The early days of summer provide Alabama head football coach Nick Saban rare opportunities to talk about something other than football, and last week’s Regions Pro-Am Tournament in Shelby County provided just that. Before Saban’s 2 p.m. tee time (that never occurred due to weather), he dished about the recent national championship by the men’s golf team, recent academic successes of University of Alabama athletics and, to Tide football fans over, quarterback recruits.
Lauding men’s golf
Head coach Jay Seawell of the Alabama men’s golf team led his squad to its first ever national championship June 2, the first championship in a men’s sport outside of football in the school’s history. Such an occasion warranted high praise from Saban, who knows something about winning championships.
“Oh, that was fantastic, man,” Saban said. “I was so happy for those guys. I felt bad about what happened to them last year, and it’s great for them to come back and create an opportunity and make it count this year.”
Athletes excelling in the classroom
Crimson Tide football players now have more than their national championship rings to be proud of. The Academic Progress Rate report was released June 5, the morning of the Regions Pro-Am, and not only the football team posted academic scores in the top-10 percent of its respective sport. The men’s and women’s golf teams (both recent national champions) earned the Public Recognition Award, as well as the women’s tennis team and men’s basketball team.
“Well, you know, I think it’s fantastic,” Saban said. “We try to pride ourselves and try to have a great program where we do a good job of personal development with our players, and the thing that’s most important about what our players do, why they’re at The University of Alabama – graduating from school and developing a career off the field.”
The Tide was the only football squad from the SEC to be recognized with a high APR and was second in the SEC to Vanderbilt with five teams honored.
Recruiting quarterbacks
Under NCAA regulations, Saban is not allowed to speak on particular recruits to the media. However, it’s been hard to ignore the quarterback recruits who’ve recently visited the campus, including Brandon Harris, the top dual-threat quarterback recruit in the country.
Though Alabama has traditionally employed a game-managing quarterback to lead the team, Saban and offensive coordinator might be interested in tweaking the philosophy on offense should a highly skilled dual-threat recruit commit to the Tide.
“Well, you know, we have a system on offense, and we would always like to be able to recruit players that fit your system, but sometimes that’s not always possible,” Saban said. “If there’s a great player or a great athlete somewhere that’s not quite the fit but he has a great ability to make plays, then I think it’s up to us, having the kind of offense that has enough flexibility that we can utilize those kinds of talents in a different way.”
In addition to Harris, five-star quarterback David Cornwell from Norman, Okla., has visited Tuscaloosa multiple times recently. Harris has Ohio State high on his list, while the pro-style Cornwell is still mulling plenty of offers from Division 1 schools.
