Nick Saban, Alabama to offer four-year scholarships

Nick Saban Alabama to Offer Four-Year Scholarships

With the news coming of Nick Saban deciding to offer four-year scholarships to players, it begs the question: Why the sudden change of heart?

Alabama was one of four schools that orginially voted against mulit-year scholarships.  Now, they've changed thier tune?  It's simple.  You can't allow yourself a recruiting disadvantage in the SEC.  Recruiting is important for any school, but more so in the SEC.  With a tough conference schedule, depth is as important to this conference as any.  Also, Saban realizes that it's just words.  Here's what Saban has to say about the similarities in approaches.

"Most of the conditions are still the same.  The player will still have to be academically eligible. He will still have to obey team rules and regulations. And the player is still going to have the same rights and the same appeals process that he has now."

It is rare that you will ever hear of a player losing his scholarship due to performance issues.  Many people will argue that Nick Saban's "process" has ruined potential careers, but I'd argue he put simply put the best players on the field.  Basically, the whole notion that you need to perform well to stay on scholarship (which is the way it should be) is overblown.  Most players ask to transfer for their benefit when they're "buried" in depth chart.  Whether it's a four-year scholarship or a one-year renewable agreement, coaches will typically honor a player's scholarship.  When a player violates team rules, he will still lose his scholarship.  There will presumably still be available for medical scholarships in case of career-threatening injuries.  

The new multi-year scholarships do nothing but provide assurance for high school players.  While it's good for a kid to know he can keep his scholarship for the entirety of his schooling, it could also provide grounds for complacency.  The big picture is that recruiting is changing.  With players committing so early in the process, both sides are looking for the deepest commitment possible in the other party.  This could lead to an "early signing period" in the future.  For now, teams just have more fluff to guarantee recruits.