BOL Round Table

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

Christopher Walsh covers Alabama football for BamaOnline, 247Sports, and is the author of 18 books.

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

Chris Walsh said...

I'm sorry, "“grayshirting scandal?" That's just a hatchet job, and just makes media (in this case the AJC) look bad.

There was absolutely no way those two players were going to play this past season, so Saban wanted to maximize what he could potentially get out of them. Instead, they listened to other people and opted to enroll elsewhere. So be it. They still had offers, there is no scandal.

The thing is, though, this kind of thing is going to be made more of an issue if college football goes to an early signing period as many expect because players are going to get hurt and that's just the way it is.

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

Bama101 said...

A lot has been made about how horrible Coach Saban is for recruiting kids and then asking them to gray shirt to rehab from injury before trying to compete for playing time. The AJC runs with stories like this every chance they get painting a negative picture and to trying to smear Alabama and Coach Saban in the eyes of future recruits. I guess they hate seeing Alabama cherry pick the players they want from their state. Anyways, I thought I would do some research on two of the more highly criticized recruits and see how their decision to go elsewhere benefited them as opposed to gray shirting at Alabama.

Justin Taylor:

Flipped to Kentucky because of gray shirt offer: Red shirted at Kentucky to rehab. From their site:

High School: Projected as one of the South's top running backs heading into his senior season ... Committed to Alabama prior to his senior year at North Atlanta HS but incurred a knee injury in September ... Decided to re-open his recruitment after Alabama asked him to grayshirt ... Knee rehabilitation is going well and is expected to be ready to compete when practice begins in August ... Rushed for approximately 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior at Washington HS in Atlanta ... Named All-Atlanta as a junior ... Also started two years on defense as a linebacker ... One of the nation's top-40 running backs by ESPN and 24/7 Sports ... Coached by Stanley Pritchett ... A track athlete who competed in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, along with the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays ... Member of the Men of Excellence and the Kappa League, a pair of mentoring and community service organizations.

Darius Philon:

Flipped to Arkansas after offered a gray shirt to rehab. He appears to have red shirted to rehab as well. From their site:

HIGH SCHOOL: Philon was selected to play in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game following his senior season. He was ranked as the No. 20 strongside defensive end in the nation by Rivals.com, while Scout.com ranked him as the 37th-best defensive end in the country. In 2011, Philon collected 66 tackles, including 20.0 for loss with 11.0 sacks, while helping lead Vigor to the Alabama 5A state championship game, where he made 10 tackles, 1.0 sack and one fumble recovery while playing through an injury. During the 2011 season, Vigor allowed just 116 points, an average of 7.7 points per game, while putting together a 12-3 overall record. As a junior, he made 89 tackles, including 20.0 for loss, as the Wolves advanced to the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs and finished 9-4. Philon chose Arkansas over Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State. He was coached at Vigor by Kerry Stevenson, where he was teammates with fellow signee JaMichael Winston.

Now, their decision to commit somewhere else may prove the best decision for them personally. I wish both of them the best. I think both could have benefited from the coaching they would have received at Alabama as opposed to their final destinations. However, they chose not to sit out a year at Alabama and the media made Alabama out to be horrible for asking them to do so despite the fact that we felt it was in their best interest. Both enrolled at their perspective schools and then sat out a year as a red shirt as opposed to a gray shirt. They were unable to benefit from the on field coaching as much because they were limited physically from practicing. While I think it may seem like a slap in the face to be told they want them to wait a year, in the end the coaches are trying to do what is best for the players and the team, and in the end the recruits must do what they believe is best for them and let the cards fall where they may.

Here is an excerpt form Randy Rogers Recruiting on Gray Shirts:

Grayshirt is another new term and is applied to the prospect that signs a letter of intent in February, but doesn’t report in the fall with his teammates. He delays entry to college until midyear, i.e. January. That NCAA five-year clock doesn’t start ticking until the player enrolls as a full time student, so gray-shirting is really a delayed version of red-shirting. Texas Tech, for instance, signed 34 players last February, but NCAA rules prevent them from enrolling more than 25 to start the fall. Some of those nine other players are gray-shirted this fall. They cannot enroll in college as full time students, can’t receive their scholarship, nor practice. It is like getting an extra year of practice, because most of these players don’t see the game field until two years later and they have the advantage of going through an extra spring practice.

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. -Hebrews 10:39

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down

Chris Walsh said...

I'm sorry, "“grayshirting scandal?" That's just a hatchet job, and just makes media (in this case the AJC) look bad.

There was absolutely no way those two players were going to play this past season, so Saban wanted to maximize what he could potentially get out of them. Instead, they listened to other people and opted to enroll elsewhere. So be it. They still had offers, there is no scandal.

The thing is, though, this kind of thing is going to be made more of an issue if college football goes to an early signing period as many expect because players are going to get hurt and that's just the way it is.

• Reply
• Quote
• Rate Up Rate Down