Recruits know what Nick Saban is wearing
Posted on May 6th, 2008 – 12:28 PMBy Michael Rand
This story has been out there for a couple of weeks, but it caught our eye this morning as we logged six miles on the treadmill: Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, the king of recruiting loopholes, has found another one: video conferencing with athletes during what is otherwise a period in which coaches cannot visit high schools. As far as we can tell, the work of Saban — obviously pictured just a split-second before delivering the punchline to his favorite joke, “What has two index fingers and doesn’t care about ticking off other college coaches” — first was written about in the Birmingham News on April 25. Let’s have a look-see:
The so-called Saban Rule prohibits head coaches from visiting high schools during the current evaluation period, which started April 15 and ends May 31. It hasn’t prevented Saban from showing his face on a high school campus without setting foot on that campus.
Diabolical.
And, according to the NCAA, completely legal.
Like a lot of college coaches - including those from Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma and Notre Dame - Saban is recruiting Athens High School defensive end William Ming. But Saban found a creative way to make contact the other day.
Alabama assistant coach Curt Cignetti visited Athens High, which has a Distance Learning Lab that allows Athens students to take online classes by using a live webcam.
Cignetti left behind a web address that Ming used to log on later that day and spend 15-20 minutes talking, through the webcam, with Saban, who was in his office in Tuscaloosa.
Athens High Coach Allen Creasy, who witnessed the conversation, called it “a first from a recruiting standpoint” for his school.
“You could see (Saban’s) facial expressions and hand gestures just as if you were sitting across the desk from him,” Creasy said. “It’s the next-best thing to being there in person.”
We have to imagine the NCAA is going to put a stop to this pretty quickly. For now, though, what do you think: Creative interpretation of the rules and a savvy application of technology or a violation of the spirit, if not the letter of the law?
23 Responses to "Recruits know what Nick Saban is wearing"
Genius, Genuis! Drink Guinness.
Did you guys know the MSP118 are getting new uniforms?
This was a good take on what the Wolves new uni’s should look like.
http://hardwoodparoxysm.blogspot.com/2008/05/wolves-to-announce-new-logo.html
Can you say “theater nights”?
Pretty lame, Milhouse.
Pretty clever for a douchebag.
Referencing Saban, not jama or Dave, obv.
Obviously.
Thanks for not incorporating any Saban/Satan jokes into your post, though comparisons may not be completely off-base. Smart, shrewd, icky.
P.S. The two-thumb joke is a personal favorite of mine. I’ve desperately sought ways to use it on RandBall, but it loses something without the visual.
Oh, and:
INVIZABUL CORNC0B
I thought he was auditioning to judge Australian Rules Football.
Five dollar footlong
If that’s a footlong I guess I better break the bad news to the lady friend that I am indeed not 6 inches.
Either that or Saban is some kind of Keebler Elf…
I’ve told responding officers from six different counties that I was just “creatively interpreting” the law, but here’s the thing - none of them saw it that way.
What I’m getting at: any time a loophole is exploited, some douchebag will pretend that they’re just “being creative.” It’s just another way to break the rules.
Clarence: Saban actually just finished hitting the podium to get the microphone to work again.
Sit on it Wayne Huizenga.
Yes Nick, purgatory is that way.
RandBall will be using a similar technique to recruit the next class of commenters, but with STrib budget difficulties, recruits will have to find the orange juice can on a string hanging down above the sidewalk on 6th street.
+1 Matt
By the way Matt, what’s your prediction for the Cavs/Celts series?
Celtics in six. They’ll hack LeBron early and put KG on him late.
I don’t have kids but I bet this isn’t in the “To Do” list to entertain kids.
Saban should only recruit like that on a 3-day trial basis with a $24.95 membership fee after that. Then recruits will be able to see what Saban is NOT wearing. That is the only use for webcams, yes?
2010
“You want me to do what with my promises? Well that’s going to cost you more…”
