Scarbinsky On Saban's Oversigning...

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

Scarbinsky: Alabama's don't-tell policy hurts Saban's oversigning defense..   Reply
Published: Sunday, February 06, 2011, 7:13 AM
By Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News

Nick Saban used a portion of his signing day press conference to defend himself on the issues of oversigning and grayshirting. Interesting.

Is he so misunderstood that he felt the need to tell his side of the story? Or was this the perfect example that the best defense is to go on the attack?

Oversigning has become as much a part of Saban's persona as talking with his hands. He's not the only one who does it. He's just more famous for it than any other college coach in the country.

I know. The well-meaning but ineffective SEC rule capping signing classes at 28, which has gone national, is known as the Houston Nutt rule. But Nutt doesn't use his extra signees to help win championships.

Saban does.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of Saban's oversigning soliloquy involved him telling us that we don't know what we're talking about. Literally.

"Nobody really knows how many guys we had on scholarship last year, but we didn't have 85," he said. "I can tell you that."

Allow me to translate. According to Saban, those of us on the outside of the Alabama program can't criticize him for oversigning because we don't know the exact number of players he has on scholarship from year to year.

Funny thing about that. Why don't we know? Alabama won't tell us, even though we ask every year.

Birmingham News colleague Jon Solomon requests a copy of the annual NCAA revenue and expense report from every Division I athletics department in the state. One of the categories on that report is number of student-athletes on scholarship in each varsity sport.

Every Division I public school in this state provides us a copy of those reports. Only Alabama blacks out the scholarship numbers for every sport.

We know from the latest form that Alabama reported spending $3,041,356 on football scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year. We don't know how many players Alabama reported having on scholarship that year.

The News has asked Alabama several times to explain why it withholds information we believe is a public record. The heart of the explanation, from university spokesperson Deborah Lane: "Federal privacy laws prevent the University from providing the media with personally identifiable information related to its students."

Excuse me, but what? The NCAA form doesn't include the names of players on scholarship. Just the numbers. Besides, if Alabama considers it a potential privacy violation to release the number of football players on scholarship, why does the school announce the names of its signees every year?

Alabama's argument is inconsistent with its own practice.

Saban took issue with the numbers used by the media, but his school refuses to provide the actual numbers that could - if they're on his side - undercut the argument from critics of his roster management.

Why does Alabama refuse to provide information that every other Division I public school in this state provides? Why doesn't Saban himself step up and share the numbers that other coaches volunteer?

On Signing Day, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald provided this information: "We have 85 scholarships, we had 17 to give and we're at 85 right now."

See? Is that so hard? Fitzgerald was open about his numbers even though Northwestern is a private school not bound by the same federal privacy laws as public schools.

The SEC may have left the Big Ten behind on the field - oversigning does work - but the Big Ten long ago took the high road when it comes to making Signing Day something to celebrate, not investigate.

If a Big Ten school oversigns, it has to explain to the conference office how it will have a scholarship available when those extra signees hit campus. Banking on a certain number of players to create their own exit strategies before fall camp doesn't cut it.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he encourages parents of recruits to "go back and look at the numbers that schools sign. I do think it's telling."

That's a problem for Saban in trying to defend his signing practices. When it comes to the most basic information on the subject, Alabama's not telling.

There's not much incentive to change. As much as he dislikes recruiting rankings, Saban can point to another number as bottom-line justification. According to Rivals, he just signed, or oversigned, the No. 1 class in the country once again.

[GH2001]

100% pure douchenozzle.

[Pell City Tiger]

Pawl, whut do we gotta do to git him fard? He caint talk abowt Nick thataway. Ah'll hang up an lissen.

[JR4AU]

Pawl, whut do we gotta do to git him fard? He caint talk abowt Nick thataway. Ah'll hang up an lissen.

 

[The Prowler]

SPuat still has move around 9 players to bring in their 23 prospects (LaMichael Fanning isn't going to qualify).

[RWS]

SPuat still has move around 9 players to bring in their 23 prospects (LaMichael Fanning isn't going to qualify).

Carswell and Love are both greyshirts. So, make that 7. That is, IF we were at 85 last season. Which, supposedly, we ended up at 83 or 84.

[The Prowler]

Carswell and Love are both greyshirts. So, make that 7. That is, IF we were at 85 last season. Which, supposedly, we ended up at 83 or 84.

