Suttles: Alabama recruiting class is one of Nick Saban’s most impressive feats

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — What Nick Saban accomplished Wednesday, the culmination of more than a year’s work, won’t be fully appreciated because it’s become the norm. After all, No. 1 recruiting classes have been signed time and again under his watch.

But Alabama football fans need to know this and comprehend it in full: Saban recruited his rear end off this cycle. He didn’t do it alone, but there was a single-mindedness, a determination that made the top-ranked class the Crimson Tide signed Wednesday particularly impressive.

Fans of other programs won’t be able to get it because Alabama is one of the haves that lands in the top five of recruiting rankings consistently, often No. 1. Those fans can’t possibly understand why this one should stand out more than others. A No. 1 class is a No. 1 class, so to speak. Even some Crimson Tide fans might not be able to discern why this one was different. Let me explain.

Alabama showed weakness this year. There was blood in the water, and the SEC is shark-infested territory, my friends. A two-loss regular season is something we don’t often see from the Crimson Tide under Saban. It’s happened just two other times since 2008 (2010, 2019). Never mind that those losses were by a combined four points and occurred on the last play of those games. Ask yourself this question: Did you watch the Tide play this year and think to yourself or post on a message board or tell your friend that Alabama wasn’t the same team it’s been in the past?

It’s been a common thought, but it speaks to the perception of Alabama right now: that it isn’t alone on its lofty perch atop the sport anymore. Georgia, fresh off a national championship, a second consecutive unbeaten regular season and the No. 1 seed in this year’s Playoff, has at least equaled the Tide’s position, if not surpassed it.

The perception that Alabama was falling off hung heavy in the air. It wasn’t just the losses, either. It was the way the team played, even in wins. There wasn’t the usual dominance. Once another program, be it Georgia or Texas A&M, senses weakness, they pounce. There’s a reason the saying “perception is reality” exists. And it doubly exists in recruiting with impressionable 17- and 18-year-olds.

And it existed in the reality of the mass exodus of players heading for the transfer portal, a total of 13 from Alabama so far, which furthered the perception that the USS Crimson Tide was taking on water.

Throw in the new reality of NIL, a topic where Saban got himself embroiled in a controversy with Jimbo Fisher, and it certainly shaped a narrative that this might be the thing for which Saban didn’t have an answer. One could easily envision Alabama still having a good recruiting class but not being able to stand up to the A&Ms or Georgias or Ohio States.

Alabama reclaimed its spot atop recruiting rankings from Texas A&M. (Butch Dill / USA Today)

So if there was a time for Alabama to not land at the top of the recruiting rankings, it would be this year. Yet here we are, with Saban roping in a class that is among the best he’s signed, at least judging by rankings. And that’s why this class is one of Saban’s better efforts.

Conversations with people around the program have indicated that the 71-year-old Saban has been particularly motivated, specifically in recruiting. Whether that’s because of how the season played out or that he simply had something to prove, he took this recruiting class personally. The result was six five-star signees as of Wednesday after in-state teammates James Smith and Qua Russaw committed, then a seventh when IMG Academy cornerback Desmond Ricks chose the Crimson Tide on Thursday. Alabama has signed 15 of the top 100 players in the 247Sports Composite.

Saban doesn’t get sole credit. There were some great assistants who put in work. Charles Kelly, who is now Colorado’s defensive coordinator with Deion Sanders, and Travaris Robinson and Robert Gillespie and Freddie Roach and Pete Golding and Eric Wolford all did yeoman’s work. That’s not meant to be an exhaustive list because I could name most of the assistants, plus countless staffers behind the scenes. They all had big roles in securing this monster haul.

But this was mainly on Saban. After COVID-19 recruiting rules hampered evaluation efforts, he was fully back in homes this cycle, getting to know families. And if there’s one way for Saban to make an impression, it’s in a one-on-one setting, where he turns on the charm all the way up to 10.

Saban in a home visit is hard to say no to. It’s where he thrives.

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“I think really what it helps is it really helps relationships,” Saban said. “You get to know the parents better, you get to know the families better and you get to know people better. One of the things that always strikes me, and this is one thing that you couldn’t do during COVID …. but every time I take pictures with the guys that graduate, when they walk up to me and I shake hands with them and congratulate them, the first thing that comes to my mind is their home visit. That’s the first thing I remember.

“And that’s because you develop relationships with the family and the parents. You’re in their home. Their hospitality is really, really appreciated. We’ve got some great parents and obviously we want to have great relationships with them. So I think it has a huge impact for me, in terms of getting to know them, and I think it has a good impact on them in terms of they get to evaluate and get to know us a little better.”

Saban held off big-time Power 5 programs in getting five-star safety Caleb Downs, who is the prize of the class, in my opinion, in addition to running back Justice Haynes, edge rusher Keon Keeley and Smith and Russaw. He flipped five-star tackle Kadyn Proctor from home-state Iowa this week too. Sure, Saban lost some battles, seeing in-state products Peter Woods (Clemson) and Kelby Collins (Florida) leave, and he also didn’t sign a player from the Miami area, a rarity in recent years. But overall, he won more of those battles than he lost, despite the tide turning against him, at least in perception.

Saban doesn’t deal in perception. He lives in reality. And the reality is that even against some of the toughest factors he’s faced — other great recruiters, the program not playing like itself this year and players fleeing via the portal — he reeled in an all-time class. It won’t stand out to some because of how regularly he does this, but Alabama fans should take a second and appreciate what they just witnessed.

(Top photo: Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)