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Just How Bad Was Saban's Recruiting?
Posted on 9/4/26 at 10:19 am
Posted on 9/4/26 at 10:19 am
I was reading this article that got me thinking. It was about how bad Saban's last few classes were at RB with Justice Haynes bouncing around as a bust, and Richard Young now being the fifth-string back at Colorado.
LINK
So I decided to dig deeper and came across this INSANNNEEEE stat.
Are you ready for this?
In Saban's last FIVE classes ('19-'23), the only WRs or RBs TO BE DRAFTED AT ALL were John Metchie (2nd rd), Jase McClellan (6th rd), and Jam Miller (7th rd).
To me, that's just an insane stat, and totally unthinkable for Saban and Alabama.
We were plagued for years with nobodys like JoJo Earle, Jacorey Brooks, Shazz Preston, and Kobe Prentice.
In Saban's last 4 classes he didn't sign ONE NFL WR, and Jase/Jam barely made the cut. Insane.
LINK
So I decided to dig deeper and came across this INSANNNEEEE stat.
Are you ready for this?
In Saban's last FIVE classes ('19-'23), the only WRs or RBs TO BE DRAFTED AT ALL were John Metchie (2nd rd), Jase McClellan (6th rd), and Jam Miller (7th rd).
To me, that's just an insane stat, and totally unthinkable for Saban and Alabama.
We were plagued for years with nobodys like JoJo Earle, Jacorey Brooks, Shazz Preston, and Kobe Prentice.
In Saban's last 4 classes he didn't sign ONE NFL WR, and Jase/Jam barely made the cut. Insane.
This post was edited on 9/4/26 at 10:33 am
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Posted on 9/4/26 at 10:32 am to LagunaTide
I think there was attrition happening behind the scenes that we didn’t recognize at the time would be impactful.
For most of his tenure at Alabama, Saban had a treasure trove of assistants and evaluators that went on to be head coaches and coordinators at other programs.
Most of those guys got poached as the years went by until there weren’t nearly as many sought after names by the end.
For most of his tenure at Alabama, Saban had a treasure trove of assistants and evaluators that went on to be head coaches and coordinators at other programs.
Most of those guys got poached as the years went by until there weren’t nearly as many sought after names by the end.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 10:35 am to Goombaw
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
The offensive braintrust must've taken some massive hits, because the defensive recruiting was elite until the end.
Offensive recruiting left us with that disastrous QB room in 2023 with no WRs or RBs to speak of.
Tyler Buchner says hello! Lol
The offensive braintrust must've taken some massive hits, because the defensive recruiting was elite until the end.
Offensive recruiting left us with that disastrous QB room in 2023 with no WRs or RBs to speak of.
Tyler Buchner says hello! Lol
This post was edited on 9/4/26 at 10:39 am
Posted on 9/4/26 at 10:50 am to LagunaTide
There was a definite drop in Saban's ability to sign top defensive linemen during his last few years. Several factors in play: loss of Kirby (and his competing for Bama targets), desperate coaches ( Jimbo Fisher, cough. cough) opening up their pocketbooks.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 11:07 am to Tupelo
quote:
Several factors in play
You forgot the biggest factor: Freddie Roach. We signed plenty of top D-lineman during Saban's last years. Freddie just failed to develop any of them.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 11:43 am to FightingOkra
quote:
You forgot the biggest factor: Freddie Roach. We signed plenty of top D-lineman during Saban's last years. Freddie just failed to develop any of them
This is a popular online narrative but the reality was NIL came and it significantly impacted our ability to sign AND retain high talent DL.
It was easy before where Saban could get them in and keep them in line waiting for their chance. When the B1G pushed that transfer portal it decimated our rosters combining that with their bigger purchasing power through NIL
Posted on 9/4/26 at 12:25 pm to LagunaTide
quote:
The offensive braintrust must've taken some massive hits, because the defensive recruiting was elite until the end.
We were not pulling bigtime DT's like we had before. Missed on some LB's as well.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 12:32 pm to LagunaTide
Yeah but I was told he left Deboer a roster that the 72 Dolphins would envy.... the same GOAT roster *minus* the 40+ players that transferred or declared and was one play away from losing to multiple dog shite teams the year before.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 12:51 pm to LagunaTide
2008-2017 was sustained greatness. After that it was anywhere from top heavy to downright mediocre once they got on the field. 2017 was the last year he had Kirby or Pruitt, who were probably the two best talent evaluators who ever worked for him.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 12:57 pm to Robot Santa
quote:
2017 was the last year he had Kirby or Pruitt, who were probably the two best talent evaluators who ever worked for him.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I always point out that 2017 and after was when things got a little off. We still had amazing success but the recruitment of some of the players to me became questionable.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 1:43 pm to cdur86
Yeah, compare a class like 2016 that had some busts at the very top with one like 2021. In 2016 you keep going down the list and you still get a bunch of fricking great players like Trevon Diggs, Quinnen, Hurts, Raekwon Davis, Irv Smith, and Josh Jacobs. In 2021 you keep going down the list and it's just non-contributor after non-contributor. Basically outside of the 5*s you had Milroe, Lawson, Roberts, Ouzts, and Keenan. Not trying to dog those guys, but there's obviously a big difference in those two groups of players. It's the same in most of the post-2017 classes. Once you get past the top 5-6 players it's loaded with guys who never played at all or weren't very good if they did, but with few home runs among the lower rated players to make up for it.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 1:46 pm to Robot Santa
Yeah, and I think a lot of it had to do with Kirby locking down GA and south FL getting a ton more competitive.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 3:23 pm to LagunaTide
I don't know...I think you usually develop NFL level talent, not recruit it. We were plagued with some pretty mediocre coaches in those last few years. Plus, Saban went soft around 2020.
