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Nick Saban didn’t pass the vibe test with some of the top high school recruits in the country.
This week, the Athletic spoke with several top high school players anonymously to get their thoughts on college coaching recruiting tactics, NIL, and more.
The Athletic asked some of the nation's high school recruits for unfiltered thoughts on a variety of recruiting, topics including:
◽️ NIL deals
◽️ Coaches they like/didn't like
◽️ What they would fix about the process✍️ @gmraynor | @Manny_Navarro ⤵️https://t.co/AwWWiNdMBR pic.twitter.com/VvvNiN1ebB
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 3, 2024
Via The Athletic
For the second year in a row we caught up with some of the best high school football players in the country at the Under Armour All-America Game’s media day event to tackle a variety of recruiting topics.
We granted them anonymity to gather their insights on NIL, the coaches they liked (and didn’t like) and what rules they would like to see changed.
Recruits were asked who they felt was the most arrogant coach they had met with, and Saban’s name popped up more than once.
Who was the weirdest or most arrogant coach you met during the process and why?
Player 1: “I’d say coach Saban. My mom wasn’t happy with him. We were at a table eating and he acknowledged me, but not my parents. My mom said, “If you’re acknowledging my son, you should acknowledge me.”
Player 2: “I didn’t like (Nick) Saban. It was just the vibe.”
Player 3 “Fisher and Saban. Talking to Saban felt like talking to a robot. It didn’t feel real.”
Despite not getting good reviews from these recruits, Saban and Alabama still attracted top recruits and had the second-best recruiting class in the nation in 2024, according to 247 Sports.