Alabama Football: Perspective on assessing ’23 class recruiting

During summers there is an Alabama football ritual of agonizing over recruiting. Not every Crimson Tide fan engages in it, but more than a few do. Dire predictions of recruiting failures are often thrown about. Alabama football coaches are blamed for a lack of production. A few Tide fans go as far as concluding Nick Saban has lost his recruiting Midas touch.

And every summer, all of us who engage in such foolishness are wrong. But, even knowing the Tide’s history of recovering from slow recruiting starts, this summer feels different. With buying recruits quickly becoming the new norm, maybe Nick Saban’s staunch position that NIL money should not be lavished on recruits is a flawed calculation.

If the GOAT’s judgment is failing him then the recruiting fortunes of the Alabama Crimson Tide will suffer. Some Alabama fans believe Saban is taking a big risk. In opposition to that is the opinion I offered a couple of days ago about how NIL will evolve.

"Saban knows what is happening now is unsustainable. He has been clear on that point. In effect, Nick Saban knows teams can be adversely affected by mercenary players and overzealous boosters."

It is not hard to envision Saban being correct. For example, let’s consider what could happen in a Miami game in the 2023 season.  Presume the Canes’ $9.5M (purportedly) QB, Jaden Rashada wins the starting job as a freshman but misses open receivers and throws so many interceptions at Doak Campbell Stadium, the Canes lose to FSU. And then, six weeks later, Rashada fails again as Clemson blows away the Canes in Hard Rock Stadium.

Suddenly Mario Cristobal would have a major problem. Bench Rashada or stick with him. Either way, there would be turmoil. For many fans, the grace period for a big-dollar QB, even as a freshman, will end with the first loss. And that kind of turmoil can spread to a team, quenching the competitive zeal of the roster.

Alabama Football and Championship Chances

Nick Saban knows such roster unrest could ruin a team’s championship chances. Saban does not want that risk. Instead, he is willing to miss on recruits lured elsewhere by NIL deals. One way that works for Nick is he does not recruit players based on star rankings.

This week, Alabama fans were disappointed when 5-Star, Francis Mauigoa chose Miami over the Crimson Tide. Mauigoa was a big get for Mario Cristobal. He is likely a future NFL starter.

But instead of agonizing over the decision, Alabama fans would do well to remember Nick Saban only takes players he believes can become solid contributors. It could well be that over the next two or three seasons, this week’s Tide addition of JUCO Malik Benson and 3-Star, Ryqueze McElderry will deliver as much as many 5-Star recruits.

Currently, as the No. 3 class, as calculated by the On3.com Consensus, Alabama football is doing fine. There is no cause for alarm.