These student-athletes also spend time in class working toward a degree.
“I also think that from a program standpoint and from a total administrative standpoint, from a university standpoint as well as from an athletic department standpoint, we’ve been able to create a program that provides a lot of value for players in terms of how we try to use this process to help them be more successful in life for some of the things that they learn in the program,” Saban said before the Sugar Bowl.
That hard work paid off. The Alabama Crimson Tide entered the inaugural College Football Playoff with the No. 1 ranking on the field and the most graduates, not just in the playoff, but in FBS.
Alabama had 22 players with degrees suit up for the Sugar Bowl. This number ties Clemson, Kansas State and Texas for most in college football’s top division.
Seven players finished with a graduate degree this December, also the most in the nation. Jalston Fowler, Nick Perry, Brian Vogler, Daniel Geddes and MK Taylor all graduated with a master’s in sports management. Arie Kouandjio earned his master’s in economics, and Austin Shepherd finished his in marketing.
“That’s something that I’m very thankful that our institution has done everything they can to help our players have the best chance to be successful long-term in their life,” Saban said. “And it’s very – there’s a lot of self- gratification in seeing that happen for young people developing the kind of characteristics that will help them be successful on and off the field.”
Kouandjio hadn’t had time before the Sugar Bowl to think about his degree.
“My parents had a great time at the ceremony,” he said before the Sugar Bowl.
For others, it’s a similar story. The playoff was a whirlwind, and there wasn’t time to reflect.
“It still hasn’t hit me,” Perry said during the Sugar Bowl media day. “My friends are, every time they see me, they make jokes, call me doctor and stuff like that and so I’m like, ‘Man, come on. Chill.’”
He laughed and said he isn’t quite at the level of doctorate.
“But it’s kind of weird that they always say that I got two degrees before they can even get one,” he said.
The seven players with master’s degrees all came in together so they have a special bond, Perry said. Having that fifth year isn’t always a bad thing.
“You can always make the good out of it,” he said.
