WATCH: Nick Saban does the Cupid Shuffle during Alabama's big recruiting weekend
Say this about legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban: He doesn’t mind putting in the work. Even with NIL allowing college programs more direct routes to enhance the player experience, Saban knows it still takes a good deal of elbow grease to attract top talent.
Maybe even literally.
As is tradition for Nick Saban, a little Cupid Shuffle never hurts putting everyone at ease. On a weekend when Alabama was hosting multiple top-notch recruits ahead of the early signing period beginning on Dec. 21, Saban busted out the dance moves.
A video of Saban’s Cupid Shuffle dance was posted to Facebook by Tracy Tyrome Varner, a trainer at MADhouse Fitness in Montgomery, Ala.
Enjoy!
Alabama, Nick Saban Cupid Shuffle-ing their way to another top class
Whatever Nick Saban is doing, Cupid Shuffle or otherwise, certainly seems to be working.
As things stand a week and a half out from the early signing period, Alabama boasts the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, according to the 2023 On3 Consensus football team recruiting rankings.
The Crimson Tide already have verbal commitments from two five-star prospects, as well as 19 four-star recruits.
Alabama’s average player rating in the class stands at 92.80, the top mark in the country, while the average NIL valuation for its recruits in the class sits at $132,000.
Program structure also vital to Alabama’s recruiting success
If there’s one thing Alabama rarely has to worry about with recruits, it’s managing to sell the track record. Saban has been pumping out NFL Draft picks for decades, preparing prospects for their jump to the professional ranks.
He’s set to do it again, with Alabama boasting one of the best defensive players in recent history in edge rusher Will Anderson.
Anderson hasn’t yet made his NFL Draft decision, but he has raved about Saban’s process in preparing him for that jump whenever he makes it.
“I think it’s just the mentality, how we attack the day, everything that we do, the structure of the program,” Anderson said in explaining that NFL Draft success by the Crimson Tide while doing interviews at a Rotary Lombardi Award ceremony earlier this week. “I think that’s what helps so many athletes get ready for the next level because of the way we train and the way coach Saban has everything set up is kind of like the NFL.
“It’s really great. He has a lot of people in place to help you get ready for that next step, too.”