Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban joined the College GameDay team at ESPN after retiring from coaching earlier this year, and it didn’t take him long to make a startling admission during one of the network’s broadcasts.
This week, Nick Saban joined the College GameDay crew to provide coverage of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on ABC. And during the broadcast, Saban casually admitted to breaking a pretty significant NCAA rule during his time as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
When the Philadelphia Eagles selected Toldeo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the No. 22 overall pick on Thursday night, Saban admitted that the Crimson Tide were trying to get him to enter the NCAA transfer portal so they could recruit him.
Nick Saban on ABC about Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell: "He was our No. 1 guy in the portal last year to try to get him to come out of the portal, and he would never get in the portal."
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) April 26, 2024
“He was our No. 1 guy in the portal last year to try to get him to come out of the portal, and he would never get in the portal,” Saban said.
Obviously, this is a pretty shocking admission because what Saban described is blatantly against NCAA rules. Making contact with another team’s player – especially for the purposes of trying to convince him to transfer away – is called tampering and it’s considered cheating.
So when Saban openly admitted this on the broadcast, it obviously led to a lot of reactions on social media.
Saban admitting to tampering on his first ESPN assignment is special. https://t.co/annKenkp1M
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) April 26, 2024
What in the wild, wild world of tampering is this? https://t.co/YElYOXMK7d
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) April 26, 2024
College football is so broken. https://t.co/fESTNQSNHz
— Big Game Boomer (@BigGameBoomer) April 26, 2024
Same guy who complained about what has become of college football. https://t.co/UvoYKYYB9h
— Trevor McCue (@trevormccue) April 26, 2024
So, let me see if I have this straight: Saban wants to complain about his players either seeking more money or threatening to enter the portal, but he has no problem tampering? Got it. https://t.co/c5SB9RYZlE
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) April 26, 2024
Believe this would be tampering. https://t.co/npmAtFnrGK
— Tom Kakert (@HawkeyeReport) April 26, 2024
The literal definition of tampering. https://t.co/v8PvOHWYA1
— Logan Booker (@LoganMBooker) April 26, 2024
It’s certainly a wild thing for Saban to publicly admit.
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