Nick Saban on Social Media? Don't Hold Your Breath

Alabama coach says he feels sorry for people who have their heads in their phones

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Talking about how he doesn't quite know how a recruiting class is a usual thing for Nick Saban on National Signing Day, and this year's press conference was no exception. 

However, the coach did make one thing certain on Wednesday afternoon, he's not about to start contributing to social media. 

"There's obviously a generational gap between the two of us," he said to a younger reporter before elaborating:

"The way I grew up communicating was talking. When I pumped gas at my dad’s service station, I looked in the window and said, ‘Mam, may I help you please?’ I didn’t text them and ask them. 

"So I think to me, I kind of feel sorry for people I see walking around, looking at their phones, running into the wall, not even knowing somebody is getting shot across the street. They don’t even know it because they can’t take their eyes off their phone." 

Saban said he's old school when it comes to social media, although that's hardly a revelation. Unlike most of his peers, he doesn't tweet, use Facebook or Instagram. 

Alabama obviously has plenty of people who do, though. 

"I feel sorry for people like that," Saban added. "I think to develop relationships, it’s really important to be able to communicate with people. I think sort of everybody out there understands that I’m not a social media person. 

"I do really respect and respond better to personal relationships. That’s what players after they’re here and when they’re recruiting them. I hope that’s not hurting us in any kind of way. But that’s kind of the style. Do you think it’s hurting us in any way?"

The answer was no. Alabama finished with the third-best signing class in the nation according to SI All-American. 

However, it should be noted that Saban was once in a bar that was held up and he didn't even notice. It happened when was Michigan State's defensive coordinator and a recruiting trip in Youngstown, Ohio. He and Bob Stoops (the uncle of the former Oklahoma coach) were talking football and didn't even notice the armed gunman.  

"Talk of the Town, that was the name of the bar," Saban said in 2016. "Uncle Bob and I were sitting at the bar and we were talking football. He was the coach at South High School at the time. It was kind of a round bar, so it wasn't like you could see everything that was happening. We were talking football and we were arguing about something, I don't know. We were drawing up stuff and a guy comes in with a shotgun and holds the place up. Well, we keep arguing and we keep talking. 

"The police come and they ask us about the robbery, and we say 'What robbery?' So that was kind of the story. The place got robbed and we didn't even know it. I don't know if we were that focused or if we were just having that much fun talking about football."

22 + 3 = 25

Alabama only signed three players on National Signing Day and Saban made it sound like that was the plan all along even though it was in the running for defensive back Ennis Rakestraw and defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson, who signed with Missouri and Texas A&M, respectively. 

“Did you guys take math?" he said. "Do you have math class? Did you learn how to add when you did have math class. Like that 22 and 3 make 25?

"Is that what we expected? We could only sign three guys, so that’s what we expected, based on math. But it was a very busy day,"

Saban indicated that he talked to 14 players Tuesday, and 22 more Wednesday, from the recruiting Class of 2021, due to the recruiting calendar moving up so much following the addition of the early signing period.

"By the end of the day today, I was stuttering on the phone and having a tough time speaking clearly, so that’s how busy it was," Saban said. "It wasn’t busy in terms of how many guys we signed, but we had a lot to do.”

Tide-bits

• Saban mentioned that he really likes Alabama's returning experience in the backfield with Najee Harris returning. "Najee was certainly a player that played extremely well for us this year and played better and better as the year went on. So I think he’ll be very productive for us next year. B-Rob has been a productive player and hopefully he’ll have a great year. Trey Sanders will come back, and Keilan Robinson showed flashes of being a guy that can be a good player, and we added three running backs this year. But running backs are really guys that make great special teams players, they’re kind of a little bigger, a little more physical, still fast, still athletic. So I think all these guys can contribute in some kind of way to our team (next year)."

• Alabama is looking to have open competition at the wide receiver spots behind DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. "We feel like we have a couple young guys that will develop into guys that will play," Saban said. "But we also feel really good about the two guys we got." 

• Saban said he hasn't had a chance to talk with Mark Dantonio, his former assistant who stepped down as Michigan State's head coach Tuesday. "I have talked to a couple of people at Michigan State concerning Mark," he said.