Nick Saban may need to ice his hamstrings from backpedaling. Less than two weeks after accusing SEC opponent Texas A&M of purchasing every player in its vaunted 2022 recruiting class, the legendary Alabama coach told reporters during SEC spring meetings on Tuesday that he "didn't really say that anybody did anything wrong," and once again apologized for singling out the Aggies.
Prior to Saban's first apology, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher shared a strong rebuttal, defending his team's recruiting practices during an impromptu press conference. He also called Saban a "narcissist" and his remarks "despicable." According to 247 Sports, the Aggies signed an FBS-high eight five-star 2022 recruits, and each player is listed as a top-25 player in the class. Their war of words is over, but both teams will face each other in Tuscaloosa, on Oct. 8.
"Not to be keeping receipts, but Saban's claiming he didn't say that Jimbo did anything wrong. So let's go back to the original take," Maggie Gray said during the Maggie and Perloff on Tuesday. "You can't say that they bought players -- couldn't say that in the old way, can't say that even in the new way. You didn't say they did anything wrong? You did! You said they bought all their players... Man, college football coaches can talk themselves into anything, can't they?"
"He also went on to say he has no problem with Jimbo Fisher. If you have no problem with him, why'd you say that and name-check him?" Andrew Perloff said. "And the truth is fungible in the recruiting world. You're basing this entire sport on recruiting. And you go out to kids' living rooms, and you don't lie, but you say everything that's in your favor. I feel like that gets out in the media. Of course he'll say this. Does it surprise you at all that Saban backtracked?"
Maggie and Perloff's complete thoughts on Saban's latest comments can be accessed in the audio player above.
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