Nick Saban: One 2014 UA signee may need more classwork to qualify

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BIRMINGHAM | University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, making the final stop of the year on UA's Crimson Caravan tour, talked about incoming players and outgoing players, with a bit of concern about both.

Saban said that UA was still awaiting final grades on some of the 2014 signing class and indicated that one unidentified player may have to wait on additional classwork before enrolling at UA.

" We won't know for sure until we get final grades in," Saban said. "We may have one guy who has to go to summer school. We will just have to wait until we have the information."

Saban was armed with information about early exits for the National Football League, however. UA had two players who departed early taken in the draft's Top 40 picks, but also had underclassmen who went in the fifth round, the sixth round and, in one case, an undrafted player.

UA safety Vinnie Sunseri was taken in the fifth round of the draft, defensive lineman Jeoffrey Pagan went in the sixth round and defensive lineman Adrian Hubbard was undrafted.

"It's a dose of reality," Saban said, although he did not mention any players by name. "Now, we have parents coming to us saying 'why you didn't you tell us about this'

"Well, we did tell them. We have in-home meetings and try to give the best advice. I think if you have a first-round grade, you should come out. If not, you should go back to school. But people think they are going to get a fifth or sixth-round grade and go to the combine and jump into the first or second round and it just doesn't work that way."

THE SEC released its cross-division schedule rotation for the next decade on Monday, and while Saban said Alabama was "looking forward" to a 2015 trip to Georgia, he said that the overall schedule reaffirmed his commitment to a nine-game league schedule.

"I'm not here to be critical of what's been done, but I have said all along that we need to play nine (SEC games)," Saban said. "We don't play South Carolina for another sox years. That's too long."

SABAN WAS also asked if he was "bothered" about a recent Sports Illustrated story ranking the "most disliked figures on sports." Saban came in at No. 22 on the list.

"Well, I hadn't heard anything about it so I don't guess it was bothering me," Saban said.

"I try to do things the right way (and) to show leadership. I am comfortable with who I am. Beyond that, you don't worry about things that are out of your control."