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John Kim, ESPN staff writer
Alabama coach Nick Saban knew what he wanted when he coached in the NFL — first as a defensive assistant with the Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns, then as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2005 and 2006.
He spent the last 11 years as a college head coach passing that knowledge on to the league he left behind. NFL talent evaluators crave information; Soap policy in Alabama helps them get it.
He maintains an open-door policy for scouts, a philosophy that could help recruiting, keep college players sharp in practice and, yes, lead to more information for NFL teams. This can help underclassmen decide if they are ready for the NFL.
“I know it’s a lot easier when you have that policy than when you don’t,” Saban said. “When I was in the NFL and I wanted to go see a player and see players practice, places that had a policy that accepted it, you always looked forward to going there. Places that didn’t, you almost didn’t want the player to go to sometimes. For there was upside.”
The Crimson Tide have dominated the NFL Draft since Saban became their head coach in 2007. Since then, Alabama leads all schools with 77 draft picks — five more than runner-up LSU (which didn’t have a similar policy, but now does). And the Tide leads all schools with 26 first-round picks — 15 more than LSU and 10 more than Ohio State. D Washington Redskins Has drafted four players from Alabama in the past two drafts, including three in the first two rounds
Alabama’s talent, more than anything else, commands attention. The Tide’s elite players battle for the top spot in the recruiting rankings every year. of Alabama Class of 2017 24 players are rated four or five stars by ESPN Recruiting Nation. Players go to Alabama knowing NFL is a possibility.
“When you go to college, you’re there to improve your career and develop off the field and develop on the field to play at the next level,” said Saban, who won five national championships at Alabama. “It’s counterproductive to not embrace that and help players do that.”
Constant evaluation
A longtime NFL talent evaluator said some schools have open-door policies but only allow scouts to watch the first 15 minutes of practice. In Alabama, they can see it all. Evaluators said even watching one-on-one action helps get a better feel for defensive linemen and corners in particular.
With defensive backs, for example, they can watch their hips and legs — see if they have any stiffness when they run. With the linemen, they stand close enough to hear how loud the popping sound is when their hands hit the bag. They get a sense of body language.
“There’s nothing like a live look, and Alabama practices at a high pace,” the evaluator said. “That’s why they’re so good. They practice so hard and you get something out of it. … When you get out of school and nail the kid, that’s what matters.”
Perhaps part of the reason they practice comes from having so many judges’ eyes on the tough practice.
“If your goal as a player is to play in the NFL, I think any time you feel like you’re being evaluated by that group, that’s something you want,” Saban said. “So we don’t do it, but I can see that it’s an advantage.”
Redskins rookie linebacker Sean Dion HamiltonA sixth round pick, offered his acceptance.
“It’s understood the scouts will be at practice every day,” Hamilton said. “I took every day my junior and senior year as a job interview. You have to come up with it every day.
“When you’re going against guys who are first-rounders and NFL draft picks, you know you’ve got to bring it every day.”
Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, who was already in school when Alabama recruited Saban, initially said he didn’t think having scouts around would make it harder for players to practice. But, he said, the players must have been aware scouts were present, even though he didn’t care if a bad throw would affect his future.
Then he thought a little more.
“But I’ll be the first to tell you when people are watching, you’re going to play harder,” said McElroy, now an analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network. “It is inevitable. If there aren’t any NFL scouts at practice, you’re a little more likely to go through the motions. It’s human nature. It doesn’t make you less of a competitor. If there are NFL scouts and you’re draft-eligible, you’ll be willing to practice a little harder and perhaps finish drills more consistently.
“Having the extra eye out probably increases the degree of focus. But I don’t think that’s behind the vision.”
Information age
Saban said his players should have as much information as possible when deciding whether to enter the draft as juniors.
“If you’re a first-round pick, you should go out,” Saban said.
If not, they should think twice about taking the leap. Regardless, the more scouts see players, the more informed feedback they can provide. A Yahoo Features recently relayed a story About a Dolphins scout walking through the Alabama facility six hours before a game against Tennessee. Defensive backs saw him as he passed through the room Minkah Fitzpatrick Watching a film there. The Dolphins drafted Fitzpatrick with the 11th pick.
“If we have an open door policy, everybody knows our players better,” Saban said. “They can give us better information, which I pass on to the players and their families so they can make better business decisions. It is different from other professional leagues as there are no developmental or minor leagues. If a player is going to develop and improve, he has to do it in college. It’s all or nothing when you decide to go into professional football.”
McElroy played at Alabama, and the former quarterback said they didn’t realize having scouts there every day was different from other schools. He then began covering colleges for ESPN’s SEC Network.
“I get the sense in some places there’s a legitimate resistance to having NFL talent evaluators in practice,” he said. “They think it can act as a distraction.”
Another bonus for Alabama is the high school prospect running back.
“It’s all about recruiting,” McElroy said. “They have 12 players drafted, they can email it or put it on social media and they can say they got X amount in signing bonuses. … Nick knows he has to have three big days every April (at the draft) because that just allows his program to recruit at a higher level.”
But McElroy said it’s unfair to compare Alabama’s policy to most programs. Some schools, may have a defensive lineman in their program who projects as a first round pick.
“When Nick loses a first-round pick, that’s okay. He’s got another first-rounder behind him,” McElroy said. “It is an extraordinary luxury. At some programs, the biggest recruiting play each year is made in mid-January as they try to keep guys. Nick can say, ‘Go. We have people who can fill your place.’ Everyone at Alabama is replaceable because of how well they’ve recruited.”
And that sums up why so many get drafted. The Redskins say it’s a coincidence they ended up with so many Alabama players the past two years. But it’s no coincidence that they continue to dig into schools for help.
“They get top recruits out of high school,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “These guys translate to great college players and then, for the most part, they translate to great professional players.”
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