Former Alabama commitment Riley Cole rocked the recruiting boat on Sunday when he took to Twitter to announce that he was going to look elsewhere after the Alabama staff asked him to grayshirt.

This became a big enough deal in Alabama that Riley’s dad, David, was invited on to JOX FM’s Opening Drive radio show on Monday morning to clear the air, and AL.com caught the highlights.

David Cole made sure to first clear Nick Saban of any responsibility for the situation, instead dumping the blame on the assistant coaches picked up the recruiting efforts on the three-star linebacker following the departure of defensive coaches Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker to Georgia.

“The respect I have for Coach Saban and his family, I can’t describe enough about it,” David Cole said on JOX. “I really don’t think he knew about what was trying to be presented to us.”

It sounded as though communication dropped off with the coaching staff after the changes, and that there may have been some question as to whether or not the new leadership on the defensive coaching staff was all that wild about giving Cole a scholarship.

“Communication was the biggest problem and when Riley asked them to give an answer, they wouldn’t give him a straight answer,” David Cole said. “We got the impression they were wanting to wait until after National Signing Day, see who they got, and then let Riley know if they wanted to grayshirt him.

“Finally, Riley was like, you know what, it’s best for me to walk away, step back a little bit and see what other opportunities I have.”

Cole picked up an offer from Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops on Sunday night, but it sounds like his options may be limited after making this decision so late in the process.