Hey, if it’s good enough for the defending national champs, right?
It was first reported Tuesday afternoon by PFT’s Mike Florio that Alabama’s Nick Saban had decided to follow through on his SEC media days threat and bar NFL teams from the Tuscaloosa campus for at least the time being.
Subsequent to that report, other media outlets have confirmed that, indeed, the Tide head coach had yanked the welcome mat out from under NFL scouts. One of those reports also contained an interesting tidbit regarding a fellow SEC school apparently eschewing traditional Southern hospitality when it comes to dealing with the NFL.
An unidentified longtime NFL scout told Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News that, in addition to Alabama, Florida has also decided, at least temporarily, to close the campus door to the NFL.
“Alabama is keeping guys out for the time being, but, as I understand it, that will be lifted at a certain point,” the scout, who said he had confirmed the lockout with multiple other scouts, told the News. “It also looks like Florida is doing the same thing.”
So that’s who Urban Meyer was referring to last week when he talked about “scumbags that are involved that shouldn’t be involved“…
Its interesting how this was never a problem with any of these coaches until the NCAA starts looking around their program. I am sure once these schools are cleared it will be business as usual.
Why would you not let NFL scouts attend your practices its the runners you need to keep out. I would think it would help recruiting to have NFL scouts attending practices.
SoFlaTrojan,
I disagree. This sort of stuff has been a chronic issue at UF (and FSU and the U) since I can remember…hence the state law specifically targeting them. For that matter, it is likely a problem at every program out there that has top NFL talent.
If the NCAA digs deeply enough, they will find something about improper contact. There is too much of a $$$ gradient between most of the players and the riches that await them in the NFL.
It is easy for lots of folks to sit back and wag a finger, but when you come from a dirt poor family and are generating big $$ for the university, it is very difficult not to eat some of the fruit. It is up to the universities to be hyper vigilant to keep the foxes out of the hen house.
As far as recruiting goes, at a UF, Bama, USC, etc. they recruit themselves based on success on the field and on draft day. The presence of scouts doesn’t impact either.
Keep on messing around in Saban country and they won’t be allowed to get off the freeway in T-Town…LOL!
This is really OLD news. Urban locked the gates on EVERY ONE day1. No NFL, no media nobody at practices. It makes it really a whole lot easier since by doing that U don’t have to worry about who’s doing whatfor whomever.
I disagree with SoFlaTrojan because they still have games to watch & can request film. U can bet if this impacts the NFL in any way they will get with the schools & try to work out this agent/runner issue. The NFL is a billion $$$ biz so they won’t let anything they can control impact their bottom line. The players R what put fans in the seats & fans watching TV so they will do what is in the best biz interest of the NFL.
Urban didn’t single out the NFL, instead he just got rid of everyone & doubled security to make sure noone is around the players even on their walks to & from practice.
gator_prof says:
SoFlaTrojan,
I disagree.
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I disagree. It’s about AGENTS and their runners and not scouts, right? It’s more like the coaches are trying to pressure the NFL to pressure the NFLPA to lay a beat down on the agents and their runners. Frankly, if they keep it up, maybe the high school coaches should start doing it to the college coaches and their assistants and see if they’re as high and mighty about this after that.
Seriously, unless they close down their campuses and force the kids to stay there 24/7, what can they do? They can close off practices all they want but if a runner sees the guy out on the town or on campus, just what is the coach to do?
@ edgy:
“They can close off practices all they want but if a runner sees the guy out on the town or on campus, just what is the coach to do? ”
In my opinion this action is like that of a rattle snake, you know a little rattle from Saban at SEC media days and now another major rattle with a little more aggression behind it. If the other coaches start to follow especially from elite schools then it will at least possibly force a dialogue between the universities and the NFL so that more can be done to address the issue and bring those out that use questionable tactics to get into a student athlete’s ear.
Its either force them in some way to admit and address an issue that is becoming more frequent or just wring your hands and pray you dodge sanctions…..JMHO
@ edgy–
The coaches realize what U say but they R trying to control it where they can. If this works, then the issue of runners/agents will take care of itself because the NFLPA will put their foot down. This needs to be a collective effort.
The publicity on this issue–keeping it in the spotlight will force everyone to try to work together. The press will help keep this issue alive because they R being kept out because of the agent/runner prob.
Its also kind of funny how college coaches are not allowed to attend these high school 7 on 7 tournaments but everyone else is allowed. This includes agents, runner and wannabe marketers.
Closing your practices may give the appearance that your school is doing all it can but it has no effect on whether or not a player takes gifts.
Blitz,
I agree they can look at tape of player and see if he is any good. But it also helps to attend pratices and see how hard a player works. Getting practice tape edited by a school is not the same thing.
Seriously, guys, you think that this will just magically go away? Some high schools have told some universities to take a hike because of the problems that have happened to their guys and you know what – it’s still going on.
