re: Caleb Downs

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Seems odd that we don't have the money to pay him.

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Wouldn’t he have already been paid? Which is one thing I don’t understand about NIL. Players can just demand more money at any moment or they can leave? That’s insane

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Downs, aside from a major injury, will play on Sundays regardless of where he plays his college ball. He knows this.

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This. He knows. He's seeking cash.

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This may come in the form of bringing in Jabbar Muhammad.


Relatively weak win to bring in a former player.

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Does the constant trolling get tiresome for you? I guess I contribute by responding, so I'm part of the problem.

That is a good point.

I was a season ticket guy for years. I spent Friday night thru Sunday morning dealing with huge tailgating infrastructure. I moved to Georgia, spent a couple of years still doing the Friday night to Sunday morning home game routine. Then I made a decision, with the way colege football has changed and the amount of money the University is asking for each year, was it worth my time and effort?

I chose instead to spend my money other ways. I built a viewing room / theater for watching the games and took back the time associated with Saturdays in the Fall. I have never looked back.

Alabama stopped (for the most part) playing for the A on their chest 10 to 15 years ago. Alabama started recruiting nationally first and the kids were playing for themselves alone.They came to Alabama because they viewed Coach Saban as their ticket to the NFL. Players were processed to make room for the next round of potential stars. And the cycle continued.

NIL combined with the portal gave enough power to the "stars" that the A on the chest did not mean anything to them any longer. The kids who were all about Alabama were support players at best. Most of those "I love Alabama" kids ended up at other schools if they wanted to play. And I ended up sitting on the recliner watching the entertainment rather than in the stadium watching kids that played for the A on their chest like I had done 40+ years ago.

Do you understand what relatively mean? A corner following you to your new school is a relatively weak win compared to losing Caleb Downs.

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I was a season ticket guy for years. I spent Friday night thru Sunday morning dealing with huge tailgating infrastructure. I moved to Georgia, spent a couple of years still doing the Friday night to Sunday morning home game routine. Then I made a decision, with the way colege football has changed and the amount of money the University is asking for each year, was it worth my time and effort?

I chose instead to spend my money other ways. I built a viewing room / theater for watching the games and took back the time associated with Saturdays in the Fall. I have never looked back.

Alabama stopped (for the most part) playing for the A on their chest 10 to 15 years ago. Alabama started recruiting nationally first and the kids were playing for themselves alone.They came to Alabama because they viewed Coach Saban as their ticket to the NFL. Players were processed to make room for the next round of potential stars. And the cycle continued.

NIL combined with the portal gave enough power to the "stars" that the A on the chest did not mean anything to them any longer. The kids who were all about Alabama were support players at best. Most of those "I love Alabama" kids ended up at other schools if they wanted to play. And I ended up sitting on the recliner watching the entertainment rather than in the stadium watching kids that played for the A on their chest like I had done 40+ years ago.

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Yeah but I enjoyed all those national titles brought in with people who came here for the brand instead of the school.

When people see the product built on just the kids who want to be in Tuscaloosa irrespective of the head coach's brand, they'll be clamoring for the days where Alabama was able to pull kids from wherever to play here.

I knew we would lose a number of players, but I didn’t expect to lose what we have so far, with likely many more to follow. I also didn’t expect us to lose all but 2 (about to be just 1) of our recruiting class for next year. NIL and the transfer portal have absolutely destroyed college football. Losing Downs is an absolutely devastating blow. Proctor I hear is likely next. I know some things are beyond this staff’s control, but they need to somehow find a way to hit the brakes to get this program back to being viewed the way it should be, even without Coach Saban. We need to get some figurative bandages from some wins in player retention or the recruiting trail, because this program is bleeding rapidly right now. And the 30 day window is not near over yet.

This model of nil and the portal is unsustainable and I expect some change(s).

That being said, I am behind players making money, but I don’t want my alma mater to loose sight they belong to a “team”. If uga, tx, osu want to become a&m, that’s fine with me, I’ll take a team that loves each other and play for one another.

Do y’all think Saban couldn’t come up with $ or a MB deal to keep Downs? At a certain point it becomes a principle issue, do you pay one, two, three or four players so disproportionately that you alienate the remainder of the team?

As for Yea Alabama, let’s support the guys who are seniors and remained loyal to the university and their teammates. I plan to find something from T Booker to purchase.

Roll Tide forever!