Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has done some very convincing tactics to reel in recruits, proving the seven-time national championship winner will do whatever it takes.
Dancing the Cupid Shuffle with a blue chip prospect? That's not off-limits. Shooting hoops with a four-star wide receiver? That's on the table, too. He even sent Alvin Kamara 105 letters in one single day while he was in high school. Yeah, that worked as well.
The best pitch Saban can make to a recruit is to simply say "Alabama's the best of the best."
In one leaked video of Saban talking to a recruit on a video call that's been going viral, that's pretty much exactly what he tells prospective Alabama athletes.
Nick Saban Leaked Recruiting Video
The Nick Saban recruiting pitch is perfect. https://t.co/hVYhYJCaVX
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) January 30, 2021
RELATED: That Time Nick Saban Danced the Cupid Shuffle to Win a Recruit
Nick Saban isn't stupid. He knows exactly what he has to tell a recruit to get them to pack and leave for Tuscaloosa. Thanks to a leaked video of a Zoom call that's been making its rounds on social media, now we know what he tells recruits.
Basically, he tells them that Alabama is simply better.
"We've won six championships in the last 11 years. We've been in the national championship game eight out of the last 11 years. We've been to the playoffs nine of the last 11 years," Saban says in the video.
The head coach continues his recruiting pitch by mentioning how many of his players were taken in the NFL Draft. He then addresses how schools will tell recruits they can play earlier at other schools than at Alabama.
"When they tell you that, it's insulting because I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you if you couldn't play here," Saban says. "Number two, when they say you can play at our place before you can play at Alabama, they're just telling you that Alabama's better."
Next, he name-drops players like Amari Cooper and Cam Robinson in mentioning how a recruit will play with the best of the best in college football.
My personal favorite line that Saban drops: "Everybody can't play for the Yankees."
Gold.
While this clip is an awesome inside look for fans at how Saban recruits, not everyone was happy to see it going viral. Former Alabama players took to Twitter to voice their disgust that the interaction was recorded and leaked.
Why was this even being recorded? https://t.co/lLYlkuE1by
— Cam. (@crobinson_68) January 31, 2021
"Why was this even being recorded?"Cam Robinson wrote.
That's all it's about https://t.co/Ri8sGdAsN5
— HJR III?? (@__RUGGS) January 31, 2021
"New recruiting age weird .. trynna get some clout..." former Alabama safety Jared Mayden wrote.
"That's all it's about," former Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs responded.
Personally, I don't blame the recruit, whoever it was. If I were a 17-year-old high school football player and I was on a FaceTime with the Alabama football coach who's won seven NCAA national titles, I'd want to document that experience as well.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced a lot of recruiting to become virtual and these are just the ramifications of that. It's not even like Saban said anything bad or unexpected. That's all exactly what I would say if I were him.
Now I'm curious what Ohio State's Ryan Day or Michigan's Jim Harbaugh tell their recruits.
