Glenn Guilbeau
Videos by OutKick
Alabama football coach Nick Saban may have the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation, and he continues to do well in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
But that doesn’t mean he likes the portal or what Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) is doing to recruiting.
Saban touched on both while speaking Thursday night at the 18th annual Alabama Football Coaches Association (ALFCA) convention at the Embassy Suites in downtown Montgomery.
During a question-and-answer session, someone asked about NIL’s impact on recruiting.
“Someone with one of the best corners in the nation (in high school) came to me and asked if we’d pay them $800,000 for the player to sign here. I told him he can find another place to play,” Saban said, according to Baker High School (Mobile) coach Steve Normand, who was there.
“I’m not paying a kid a bunch of NIL money before he earns it,” Normand said Saban added.
“Yes, he did say that,” Normand told OutKick on Saturday morning. “Coach Saban was talking about that and how there has to be more regulations with NIL and how the NCAA needs more ways and means to control it because it’s getting out of hand.”
A post on the BamaOnline.com website by a fan who regularly posts and was at Saban’s appearance detailed what the Alabama coach said. WMSP-AM 740 of Montgomery radio hosts John Longshore and Barry McKnight discussed the post on their morning show on Friday.
OutKick then reached out to Alabama high school coaches who attended, including ALFCA president Terry Curtis, who is the coach at UMS-Wright in Mobile and a member of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
Was Nick Saban Talking About Cormani McClain?
Saban did not say and players or schools by name, Normand and Curtis said.
But Alabama had been recruiting Cormani McClain, the No. 1 cornerback in the nation for the 2022-23 period out of Lakeland High in Lakeland, Florida. McClain first committed to the NIL-big spender University of Miami over Florida for reportedly a lucrative NIL deal. McClain changed his mind, though, de-committed to Miami and committed on Jan. 20 to Colorado and new coach Deion Sanders.
Saban lost No. 1 cornerback Travis Hunter of Suwanee, Georgia, last year to Sanders for a significant NIL deal when Sanders coached Jackson State. Hunter followed Sanders and transferred to Colorado recently.
When asked about the portal, Curtis confirmed that Saban said this: “We lost 10 players and one starter to the portal this year. One of them wanted $500,000 and for us to get his girlfriend into law school at Alabama and pay for it. I showed him the door.”
Was Nick Saban Talking about Ex Left Guard Javion Cohen?
Saban did not name any of the players he lost. But Alabama did lose junior starting left guard Javion Cohen, who transferred last December to Miami, which does have a law school. Cohen, a four-star signee out of Phenix City, Alabama, in 2020, started regularly in 2021 and ’22 for the Crimson Tide.
“He didn’t say any names, but yep, he did talk about a kid who wanted to get his girlfriend into law school at Alabama and pay for it,” Curtis said. “He was explaining that that tells you where this NIL and transfer portal are going. I thought he made an excellent point. It’s crazy what some kids are asking for. Coach Saban was talking about how frustrating it is to deal with NIL and the portal and how there needs to be some more ground rules.”
Normand also confirmed Saban’s anecdote about a player asking him if Alabama could get his girlfriend into the law school and pay for it.
NICK SABAN, OTHERS CALL FOR NIL, PORTAL CHANGES AT SENIOR BOWL SUMMIT
“He did mention that,” Normand said. “I don’t know for sure if that ever happened, but is that where we’re going with the portal and the NIL?”
Current back-to-back national champion Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze and Tennessee coach Josh Heupel were among the other speakers at the convention.
Why is it “crazy what these kids are asking for”. Ask they say no move on. Don’t pay it. Move on. These kids n family are treating it as a business. I mean the Saban only makes what $10 mil plus a year. No mortgage. Car payment. Guessing food tabs are regularly picked up.
#1 — It’s crazy what these kids are asking for because most of them are 18- and 17-year old high school kids who would blow through that money like a cocaine addict would blow through coke. A male’s brain doesn’t mature until he’s 25-26 years old. You give a kid that age a big chunk of money and it will be gone by Christmas break. If he has a parent or some other advisor, he’ll do better, but he still will be out of his depth, and so, most times, will his parent or advisor. I know many schools have NIL advisors now, but they work for the school, not the player.
#2 — Why pay someone for something they haven’t done yet? That isn’t how the real world works. These kids are still learning how the real world works, although I know some of them are in on that news already.
#3 — I believe they should abolish NIL TODAY and, instead, give each player a monthly or weekly stipend adjusted for his cost of living. Saban is an adult who works for his money, and it sounds as if he’d agree with me on this . True, playing college football is a lot of work, but paying in advance for work?? Not gonna happen in the real world, might as well learn to deal with it now. And, in the real world, you have to prove your worth to your employer before he bumps you up to $850K.
#4 — I believe the transfer portal should last four weeks and each team should have a limit as to how many players they can accept from it. No limit on players leaving. (for an example of players leaving, please see Oklahoma, my co-favorite team.)
#5 — College football isn’t a business for players. It’s a business for universities and coaches, but it’s supposed to mean more than that to coaches. The NIL in particular and the transfer portal are going to totally destroy college football as we know it. And I would hate to see that happen for a variety of reasons.
#6 — I raised two fine sons. I’ve studied child, adolescent, and adult psychology and development. The male brain doesn’t mature until he’s 25 or 26 years old. Believe me on this point.
p.s. Glenn, that was an excellent column. I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Saban. I want to find out what Sam Pittman had to say on this subject; I know that man has a wealth of common sense.
I’ve made $5000 from the IRS on calling athletes unreported income to a tip line