirst answer out of their mouth will be that Saban will get them in the NFL. That is the perception that is out there right now. Whether its true or false, I really don't know. I'd like to see the players for 5 years or more in the NFL before I make a judgement about whether or not they are bust.

I've got a broken link when I open it.

This is weird. It's gone.
Don't know why they got rid of it. I can copy and paste it though. Aschoff wrote it.

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When we got to the latter stages of our countdown of the best 25 players in the SEC from the 2012 season, we could sense readers weren't thrilled with all of the Alabama players they saw crowding the list.

One stretch in particular really irked people -- Nos. 12-7. Five of our six players during that part of the countdown hailed from Alabama. From No. 10 to No. 7, our countdown was nothing but Crimson Tide players. Our top 10 featured five Alabama players and seven Tide players made our entire countdown.

Some people really did have a crimson headache when this whole thing was over with. But our question continued to be a very simple one: "Who would you leave off?"

But the so-called love fest doesn't end there. ESPN colleague Ryan McGee recently wrote that NFL personnel and scouts are really drooling over Alabama players. Insider McGee's piece goes on to talk about how NFL-ready most of Nick Saban's players are because of the meticulous training and preparation they go through under Saban's guidance. And how they really are just that good.

"After a couple of decades of sending players into the NFL, his track record can't be questioned," former Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian told McGee. "His players have consistently arrived at their first camps with a willingness to work and the ability -- more importantly, the desire -- to learn. It's so, so difficult to create that work ethic in a player. He usually either comes with or he doesn't."

An NFL scout then said this about the 33 former Alabama players who were on NFL rosters last year:

"Look at who those 33 players are. You're not looking at a bunch of roster-fillers. They're starters. They're contributors. It's guys who will be worth the investment. Guys that will be in the league for seven years or more."


But don't just take their word for it. Take a gander at various mock drafts, and Alabama players litter the poor things. Mel Kiper Jr.'s Mock Draft 3.0 Insider has four Alabama players going in the first round of next month's NFL draft. He also has five Alabama players ranked in his pre-draft position rankings. Insider Todd McShay's third mock draft Insider has three Bama players going in the first round.

So, it's not like we make this stuff up. Alabama has won two straight national championships and three of the last four BCS titles for a reason. You don't do that with flashy uniforms (which Alabama certainly doesn't have). You do that with quality coaching and quality players. Alabama has both, and it's a reason Tide players get all the love, dominate these lists and it's why NFL people salivate over the thought of drafting or signing a former Alabama player.

There truly is a method to the Alabama madness.

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