Publicity isn’t going to mean jack. What do you think is going to magically happen here? This problem is worse than what you think and it’s been going on for a while. Really, if Reggie Bush hadn’t been such a putz and honored his agreement, not only wouldn’t USC be in trouble for this shit but the NCAA wouldn’t have been peeking under the skirts out East or do you think that Urban and Nick just woke up yesterday and realized that there were agents and runners on their campuses? Unless you can tie a specific runner to a specific agent just how do you think that the players’ union is going to discipline them? I also think that it’s funny that you guys characterize Pete Carroll as a scum bag because of Bush but the same disdain isn’t being shown to Lord God All Urban. It doesn’t matter how clean a program that your coach runs, he has NO control over the players when it comes to how they interact with agents and their runners because they will always find a way to gain access unless you keep the players on campus 24/7, 365 days and march them every where so that no one but the coaches and their teachers have access.
Frankly, unless the coaches can ban NFL coaches from watching ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, the Big 10 network and all the other media outlets, including the internet, all they’re doing is denying them access to first hand looks at players and that won’t be a problem once the guys declare for the draft and then they can’t do anything.
BTW, don’t think that any solution that they might come up with will be worthwhile. College basketball’s elite pushed and shoved the NBA for a rule to stop high school kids from bypassing college and the unintended consequences of the age rule is that they’re going one and out when they used to bypass college all together and the ones that enrolled would stay two or more years and the one and out guys are taking even less interest in their studies as the guys who would spend a couple of years.
Edgy,
Nailed it!
Interesting on PFT Peter King makes mention of how Saban’s decision could impact recruiting.
“Interesting on PFT Peter King makes mention of how Saban’s decision could impact recruiting.”
… says somebody who covers the NFL for a living.
My bad John how could a guy who covers the NFL know anything about CFB. He definitely does not know as much as the posters on this site.
Just stick to cutting and pasting together stories for CFT.
It can only help your recruiting when high school kids come to your school and see NFL scouts hanging out at practice. Will Alabama see a huge drop off because of this no but it is a good tool.
@ SoFlaTrojan: Wow. Lighten up there, Francis.
Ok you all play nice now!! Don’t make me break a good ol piss elm and go against both ya backsides…..LOL!
Just thought I would lighten up the atmosphere for ya’ll!
Donna,
I will play nice I like John and the job he does on this site. I even find his obsession with Lane Kiffin to be humorous. But as everyone on this site knows once you jump in the ring be prepared to catch some shit.
SoFlaTrojan,
Being a college football fan that has read King’s stuff for the past two decades, I don’t think that he has a clue about college football or recruiting.
He hasn’t covered anything to do with college in 25 years. He is in one of the voids of college football (NYC metro area), so simply put, he doesn’t understand big time college football or football recruiting.
I say this as a guy who grew up in NJ and moved south. From a football perspective, it is different down here. HS football is on TV every Friday night with highlight programs on Saturday morning. Recruiting season is covered extensively, both on TV as well as on the radio. People on the left coast or in the NE just don’t understand the level of insanity. As a result, a NFL beat writer in NYC is as much an authority on college recruiting as he is on nuclear physics or politics (in the case of Lupica).
As long as Bama and UF are top programs competing for national titles and seeing significant TV time, they will continue to be a feeder program for the NFL and will recruit just fine. Closing practices will have zero impact except for window dressing as others have pointed out.
Until the NFL steps up and starts suspending agents for this sort of behavior, whether direct or indirect, it will continue.
No blood, no foul. It’s all good on this end. Now, let’s all partake in a rousing rendition of “Kumbaya”, shall we?
Got to weigh in on Trojans side –here–Peter King doesn’t have a clue when it comes to big time college football—PK would get eaten alive on this site!!!
JT—U have earned a pass–intern Kercheval is a dirrent story altogether!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t see recruiting being impacted, unless the NFL stops drafting players from these schools, just as I don’t see this impacting the NFL unless the schools shut down all TV and the Internet. There are no easy solutions to this problem and frankly, the coaches are being hypocrites because they knew that it was going on and they didn’t say anything until it started to come back and bite them in the ass. Really, did they think that their players wouldn’t notice all the money that they were getting from the university and the shoe companies and not think that they deserved a piece of the pie?
If Urban Meyer were truly against scumbags, he wouldn’t be able to field a team.
@ frank booth
It’s easy to throw crap out here—would be nice if U would use facts to debate rather than make a BS statement that has as NO credibility!!!!
blitz4848 says:
@ frank booth
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Pot meet Kettle.
28 arrests during Urban Meyer’s tenure.
Blitz says:
@ Edgy
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A$$ meet HOLE! Hello I am Home………….
Take your autographed USC /Kiffen shirt and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine