Nick Saban on tampering claims: 'We don't tamper with anybody'
When it comes to the recruitment — and subsequent signing — of former Louisville wide receiver Tyler Harrell, Alabama coach Nick Saban and his program have been accused — both directly and indirectly — of tampering. Based on comments made by Saban on Wednesday morning, no such tampering occured with Harrell or any other player, for that matter.
“We don’t tamper with anybody, so I don’t know of anything or anybody that tampered with him,” Saban told reporters at Greystone Golf & Country Club.
“I don’t really know that anybody’s really ever tampered with our players. I just think sometimes when things happen, it makes you wonder. So I’m not making any accusations against anybody that’s done anything with our players, and I don’t have any knowledge of anybody that’s done anything with anybody else’s players.”
Harrell entered the transfer portal back on April 13, exactly 10 days following Louisville’s spring game. Less than 10 days after him officially entering, the 6-foot, 197-pound pass-catcher committed to Saban and the Crimson Tide.
Normally, that series of events wouldn’t be cause for concern, but rumors began to circulate prior to Harrell entering the portal that his plans were to transfer to Alabama. After that move came to fruition, speculation followed that Alabama had, in fact, tampered with the former Cardinal.
Then on Wednesday, Louisville coach Scott Satterfield spoke with Chris Hummer at 247Sports. During that interview, he was asked if the Cardinals had experienced any tampering when it came to Harrell and his departure. His response was rather revealing.
“Well, you can’t prove anything. I think it’s not only him, it’s happened before here,” Satterfield said. “Last year we had a few guys that jumped into the portal and the next day they’re announcing where they’re going. You can look at that and know that something is going on before they went in the portal. But I do think it’s happening all across the country. It’s not just our program. It’s every program. It’s something we certainly need to look at it closely and try and figure out what’s the best way to move forward.”
For Nick Saban and Alabama, the focus is on maintaining honesty and professionalism in a new world of college football. Granted, he also said that trying to keep third parties in check comes with challenges, especially with NIL and the transfer portal now being staples in the sport.
“I think that it’s really hard to control third parties, whether it’s direct or indirect,” Saban said on Wednesday. “When you have a guy leave your program to go someplace else the day after a game – I don’t have any evidence that anything happened and I’m not making any accusations – but it makes you wonder, I guess. But hopefully, we have enough honesty and integrity out there amongst us professionally in our sport that people are going to abide by the rules.”
