NFL becoming more of a Crimson Tide league as Saban cranks out prospects
Published:
The reporter had heard the three University of Alabama players thank everyone from their parents and coaches, to teammates and fans during Friday’s conference, but he still had to be sure during the question-and-answer segment.
Um, you’re going pro, right?
“Oh yeah. I don’t think any of us said it,” said running back T.J. Yeldon, who along with wide receiver Amari Cooper and safety Landon Collins is giving up his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft.
That’s okay, because it’s pretty much assumed that just about everyone on the Crimson Tide will eventually end up getting a shot at the next level; And when they get there, chances are there will already another Alabama player on the team roster.
“We have had 13 guys, prior to last year, and five last year who have gone out early and have done well,” Nick Saban said. “(It’s) something that is a real positive for our program.”
Overall, Alabama has had 18 players leave early under Saban, 12 of whom were first-round draft selections.
It had eight players selected in 2014 and the pre-Senior Bowl indications are that it might have roughly the same number this year depending on what juniors Jarran Reed and Reggie Ragland decide. Both have until Thursday to make up their minds, and while neither projects as being a top pick both would certainly be selected.
Collins and Cooper both received first-round grades from the NFL’s advisory committee, while Yeldon was told he’d likely be a second-rounder. The one-time 5-star prospect also sought the opinions of two his predecessors who reminded him of a key aspect to his position.
“Running backs don’t have a long life in the NFL,” he said, as most start to slow down when they hit age 30.
After them Alabama fans could have a long wait during the draft set on April 30-May 2 in Chicago. Among the potential Day 3 selections are fullback Jalston Fowler, linebacker Trey DePriest, guard Arie Kouandjio, tackle Austin Shepherd and guard Leon Brown.
There’s also Xzavier Dickson, Brandon Ivory, Christion Jones, Nick Perry, Brian Vogler, DeAndrew White and Jarrick Williams, who at minimum figure to sign as free agents.
Because Alabama’s had the most players selected over the past five years (37), including 15 in the first round, some are actually calling this a “down” year for the Crimson Tide even though it may still may end up with the most picks.
That’s helped lead to the Bama-ification of the NFL, if you will. During opening weekend back in September the Crimson Tide had 36 players on active rosters, which was the third most of all schools behind only Saban’s former program LSU (38) and Sothern California (37).
For a little perspective on that, Alabama wasn’t in the top 25 when the coach arrived at the Capstone in 2007.
Overall this season there have been 42 former Crimson Tide players on active rosters or injured reserve, tied with the Trojans for the most. That also doesn’t include the five players on various practice squads.
During this weekend’s NFL divisional playoffs, no school has more players participating than Alabama with 13. The next-closest schools, Wisconsin, Oregon, and North Carolina, all have nine each.
While that makes it extremely difficult for the Alabama coaches to establish consistency and maintain continuity from season to season, that’s just the cost to developing talent maybe better than any other program in college football.
It’s also a trend that’s only going to continue. Roughly 90 minutes after Yeldon sort of announced that he was leaving Alabama landed yet another 5-star running back as Damien Harris committed to the Crimson Tide.
His clock starts after arriving in the summer.
In the meantime, while Alabama ended up a game short of Monday’s national championship, there’s no shortage of big games for its fans to watch as the NFL continues to become more of a Crimson Tide league.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
