Nick Saban tried to warn you, he really did.
Without quite being so explicit, he spent months telling you that the transfer portal was likely to only enrich those teams entrenched at the top. The midmajor stars, the struggling conference teams with good players, the guys buried on the bench at high profile programs could and would shop; they would try and maximize their value at a place with a better opportunity.
He did warn you, before nabbing Jameson Williams out of the Portal and turning him into a NFL Top 15 pick. He did warn you before rescuing Henry To’oto’o from Tennessee Infractions Hell. He did warn you, even as you were lifting your CFP trophy, that your best wide receiver can come to Tuscaloosa and be a star; that one of the best running backs in the ACC could wear a crimson jersey and compete for an immediate starting spot.
And, he warned you before procuring the commitment of Vanderbilt star senior tackle Tyler Steen out of the Transfer Portal: a position of need for an underachieving offensive line with a new coach that — to use the technical term — brooks no bullshit.
That’s exactly what Alabama is getting too. A no-BS player, the 6’3” 315 pound four-star out of St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) is custom-made for the modern game. He allowed just two sacks in his nine starts last season, on a Vandy offense that improved its output across the board — particularly with its very efficient passing game. On the season, he allowed just 7 pressures.
For the returning linemen on the Crimson Tide roster, this ought to provide some incentive to get their act together. Last year was an historical flop, and this Spring seems to be uncertain again, as there’s just not enough quality depth and players are still trying to even figure out what position they’re best suited for, much less to develop continuity as a starting group.
For an offense that was relegated to pass-first, a veteran SEC lineman can help regain some of that lost momentum on the ground, as Alabama tries to return to its physical identity. For the reigning Heisman winner, this is a security blanket following the loss of Evan Neal. And for Bill O’Brien, the realization of both of those things would be a serious game-changer.
Nick Saban did warn you, and you have only yourself to blame.
Comments
I'm sure I'm not alone: while I like getting these players, it's also a bit disturbing that our best WR for 2 years in a row, most likely our best RB this year,
and now a starting OL (from Vandy?!) come in and help a thin position group….
are coming in through the portal.
What’s happening to the development of these all-time rated recruiting class??
Hopefully some of our RB’s step up and Gibbs becomes part of a Committee.
But it seems at WR and OL these players are really needed, for some rerason.
Something ain’t right in Mudville
By Realist Larry on 04.12.22 10:35am
We're losing depth through the portal.
This is how it’s going to work. The dudes who come here and don’t make the field by spring of year two will bolt and we will replace them with someone else’s starter.
By Josh Chatham on 04.12.22 10:38am
No one seems to listen to the goat until he's lifting trophies and shit.
When the rules committee floats these "considerations," maybe they should, I dunno, LISTEN to the man? He’s gonna play by the rules and use them to beat the ever-loving stuffing out of everyone. And he warns you. Like a rattlesnake.
By Law Abiding Citizen on 04.12.22 10:43am
One Jahmyr Gibbs for this Camar Wheaton, please.
Also, give me that Jermaine Burton for this Javon Baker. Nice doing business with you.
By Josh Chatham on 04.12.22 10:47am
By CarrotTop4 on 04.13.22 10:11am
"No one seems to listen to the goat until he's lifting trophies and shit."
Lmao, reminded me of this…
By Kblair1701 on 04.12.22 11:00am
That doesn't address development, especially in a position including 5 players like the OL.
By TiderInTheSouth on 04.12.22 3:32pm
One word: Injuries
About half of the OL are nursing some sort of injury that is keeping them out of practice and out of scrimmages. That’s also been the case with several of the WR class from last year, other than the head case(s) that are slowly making their way to the portal (QH)
By PeteTheGeezer on 04.12.22 10:42am
Lot of it is just math
Nick signs about 25 a year, on average.
P5 signs about 1400 a year.
Landon Dickerson. Jameson Williams. Gibbs and Burton. Now Steen.
