re: Player Safety: Did Nick Saban play Eddie Lacy after he got a concussion?

Tuesday 790 The Ticket morning show host Jorge Sedano interviewed former NFL player Heath Evans for a segment that aired on the Miami sports radio station Wednesday morning. (Audio below.)

During the interview, Evans was asked by Sedano to describe Nick Saban at Dolphins training camp in 2005 when Saban was in his first year as Miami’s head coach and Evans was a player on the squad.

SEDANO: Give me an example of something he did to someone while you were there that made you shake your head, you’re like, ‘That stuff doesn’t work here’.

EVANS: Well, the first day of two-a-days. We had about a three-hour-plus practice in the morning in that south Florida sun. You guys know what it’s like down there in late July, early August. And then that night we had another practice under the lights, if I recall I think it was about from 6 to 9.

Jeno James, our best offensive lineman at the time, comes in and collapses after practice, uh, vomiting all kinds of stuff that would make a billygoat puke, eyes rolled in the back of his head. Myself, about four other lineman are trying to carry him from the locker room, to the training room.

Obviously it’s a moment of panic, everyone, you know, we don’t know if this guy’s, you know, gonna die, I mean, the whole deal. But he’s so big and sweaty and heavy that we actually have to set him down in the hallway between the locker room and the training room.

Nick Saban literally just starts walking in, steps over Jeno James convulsing, doesn’t say a word, doesn’t try to help, goes upstairs, I don’t know what he does. But then obviously they get Jeno trauma-offed to the hospital.

Saban calls a team meeting about 10:30 that night, comes down and says, ‘You know, the captain of the ship can never show fear or indecision, we’ve always gotta have an answer, and so I had to go upstairs, that’s why I walked over Geno like that, I had to collect my thoughts and decide what’s best for our team.’

And I’m thinking to myself, I think along with Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas and Yeremiah Bell and all these other guys going, ‘Did he, does he really believe what he’s just saying?’ He showed no human emotion for one of his best players. He literally stepped over him when four or five grown men are trying to carry Jeno to the training room.

And at that point honestly, you know, I was only there, you know, for seven weeks of that football season before he cut me, um, and let me say this – that was the best thing that ever happened to my career, because obviously A) they had to pay me, and B) Bill Belichick picked me up and I learned more football than I ever thought I’d know – but that deciding moment kind of right there of how Nick Saban handled that, I think it always showed the team that ultimately he doesn’t really care about any of us players.

SEDANO: I mean, are you serious? Well, listen, I know for a fact that people in that office, they weren’t even allowed to look at him, for God’s sake! Like, I heard a story about his secretary telling him he had a nice haircut, he kind of like grunted at her and kept walking. And then someone later, this Scotty O’Brien, that hatchet man that he had, came up to her and says, ‘You’re not allowed to speak to the coach! Don’t you dare speak to the coach!’ Just nonsense that Scotty O’Brien - he had a hatchet man! What coach has a hatchet man?

EVANS: Who is that narcissistic not to want people that are ultimately trying to make you look better talk to you? I mean, from what I heard, and I obviously never saw the email, but it was an email that went around that says, you know, don’t speak until spoken to like it’s the, you know, the Marines or something, you know what I mean? So I don’t know. Nick’s - listen, again, you gotta praise what he does on the football field.

SEDANO: Sure.

EVANS: The guy’s an amazing football coach at the college level. How he gets it done isn’t my style of coaching or teaching. But ultimately, the guy’s got some ways about him that I’m just like, ‘Are you human?’ I think he might be a robot.

SEDANO: (laughing) Oh, you’ve just confirmed everything I’ve been saying for years, so I’m glad that you were able to do that.

Feel free to post any "stone cold facts" that you have. Or rumors originated by someone other than yourself.

Yes Saban loves to play players who are hurt. He sometimes hurts them in practice so they have to play in the game hurt. It's how we have won so many games. I salute your acute observations.

Should have been called.

I thought Lacy played after that.

oh look, a crying rantard has found his way over to the sec rant.

your grandkids hate you

quote:

---

Yes Saban loves to play players who are hurt. He sometimes hurts them in practice so they have to play in the game hurt. It's how we have won so many games. I salute your acute observations.

---

Using hyperbole as deflection is never a good argument

quote:

---

Yes Saban loves to play players who are hurt. He sometimes hurts them in practice so they have to play in the game hurt. It's how we have won so many games. I salute your acute observations.

---

so, Eddie Lacy didnt have a concussion?

quote:

---

i didn't realize you were so impotent.

---

Of course you wouldn't... Although his post history and count suggest so.

quote:

---

so, Eddie Lacy didnt have a concussion?

---

Link?

Loston says high. He'll he moved to Baton Rouge to get eligible.