Seven-time national championship head coach accuses an HBCU program of NIL abuse and fails to provide proof of his claim.
By Kyle T. Mosley
Division 1 head coaches have pouted and bemoaned losing recruits to NIL deals for months. Their discontent hit a crescendo when Power 5 schools were “out-recruited” by Jackson State University when highly-touted five-star recruit Travis Hunter committed to the HBCU program.
On Wednesday evening, their insinuations and “soft-shoe” whining reached an apex when Nick Saban unleashed an attack on Jackson State’s credibility for landing Hunter.
“Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division I player to come to school. It was in the paper. They bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it,” Saban said. Alabama’s coach went on to say Texas A&M “bought” each recruit.
Saban, 70, is perhaps the greatest college football coach in history. He’s measured his words regarding NILs before and must have realized his words could negatively affect Jackson State and head coach Deion Sanders.
It begs the question. Why would the seven-time national championship head coach specifically accuse Jackson State of impropriety and does not offer proof to merit his claim?
Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders responded to Saban’s accusation with a social media post.
Sanders posted, “You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow. I was awakened by my son [Shedeur Sanders] @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAID [Travis Hunter]@TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB! We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE.”
After losing out on the Travis Hunter sweepstakes, Saban, Florida State, and other Power 5 coaches have been “salty” and “stewing.”
Even a few media outlets and personalities have taken shots at Coach Prime, Jackson State, and even Hunter for his decision to attend and play for an HBCU football program.
The signs already point to Deion Sanders’ willingness to challenge Nick Saban’s comments. Jackson State’s athletic director Ashley Robinson, administrators, alumni, and fans may enter the fray.
It’s doubtful that a swift resolution will occur between the two Aflac spokespeople regarding Saban’s damaging Travis Hunter accusations. Exactly how will Sanders and JSU handle the matter is another issue? Or, could we have Saban backpedaling his commentary within the next several days?
We shall see.