Alabama Football: Nick Saban has a QB recruiting dilemma

Earlier this week a rumor spread on Alabama football message boards and social media that elite quarterback prospect, Arch Manning had trimmed his list to two schools. The rumor claimed the young Manning had decided only the Texas Longhorns and the Crimson Tide were in contention for his signature. Some mainstream reporters even presented the claim as fact.

Instead, the rumor had nothing to do with fact. All that changed is Manning has indicated only one program is no longer one of his finalists. The losing program is Clemson and Dabo Swinney.

Instead of considering a smaller group of schools, Manning has added two schools. The two new finalists are Florida and LSU, joining Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas and Alabama. Back in October, Manning said he was expecting to make a decision no earlier than the spring or summer.

"I think I’ll have a good idea, a good feeling, probably around next summer or next spring"

There is no solid information that Arch and the Manning clan will push themselves to decide any sooner.

That could become a problem for Alabama football coach, Nick Saban. Does Nick wait for Arch or not? A quick answer is a 5-Star QB always has a spot available with the Alabama Crimson Tide. But the situation is not that simple.

The Crimson Tide has extended offers to three 5-Star quarterbacks in the 2023 class. One of them, Malachi Nelson has given a commitment to USC. Along with Arch Manning, the other one is Nicholaus Iamaleava from Downey, CA.

Iamaleava is ranked as the No. 4 QB and the No. 7 player overall in the 2023 class, based on the 247Sports Composite.

Check out his high school highlights.

The Manning name is magic but the Crimson Tide does not sign players for brand enhancement. There are more than a few Alabama football fans who believe Iamaleava or ‘Nico’ has more upside than Arch Manning.

Every indication is the Crimson Tide cannot go wrong with either one of the QBs. That is unless the Crimson Tide ends up getting neither one. This leads back to Nick Saban’s dilemma.

Nico is leaning toward choosing a school long before Manning, possibly in late March or April. If Nick Saban accepted his verbal commitment that soon, adding Arch Manning later would be nearly impossible. If Saban waits, Nico and his family will likely choose another school.

Getting either one of the top QB recruits would be great for the Crimson Tide. Getting neither one would be a setback.

Logically, it can be said Nick Saban will make the right choice and one of the QBs will end up in Crimson. But that will not keep Alabama football fans from worrying.