quote:
The more interesting question I have about the early days of Saban is who he had blackmailed from the SEC and NCAA offices to start dropping bags for annual recruiting riches? He got those classes rolling at a time when the NCAA still thought they had nuts and were laying infractions for secondary recruiting violations.. meanwhile, Nick was playing with greyshirt scholarships.

quote:
Only those naive and new to college football would believe he runs a clean program and that it didn't take a handful of shrewd boosters, bag dropping, 7-on-7 programs and recruiting services to get that machine rolling.

I don’t idolize Saban or anything and he’s not above criticism. You make some fine points about his outsized role in the direction of the game. But to be clear, you’re making some very serious allegations of his direct involvement in some really elaborate payment schemes to get uncommitted players on campus. No one would dispute that players on campus occasionally get/got benefits from boosters, but you’re taking your claims many steps further than that with your Saban-directed cheating scheme angle. So I just want to point out that you can call people naive all you want, but I haven’t seen even our worst rivals make the claims you’re making here, in earnest. And we’ve never seen any leaks or one shred of evidence suggesting the 1980’s SMU level scheme that you’re suggesting here. Have you ever seen Saban talk about his obsessive, year-long, laser-like focus on all details recruiting above basically all other aspects of the program? Maybe you’re actually the naive one?

This post was edited on 9/6/22 at 2:12 pm

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Posted by Gravy_Train

Texas

Member since Sep 2019

22 posts

Posted on 9/6/22 at 2:19 pm to thatthang

You can be laser-focused and execute to the best of abilities on everything from dorm room discipline to nutrition, while, at the same time, benefit from a few "shrewd bent rules" or ulterior advantages *outside the program* to get recruiting results within a new-ish venue.

Those aren't benefits Saban himself may have directed, but that others involved in the program helped jump-start recruiting success in Tuscaloosa a bit faster than what other coaches might have been challenged with at the time. And yes, rivals have been doing it all along. No, it's not SMU, but it's also not above-board.

There's just enough smoke from 2007-2012 that I can't forget and won't give grace for how UA's success rapidly jump started:

-Trent Richardson
-Tom Albetar
-Baron Flenory
-Charles Robinson's smoke (who ended up writing virtually nothing)
-Children's First Foundation, McGregor, Namath, Drummond
-Saban's 2009-2012 classes overcommitted on the scholarship cap while keeping 12-14 around the locker room on medical greyshirts

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