Sigh. I wish UGA had this killer instinct. Roll Tide & Go Dawgs!
The War on Roster Management
The topic of oversigning has become a hot button issue in college football recently, forcing the SEC to reduce it’s yearly recruiting cap from 28 to the bare minimum 25. One of the biggest advocates against the practice is oversigning.com and they leave no doubt that they dislike the University of Alabama and Nick Saban.
In response to the recent transfers of Bama players they had this to say from “Open Letter To Petey Smith, Corey Grant, and Any Other Players Considering a Transfer”:
“If you have not yet finalized your transfer plans, we would like to strongly recommend to you that you contact Marc Bailey at parentsofplayers.com to discuss your rights under by-law 15.3.2.4. Marc is experienced in negotiating fair treatment for players looking to transfer, being forced to transfer, or just flat not being renewed, and he might be able to negotiate with your coaches to sign a “sit out waiver” so that you can continue to pursue your football and educational interests at the FBS level instead of going to JUCO or FCS.”
You say it yourself that you, ”don’t know everything about your situations”, so how are you in any place to decide that these players need defending? Also ESPN has an extensive list of those transferring out of the SEC this offseason with Arkansas having the most yet you still focus on Alabama. Even your own statistics show that the Crimson Tide and Nick Saban are not the most egregious offenders. From 2002 - 2010 the most oversigning program in the nation is actually Auburn - can’t make this stuff up. If anyone should be the target of these attacks it should be Houston Nutt who in 2009 sign 37 players.
So how about an open letter to all those who are attempting to vilify Coach Saban and Alabama for a practice that have been within NCAA and SEC rules:
I’m sorry, this isn’t Rec League Tee Ball, not everyone gets a chance to play. This is major college football and it is a business. Have you heard of Petey Smith or Corey Grant? I read close to a hundred articles a day about Alabama football and I have never heard of them, you know why that is, because they have fallen so far down the depth chart that they will never see the field. This is not some despicable purging by a bully, this is a player that wants to play football transferring to another school where his services are needed. We as fans put a premium on winning and incredible pressure on coaches to do it consistently. Excuse me if I find it a little hypocritical to then turn around and criticize the completely legal matter in which they deliver those victories.
If you think roster management gives teams a competitive advantage look no farther than Ole Miss, Kansas State, and Iowa State. All three of these teams average more signees than the Crimson Tide and I would be surprised to see any of them with a winning record at the end of this coming season.
But if you still have a problem you can take it up with us on January 9, 2012. We’ll be the ones with confetti over heads and a Waterford crystal football in our hands.
(Source: therammerjammer)