I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the story that people in Alabama can't stop talking about... then again, that's assuming you guys care what we argue about here in Dixie Anyway, Alabama has a safety that has graduated and wants to play at Georgia. Saban has put the kabash on in citing a conference rule regarding transfers within the conference. It's a fairly petty move by Saban who is clearly in a penis measuring contest with Smart at Georgia, and there's really no good way for Saban to get out of this other than just letting the kid go. Really, the only one I feel for here is the kid. He's getting played as a pawn by Smart. Neither team really needs the kid to win. Other schools in the conference, including both teams involved, have previously benefited from transfers within the conference. This is basically the intersection of two rules (the grad transfer rule and undergrad transfer rule) that someone should have ironed out before it came to this... but no one did and here we are. As I said, I'd just as soon see Saban let the kid go and take the higher road. There's no real precedent being set. This is all about Smart vs Saban in what may prove to be a long battle over time. Round 1 to Smart.. of course, Saban has a track record of winning all the rounds on the field (which are all that matter) so this is much ado, but I hate to see the kid who graduated get left out in the cold. The reports of this kid's treatment by the Alabama staff after he 'inquired with Coach Saban about his transfer options' are troublesome though..
Alabama has had several players transfer in the last few months so I have a feeling there is more to this story than we know. I think the kid's mother is trying to make as much noise as she can to try to get what she wants for her son. Saban probably won't talk about it to the press, so we will probably just hear what the player and his mother want to let out. It would just surprise me for Saban to let this distraction occur now unless there is more to the story. :?
Kingsbury at Texas Tech essentially did the same thing to Baker Mayfield when he left Tech for OU. He'd never even actually had a scholarship at Tech he was a walk on. Still able to screw him over. Some version of this comes up almost every year. Even at ND, Golson was not released to just go anywhere, The Irish would have blocked him I think from going to Texas since they were our opening opponent. But I do think that once a kid graduates, they should be able to go anywhere they want even if it's to your most bitter rival. I understand colleges wanting to not have a free agency for players, the movement would be too great and disrupting to the programs if kids could just pick up and move without having to sit a year.
Saban actually did have a response to this and that was 'don't blame me, it's the SEC that has the rule.' I believe that was met with even more groans than before. I cut Saban a lot of slack. He normally plays every situation so perfectly that when he's less than perfect, it really stands out. This was clearly a ******** move by Smart, but it's one that had been approved in the past. I mean, the kid graduated. He's done. I don't really see the SEC standing in his way either. If nothing else, this will give us a bit of precedent to avoid further back and forth situations like this.
Not a big deal. Really this kid was supposed to be a starter at Alabama. At least this way he will get to watch the playoffs 8)
LOL! Think of all he's been missing!! Now he'll have time to catch up on Netflix and watch the playoffs. I'm sure he's so happy. I listened to Kiffin the other night on the way home. I get the impression that he actually doesn't care who is starting at QB. He expects them all to be able to hit the ground running. Speaking of running, folks here seem pretty excited about the RB this year. (again)
Yeah,the thinking is Scarborough is Henry Jr., and the freshman Hurts has a shot at starting. This team should be be very good in every area,except question marks at qb and rb. Not good places to have questiomarks
That's true, but at least the question mark isn't on talent. It's on leadership and readiness. That bodes well when you have Saban and staff.
Two items: Great article on Saban http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17249588/alabama-coach-nick-saban-showing-different-side And... Why are all the pretty girl pics in the Alabama topics???
The cornerstone of the Alabama program is accountability and one of the things I love about Saban is that he practices what he preaches. Because he does this, he can demand more of his players and get it. There's a lot of coaches that would have hidden under a PR rug, or claimed they were taken out of context. That's not his style. He's who he is and he's accountable for that, he demands the same in the program. That goes a long, long way with young men this age. Re Alabama women: I don't know man, they're everywhere here.
KP, Did you catch the press conference recently in which Saban said the QB race is down to 2 guys (Cooper Bateman or Blake Barnett) and now no one knows what's going on because everyone thought the freshman (Jalen Hurts) would be the guy? They still think he'll be the guy. This is why Nick Saban press conferences are always a can't miss event. As I am sure you know, he's not really going to say anything but if he does: -He's gonna get pissed and the media is going to get both barrels -He's going to say something that totally upsets whatever apple cart the media had about Alabama football -He'll remind them that their opinion is worthless at least once. Living in this state gets real fun around this time of year.
As I said before, if Hurts was not a true freshman I think he might get the job. Once again though the Alabama qb must first do no harm and bad judgement is the real danger of a freshman.
Saban said the starting qb will either be Cooper or Bateman, so I guess Alabama won't start a true freshman. The way it sounded it will be one or the other, not a 2 qb system.
I agree. I think they'll put 2 out there and wait for one to grab the reigns. I still can't believe Hurts isn't going to be the guy, at least for a few series. He's good.
Blake Barnett not in the mix, I wonder if he'll be gone after the season. He was so highly sought after coming out of HS. I did hear that his dad was a pia during recruiting.
I tried to post this earlier. I flew from Atlanta to Dallas yesterday on a plane full of Bama fans. Didn't see anyone in USC colors but as my friend jim said "You can smell the fear"