Texas A&M Busted Bragging About Paying Recruits, Nick Saban Vindicated
Texas A&M Busted Bragging About Paying Recruits, Nick Saban Vindicated
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban made headlines a few months ago when he accused Texas A&M of paying recruits.
The claim generated a lot of controversy.
Yep, he actually said it.
(video via @WesleySinor/@aldotcom) pic.twitter.com/5gPO1YJrDw
— Max Olson (@max_olson) May 19, 2022
“I know the consequence is going to be difficult for the people who are spending tons of money to get players,” he said at the time. “You read about it, you know who they are. We were second in recruiting last year. A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness.”
Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher was irate. He called Saban a “narcissist” and went off on him viciously in a very public way.
Pure theater here.
Marvelous pic.twitter.com/Vb6NrCdcJ7
— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) May 19, 2022
“You can call me anything you want to call me,” Fisher said at the time. “You ain’t call me a cheat. I don’t cheat and I don’t lie. I learned that when I was a kid, if you did that, your old man slapped you ‘side the head. Maybe somebody should have slapped him [Nick Saban].”
For a brief time, Fischer’s rant seemed to settle things. Saban backed off. Everyone moved on. Until this week.
In a newly-viral clip, a Texas A&M staffer can seemingly be seen showing potential recruits around Kyle Field and then alluding to some big paydays ahead.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought you weren’t suppose to talk about money on these recruiting trips?
“Yall getting a lot of money from the people behind these suites if you decide to come play here”
Inducement?
“NiL hAd nOtHiNg tO dO WiTh iT”#GigEm #CFB @NCAA pic.twitter.com/bsSpAoRIOX
— Ewers Barber (@EwersBarber) June 30, 2022
“Y’all getting a lot of money from the people behind these suites if you decide to come play here,” he can be heard saying.
Yikes. It will be interesting to see if that clip ultimately gets as much play in collegiate sports circles as the one of a Texas A&M female coach being “inappropriately” dressed for a game. This would seem to be a slightly more egregious case.
This has been a wild year for college football in general. Between Heisman favorites getting exposed for their weird bedroom preferences, college coaches landing in messy situations with pretty young blondes, and prominent programs being accused of playing players based on race – it has been one thing after another.
That’s one way to celebrate a $224 million super max extension. https://t.co/XionnBGoT5
— Game 7 (@game7__) July 1, 2022
This is just par for the course.
Will Texas A&M come out and address this mess in some capacity?
Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
