Saban: The two most important words in a player's scouting report is "and" and "but"

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“I spent eight years in the NFL, which means I sat through eight drafts,” Saban said during a Q&A with the Louisiana Football Coaches Association. “Which meant it’s not just the draft. It’s two weeks of preparing for the draft. Then two weeks of getting questions answered and then two more weeks of getting ready for the draft. So I’m talking about listening to 1,000 draft reports.

“And I tell our players all the time, the two most compelling words in the draft report is ‘and’ and ‘but.'”

“So they read the player, and I’ll take a defensive back. He’s got quick feet, change of direction. He’s got good long speed. Can play man to man. He’s a good tackler, he’s got toughness. Got really good ball judgment and really good ball skills — and he’s a good person, he was a leader on the team, he graduated from school, coaches loved him.

“Read the same player, — but he got a positive drug test, . . . he got a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend, he got a fight in a bar when he was a freshman, strength coach said he wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. Who do you want on your team? And or but?

“What I tell players is you don’t realize that as soon as you apply for a job, as soon as you put your name in for the draft, people are looking for reasons not to pick you. They’re looking for reasons not to hire you. So don’t give anybody a reason to say ‘but’.”

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