Nick Saban is the most revered head coach in college football. Here is Saban’s record on the field: 68-13 since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2007, with three national titles. Saban has four collegiate titles overall after his triumph with LSU in 2003.
What makes Saban so good? If you have a poor season as a college football head coach you can’t go out the next spring and throw money at a big-time free-agent, nor can you move up in the draft to select a quarterback who will be face of the franchise for the next ten years. Every free minute is spent luring the next big NFL star to the team. A huge, yet necessary commitment to somebody who may only be on the team for three years, that’s providing he chooses you over Florida, Georgia or LSU, otherwise be prepared to face him every season.
Saban is a recruiting machine and he does it better than anybody else in college football, evident by how consistent his teams are; Alabama have lost just seven games during his five years in charge.
What makes Saban so good as a recruiter is he knows what his team needs from a player, what he wants from a player and what abilities he will be able to extract from each individual. It isn’t simply a challenge to recruit the top player at each position.
Saban’s philosophy looks towards size. Of Alabama’s 2014 class, running backs, offensive tackles, defensive ends and linebackers are at least ten pounds heavier than the average of the best 50 recruit available. Those are astonishing figures considering players will bulk up further during their time with the Crimson Tide.
It’s not just weight were Alabama recruits are above the curve, they’re generally taller too. All-purpose running backs are 2.5 inches taller, inside linebackers 1.5 inches and cornerbacks an inch. Cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and Dee Milliner were both drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft and stand six-foot-two and six-foot-one respectively. Saban’s philosophies align with movements in the NFL, where you can find the Seattle Seahawks’ starting cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner standing six-foot-three and six-foot-four, something which was unheard of only a number of years ago.
Don’t be fooled into thinking size and strength sacrifices speed at Alabama, the two traits come as a package when playing in the SEC. Milliner, for example, is six-foot-one and 200 pounds, but he still ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the combine.
Tide recruits also need to have the mental fortitude to deal with the demands of playing under Saban and his huge support staff, as well as the football smarts to understand the complex schemes they imply upon them. How will recruits react to a bad play and a screaming coach?
When Saban builds his roster he is building it with players that fit the NFL mould. He trusts his abilities to hand-pick players and evolve them into consistent starters.
Saban's teams' dominance in the past two title games against previously undefeated foes LSU and Notre Dame is a testament to his preparation skills and his program's infrastructure. Yes Saban is an incredible coach, however, his eye for potential and ability to transform that potential into an NFL ready prospect is unparalleled. As long as Nick Saban is the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide they will continue to win championships and produce NFL stars.