This post was edited on 9/4/26 at 3:25 pm
Posted on 9/4/26 at 3:34 pm to bamabonners
I think it was a combination of recruiting misses and coaching failure. In fact the two probably play into one another. A good coach usually has an eye for prospects. We had fewer good coaches on the staff in the twilight of Saban’s career.
DeBoer has lost more games than we are used to because it would take half a decade or even a bit more for Alabama to lose 8 games. However, even Saban’s ability to hold that together was waning. 2023 was a season as close to 4 losses in the regular season as the 11-1 record they achieved. Beating UGA in the SECCG was probably the finest single game coaching job of the decade for Alabama.
I think 2024 probably only goes modestly better than it did for DeBoer just because we’d had our best returning defender and best skill player on offense instead of losing them to the tampering portal. Does some staff continuity, Bond, and Downs mean they go 10-2 or better? Maybe but there was a lot wrong with that offense regardless. Essentially just trading Bond for Bernard and that is a zero sum probably.
DeBoer has lost more games than we are used to because it would take half a decade or even a bit more for Alabama to lose 8 games. However, even Saban’s ability to hold that together was waning. 2023 was a season as close to 4 losses in the regular season as the 11-1 record they achieved. Beating UGA in the SECCG was probably the finest single game coaching job of the decade for Alabama.
I think 2024 probably only goes modestly better than it did for DeBoer just because we’d had our best returning defender and best skill player on offense instead of losing them to the tampering portal. Does some staff continuity, Bond, and Downs mean they go 10-2 or better? Maybe but there was a lot wrong with that offense regardless. Essentially just trading Bond for Bernard and that is a zero sum probably.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 4:41 pm to Diego Ricardo
quote:
Essentially just trading Bond for Bernard and that is a zero sum probably.
Nah Germie was way more productive for us than Bond was at Texas.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 4:44 pm to UsingUpAllTheLetters
Don't oversell Kirby here. He was a great DC but this is bordering into "he deserves all the credit" territory. At least that's how our UGA lurkers will interpret it.
Fact is, we were 87-7 post-Kirby from 2016-2023 and 88-5 with Kirby (not counting 2007). I'm only counting the regular season record because Kirby left just as the playoffs began so naturally that would unfairly inflate the post Kirby win record. And up until 2020, our defenses surrendered less total points (regular season) thaj Kirby's last two units did. Now in fairness, we almost certainly would have been 89-7 if we weren't shorted two regular season games in 2020.
He was a great DC no doubt but let's pump the brakes on crowning him the brain child of the operation as the stats tell a much different story.
Fact is, we were 87-7 post-Kirby from 2016-2023 and 88-5 with Kirby (not counting 2007). I'm only counting the regular season record because Kirby left just as the playoffs began so naturally that would unfairly inflate the post Kirby win record. And up until 2020, our defenses surrendered less total points (regular season) thaj Kirby's last two units did. Now in fairness, we almost certainly would have been 89-7 if we weren't shorted two regular season games in 2020.
He was a great DC no doubt but let's pump the brakes on crowning him the brain child of the operation as the stats tell a much different story.
This post was edited on 9/4/26 at 5:01 pm
Posted on 9/4/26 at 6:24 pm to PuertoRicanBlaze
quote:
Don't oversell Kirby here
People forget that long before there was 3rd and Golding there was 3rd and Kirby.
Posted on 9/4/26 at 8:14 pm to RollTide33
In fact, we won against UGA in 2025 regular season because of 3rd-and-Kirby-arse defense.
Posted on 9/5/26 at 12:14 am to PuertoRicanBlaze
quote:
Don't oversell Kirby here. He was a great DC but this is bordering into "he deserves all the credit" territory
Kirby's departure had nothing to do with this, because Saban's defensive recruiting never really faltered. That's why our defense has been pretty stout the past 2 years.
The failure was in offensive recruiting, which isn't really Saban's forte.
Posted on 9/5/26 at 6:14 am to LagunaTide
I think a lot of people are really underselling how much Covid, followed quickly by NIL and the portal, really affected Nick Saban's recruiting methods. It is very clear that the teams post-2020 were nowhere near as physical or as bought in to the Process as the teams from 2008-2020 were.
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