Carswell and Love are gaining scholarships this year. They go towards the 85.  SPuat's bringing in 21 + the 2 Greyshirts this year = 23.  SPuat had 9 Scholarship SRs, 3 JRs left early, 2 players either transferred or Medical.  So, that leaves SPuat with 14 opening to somehow squeeze 23 players into.

[Buzz Killington]

Carswell and Love are gaining scholarships this year. They go towards the 85.  SPuat's bringing in 21 + the 2 Greyshirts this year = 23.  SPuat had 9 Scholarship SRs, 3 JRs left early, 2 players either transferred or Medical.  So, that leaves SPuat with 14 opening to somehow squeeze 23 players into.

I call bullshit.  You cannot know more than Lord Saybinz.

[Token]

One thing is certain.  Prowler knows his Bama football.

[djsimp]

One thing is certain.  Prowler knows his Bama football.

Insert a Snagglepuss snicker here, hehehehehe.

[The Prowler]

One thing is certain.  Prowler knows his Bama football.

I keep up....it's kinda hard not to when 3-4 players go down with "injuries" and the medical staff is forced to lie to the NCAA about their injuries or forcing kids to leave school, after they're already on campus, just so another kid can come play.  I kinda see that as being a little fuckin' cocksucker that can't play by the same rules and that it isn't fair to the kids that believed all of the bullshit coming outta the fuckin' midget's face.

[djsimp]

I keep up....it's kinda hard not to when 3-4 players go down with "injuries" and the medical staff is forced to lie to the NCAA about their injuries or forcing kids to leave school, after they're already on campus, just so another kid can come play.  I kinda see that as being a little fuckin' cocksucker that can't play by the same rules and that it isn't fair to the kids that believed all of the bullshit coming outta the fuckin' midget's face.

So, you're saying you don't go to the bammer forums for yo info?

[Token]

Bama

2008: 32
2009: 27
2010: 26
2011: 22

107

Auburn

2008: 28
2009: 28
2010: 32
2011: 24

112

I keep up....it's kinda hard not to when 3-4 players go down with "injuries" and the medical staff is forced to lie to the NCAA about their injuries or forcing kids to leave school, after they're already on campus, just so another kid can come play.  I kinda see that as being a little fuckin' cocksucker that can't play by the same rules and that it isn't fair to the kids that believed all of the bullshit coming outta the fuckin' midget's face.

                                                                                 

[The Prowler]

Bama

2008: 32
2009: 27
2010: 26
2011: 22

107

Auburn

2008: 28
2009: 28
2010: 32
2011: 24

112
                                                                                 

Auburn was down to 68 Scholarship players in '09. So, suck on that chicken fucker.

[djsimp]

Auburn was down to 68 Scholarship players in '09. So, suck on that chicken fucker.

Actually this close to truth. I thought it was closer to 72 but whatever.

[Token]

Auburn was down to 68 Scholarship players in '09. So, suck on that chicken fucker.

                                                                         

[Buzz Killington]

Auburn was down to 68 Scholarship players in '09. So, suck on that chicken fucker.

Oh, Token's in trouble meow.

[Token]

Oh, Token's in trouble meow.

The most appropriate response for me would have been to ask him WHY Auburn was down to 68 scholarships.

[The Prowler]

We were right at 71 before Harry Adams ('09), Tyrik Rollison (when Cam Newton stepped on campus) & Donte ManMeat (when Mike Dyer stepped foot on campus) all left the team. So yeah, you're correct simp, we were 70 strong for most of the '09 season. That's before the Seniors graduated and before Tyrik & ManMeat left.  CTT's recruiting efforts towards the end of his career might have well been the NCAA Hammer.

[Kaos]

Carswell and Love are both greyshirts. So, make that 7. That is, IF we were at 85 last season. Which, supposedly, we ended up at 83 or 84.

You do realize that people like you are why Hitler was able to come into power and commit the atrocities that occurred during his rule, right?

News report: "He sent 500 to the concentration camps!"

R(eich)WS: He really only sent 130.  The other 370 were volunteers and told beforehand what their accomodations would be. IF we are talking about the last train out, supposedly there was a train two days before, but nobody saw the actual manifest.  I heard that 183 were on that train but they won't count against the total since you can cram three to a bunk if you don't feed them for five or six weeks. They don't much like to eat, so it's cool.