Nick Saban says this conference can chew you up and spit you out if you’re not careful.
“I think we had 33 guys drafted out of the first 99 in our conference,” Saban said Tuesday of the SEC. “Some people say that guys in the SEC have more injury history.
“I think it’s the nature of the league, but I also think it’s the reason a lot of guys are getting drafted from our league. … It’s physical. It’s more bigger guys. It’s more better athletes. It’s more NFL-like in terms of what players are going to be expected to do at the next level. I guess you’ve got to take the good with the bad.”
That’s what he told Eddie Lacy.
Saban said he told Lacy that if he could be a first-round pick if he came back to Alabama and played injury-free this fall. Otherwise, he probably would be drafted early in the second round.
“I told him … ‘I’ll support whatever decision you make. You’ve been here for four years, you’re very close to graduation, and you have a short shelf-life as a player,’” Saban said. “When you’re a running back in the NFL it’s the shortest shelf-life of any position. So I kind of get it, I get where you’re at.’ We were on board with that one.”
Now you know why ‘Bama has eighteen tailbacks on its roster.