Early August is when the big College Football polls come out to tell the nation, “so and so are sure going to be tough this year!” However, he modern day College Football fan is smart and dialed in all year long enough to already have an idea of what to expect during the upcoming season. The polls these days, especially the preseason polls, now only serve one purpose; to remind everyone that Nick Saban runs College Football.
Number two through the rest of them will shuffle and switch from year to year, but the one constant is Nick Saban will have Alabama as the most impressive team going into the College Football season. Alabama had it’s heart ripped out of it’s chest in the National Championship last year, but in August, just like every year, the game resets and Saban is back on top.
You already know the 13 reasons why Nick Saban’s teams are always going to be #1 going into any season. Saban recruits like a machine, the defenses always has Juniors and Sophomores who were probably ready to get on the field as Freshmen but had to wait their turn, and the offensive line is always projected to be one of the most dominant. But the reason why Alabama is always #1 that many people seem to often let go by the wayside is the fact that going into every season, Saban is able to keep his players on the field. Even when faced with off the field shenanigans, Nick Saban is respected enough to rarely be forced into suspending his players as a punishment.
Throughout his tenure, Nick Saban has played disciplinarian plenty of times and he has dismissed players from the team for being nincompoops off of the field. But when he really needs a player on the field and they do something stupid, Nick Saban is able to convince the people that matter that his way of teaching young men lessons for their transgressions is punishment enough. Last year it was offensive tackle Cam Robinson getting in trouble for illegal possession of a gun and weed and not missing time because charges were dropped. Saban donated some money to the right people and made Robinson ride around with some cops and all was forgotten. Bama had their big tackle in the lineup. This year it’s defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand getting in trouble for suspicion of a DUI. Hand fell asleep in his car with the keys in the ignition, but ultimately never turned the car on. This was actually a very smart decision, although Hand did screw up on a technicality having the keys in the ignition. So close to be a very smart young man.
The pitchforks are out, naturally, as the College Football morality police say Saban doesn’t properly punish his players and that Alabama gets away with their players screwing up with the law too much. I hate Alabama constantly winning as much as the next guy, but I will not get mad at this and neither should you. Sure, Saban is devious and he instantly makes “donations” to “charity” when these things happen, but ultimately, all that matters is that his players actually learn from their mistakes. It takes very good head coach to be able to keep the pitchforks at bay and have the people that matter at their university respect their brand of justice. Da’Shawn Hand’s car nap is just the latest in among the many reasons why Nick Saban is going to be #1 going into every season for as long as he wants to.