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WALLY HALL: Not ready to sign off on Saban as G.O.A.T

ATLANTA -- At 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, Nick Saban made his entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame to do his hard time as the head coach at Alabama during SEC football media days.

The biggest crowd of the week greeted him in the lobby with a roar that would have made Elvis envious.

For the Crimson Tide faithful, he is a bona fide hero who is so much bigger than life that Bear Bryant is just a memory.

Since he came to Alabama 11 seasons ago, the only person who has had as much effect on the SEC is the late, great Mike Slive, the former SEC commissioner who negotiated a mind-boggling, lucrative contract with ESPN to establish the SEC Network.

In 11 seasons, his overall record is 132-20 (.868) and 75-14 in SEC play. He's won five national championships, and he's more responsible for former coaches who sell insurance than Farm Bureau.

During his time at Alabama, the other 13 schools have hired 43 head coaches. Six schools have a new coach this season, including Dan Mullen, who left Mississippi State for Florida.

Four of his former assistants are now head coaches in the SEC, but only Jimbo Fisher -- who worked for him at LSU -- is in the Western Division with Alabama.

So does that make him the G.O.A.T.? Maybe not, but he's the G.R.E. -- Greatest Recruiter Ever.

In the rare year when he doesn't have the No. 1 recruiting class, chock-full of five-star players, he's a close No. 2.

Which leads one to believe Saban has two totally different personalities. Publicly he comes across as anything but warm and friendly.

Wednesday, like the 11 years before, he droned on and on at media days. He gave an eight-minute opening statement that concluded with his yearly thanks to the media for doing such a good job of promoting college football.

That came right after he said he wouldn't discuss the quarterback controversy that we (the media) created, and if anyone asked him about it his answer would be, "We'll see."

Of course, he was asked whether he thought Jalen Hurts would be on the roster for the first game. Hurts is 26-2 as a starting quarterback, but he was benched in the second half of the national championship game against Georgia for freshman Tua Tagovailoa, who sparked the Crimson Tide to the win with a touchdown pass on second and 26 in overtime.

Tagovailoa was hurt during spring practice, but that didn't stop Hurts' dad from saying his son would transfer if not named the starter.

Saban said he hopes Hurts is on the roster, but it seems apparent he thinks something could happen. Saban signed Pulaski Academy quarterback Layne Hatcher in late May. Saban always likes to travel with three quarterbacks.

Watching and listening to Saban leaves little doubt every word has been measured and re-measured. Nothing will come out of his mouth that won't help recruiting. Last winter, a video "leaked" of Saban dancing in a recruit's home.

It wasn't just an idle thought that slipped out Wednesday that in the past five years, Alabama has had 126 players who graduated before they played their final game, or that he is counting on a lot of guys developing leadership qualities to fill the holes for those who have gone on to play at the next level.

In the past decade, Alabama has had 68 players drafted by the NFL, including 26 first-rounders.

Saban is a good coach, probably great, but he gets it -- the better the players, the better the team, the better he looks.

He is the premier coach in America right now because he's the G.R.E.

Sports on 07/19/2018

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