Some % of that 1400 is (a) going to prove themselves as players and people and (b) need a better platform to max their draft opportunity. And some % of our 25 is going to miss.
By Bocktean on 04.12.22 11:37am
I walk backwards to the alternate universe where Josh Jacobs signs with Tulsa,
gains 2,000 yards from scrimmage as a freshman flat embarrassing fools in that conference, and suddenly P5 coaches – a few of whose teams he likely helped to shame – eagerly await his name in the portal.
Except Nick saw him before any of that happened and we got to enjoy Lil’ Rhino for a couple years.
By Law Abiding Citizen on 04.12.22 12:30pm
Man, I loved watching JJ wreck fools in that aTm game
By PeteTheGeezer on 04.12.22 1:38pm
Man, I loved watching JJ wreck fools...
…in that __________ game…
By NiceLittleSaturday on 04.12.22 3:50pm
BTW, I watched this Everything Everywhere All at Once movie about parallel universes the other night, and it was pretty good.
Sorry for the epilepsy though.
By CarrotTop4 on 04.13.22 10:19am
A theory
One of the things that Saban has been very good about in the four years he spent in Tuscaloosa before leaving for Texas and the NFL has been the rhythm of his staff hires.
Sometimes, he snags a position coach who really develops those kids up. Sometimes he grabs a strong recruiter. Occasionally you strike paydirt and get both in one hire.
I sometimes wonder how much of our struggle comes down to injuries and depth from recruiting vs. scheme and development from coaching.
Example — a lot of people were calling for Golding’s head, because the defense didn’t live up to expectation. If you’re Saban, you’re asking "How is Pete reeling them in," and "How is he doing coordinating the other position coaches? How are the players in his position group improving?"
We know that Nick will kick someone’s ass out the door politely invite underperforming assistants to broaden their LinkedIn profiles with post-Tuscaloosa experiences. Perhaps he knows who is handling what.
By Ricky Muncie on 04.12.22 12:32pm
Still not a Golding fan...
we could have won the NC if the defense had been able to stop the walk on qb.
By 5026 on 04.13.22 12:44pm
It wasn't the defense's fault the offense kept stalling out.
By aljout on 04.13.22 12:49pm
If we hold UGA to the same number of points
Clemson held them to we win easily. Why do we assume that in today’s football you can’t hold a good team to under 15 points?
And, UGA had a great defense, so it is not surprising, with our injuries, we had trouble scoring. But, their offense was not elite.
By 5026 on 04.13.22 12:56pm
They scored a whole 2 points on offense in the NCG more than they did in the SECCG. We stopped their offense about the same both times. The offense scored 18 points, and that’s almost never going to be enough in any post-season game now. Could the defense have done more? Sure. Was the defense the unit that came up short for us in that game? Not even close.
By Patrick LaFollette on 04.13.22 2:07pm
"Last year was an historical flop..."
Since when did Airwreck decide to go all Cockney on us?
By tubtider on 04.12.22 2:14pm
A right git he is, ay?
By TiderInTheSouth on 04.12.22 3:34pm
You would know.
Oh wait, GIT, not TIT. F*** I need new glasses.
By Law Abiding Citizen on 04.12.22 4:07pm
Ay, a fookin tit as well, the wanker!
By TiderInTheSouth on 04.12.22 5:23pm
Saban had seen enough
Roster ought to be one of his best…but through 2 scrimmages in the Spring he could tell that OT was not going to cut it…so thanks to the portal, he just gets to sign a free agent to resolve that problem.
Seems like cfb is in a good healthy place (for schools like ours at least)
By r gw on 04.12.22 3:20pm
Tyler Harrell just entered the portal
They say he’s even faster than Jamo. He had 6 TDs on just 18 receptions last year. Word has it Bama is the leader to land him.
By MeltdownThreadsAreNotReal on 04.12.22 3:25pm
F_ck it, we'll take him as long as he's not a convicted felon or registered sex offender.
By TiderInTheSouth on 04.12.22 3:36pm