Saban is a genius at making the recruiting numbers work out (Photo-TDA Magazine)

Why No One Talks About Saban “Over Signing” Any More

By: Larry Burton

In past years, there were many vocal critics of many SEC coaches who were thought to be guilty of over signing too many recruits. They claimed that this number of over signed athletes led coaches to back on promises of scholarships and doing other things to simply “boot out” under performing players. Hardly anyone that yelled about this failed to point a finger at Nick Saban as one of the main culprits.

NCAA rules say that there is an 85 player limit for colleges and that schools can add 25 new athletes a year. The SEC chose to go along with this number.

But about six or seven years ago, the SEC was pointed out as the poster child for over signing because most of country limited college to 25 total athletes a year to sign. Some schools in the SEC would hit the mid 30’s expecting some players to go to Jr. College, not make it academically, transfer, get hurt or any number of other reasons.

At that time, Nick Saban, trying to polite in mixed company gave us the “reality happens” excuse. “I don’t want to say a bad word in front of all of you,” Saban once joked. “Let me just say reality happens instead of the other word. Some guys make the grades, some don’t.  Some guys practice and play for five years and never get hurt, some don’t.  Some spend their entire careers with you and some don’t and transfer. To ignore that and sign the minimum number is to fly in the face of reality.”

And to Saban’s credit, the numbers always seemed to work out as players were indeed hurt, transferred, not make grades or be kicked off the team for rules violations. Still there were critics.

But when push came to shove, it was important to do whatever it took to make sure that when your team hit the field on Saturday that you had your 85 players dressed and ready.

Still, not many fans realize that the SEC adopted the 25 man signing limit a few years back and that is the main reason the controversy seems to have died out and why no one talks about it anymore.

But there is some “wiggle room” in that 25 number. Say a player signs as part of that 25 member class but blows a knee out before the season and leaves football. In the next class, Saban could add a 26th signee that could and would be “back counted” to fill the slot of the departed player. Another play in the “wiggle room” area is that let’s say the 2018 class has some really fantastic players and Saban knows the 2019 may not be as great, he can sign say 27 and forward count them to the next year and only sign 23 the following year.

Things like this can and do happen, but for whatever reason, no one is jumping on Saban or really any other team in the SEC for doing so.  Apparently, other conferences and teams as well as the media, feel they are sufficiently “reeled in” with the 25 man signing rule.

But other schools and even the media will find something to grumble about when it comes to Saban and signing athletes. Many complain that he doesn’t recruit, he selects and the rest fight over the left overs. While that’s certainly not true, Saban does work harder at recruiting than most coaches, it is true he usually winds up with the top class by whatever means, but at least now, it’s now for over signing.

Larry has been published in almost every media outlet for college sports and now primarily writes here for Touchdown Alabama. Follow Larry on Twitter for inside thoughts and game time comments at https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter

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