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Nick Saban breaks down Alabama’s 2022 recruiting class, discusses whether Early Signing Period is good for college football
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Nick Saban has yet another talented crop of players coming to Alabama. All but a couple of his committed recruits in the 2022 cycle inked their NLIs during Early Signing Day on Wednesday, with the nation’s No. 3 tight end in Jaleel Skinner being heavily courted by new Miami head coach Mario Cristobal to flip his pledge to the Hurricanes.
Still, the Crimson Tide has the No. 2 class in the country according to 247Sports. That’s only behind Texas A&M at this point.
“We were able to satisfy a lot of needs in this class [including] speed on offense,” Saban said during a press conference on Wednesday discussing the signees. “Overall, I think we’re never totally satisfied with who we’re able to attract, but we’re very, very pleased with the guys that we were able to attract in this class to this point.”
One of those players is highly-regarded quarterback Ty Simpson, who will enroll early to practice with the team leading up to the College Football Playoff and looks to become the latest Saban signal-caller to hit it big at the college level.
“It’s every player’s opportunity if…they graduate and want to come in and try to contribute in bowl practice, and he’s indicated he may be interested in doing that,” Saban said. “Obviously it will help his development and it’ll help us by having another hand at that position, which is always important, whether it’s scout team or taking reps with the first and second team in terms of his development.”
Of course, a big topic is the Early Signing Period itself and if it will be abolished in the near future. That possibility has at least been discussed by the NCAA’s oversight committee.
“I think a lot of players now gear their whole recruiting process to make an early decision,” Saban said. “[I] can’t really say that that’s a good thing or a bad thing. We just adapted to it and try to do the best we can having earlier visits, having more visits during the season. And then spend more time in January on the few prospects that are left and …recruiting for the next class.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
