The Blue Board

Only had 83 on scholly this season and two were senior walk on's which are gone. Will return 70 possibly less, however there are numerous rJr's that have already graduated, so some of those will move on.

Plus, we aren't taking 27. I've heard anywhere between 23-25 at most.

Edit: Mandell isn't on a football scholly.

BAND and WAGON

I stand corrected on my number. Talked to someone who know's and apparently we had less than 81 on scholly. Everyone on here and all recruiting sites guess at the number, but only the coaches know how many we truly have each year.

I find it hilarious that fans from other schools, all out of conference, complain about Bama's scholarship management, but doesn't seem to affect recruits wanting to come play for Saban.

I didn't start this thread to complain about Bama's scholarship management. I was just under the impression guys like Orr, Ming, Bonds, etc. were walk-ons, but then I saw them on prior year commit lists (I didn't think walk-ons were included), so I was hoping a Bama fan could let me know if any of the guys listed are in fact walk-ons. I like to make depth charts for all teams, but only include scholarship players. I'm not worried at all about Bama "over-signing." Hell, USC will have to ask some players to transfer, since they plan on bringing in a full class.

Alright, I'll call it you suck at reading comprehension.

obviously we are playing by the rules or we would be on probation like usc and ohio state!

For all the complaints about roster management.... There have been very few complaints from actual former Crimson Tide players. I believe the WSJ did an article and they found one recruit that received a medical hardship that disagreed with the decision. Many of the players that are claimed to be "managed" off the roster for poor performance are just the opposite. They were very good performers that broke certain rules and were kicked off the team (just like any other team). Many of these "managed" players went to juco and signed with other teams and became starters (so it wasn't a talent issue).

Some of the players that left the team that were clearly very talented were (just off the top of my head):
Darrin Sentimore (played as a true freshman)
Rod Woodson (ditto)
Duron Carter (Cris's son)
Brandon Moore (Played as a true freshman)
Prince Hall (All SEC LB that couldn't stay out of the dog house)
(and many more but I don't have a list to refer to)

We have also had several recruits that failed to qualify (but signed a LOI).
We had one recruit that died before he ever played a down.
We have had more 3 year players than any other team in the country (until LSU this year :))
Several recruits left on their own because of lack of playing time (Philip Sims, Star Jackson, Punter left to play baseball...)

Saban plays by the same NCAA rules as everyone else. All of these oversigning threads are just about a bunch of whiney losers looking for an excuse as to why their team isn't winning.

It seems you didn't read my post. I didn't say Alabama breaks any rules. I questioned why recruiting rules differ by conference when it is the lifeblood of college football. The NCAA wastes their time on stupid things while letting conferences decide how to handle recruiting numbers.

And most of my post was explaining that allowing high profile teams to bring in a full class every year and then simply talk to the players who haven't panned out and mutually agree for them to transfer, thereby opening up 23-25 slots instead of 15-17, is a huge advantage! These transfers allow a team to "try out" an extra 10 or 20 players for a couple of years to see if they develop well, and if they don't they just have them transfer out for playing time elsewhere and try again.

Heck, I would argue that my team, Ohio State, will be doing this to an extent this year! We currently have room for 1 or so more players, but we are projecting to pick up from 2-4 more because players will be transferring out because they don't see the field. This is an advantage for elite teams who have 100 recruits who would jump at the chance to get the chance to play for them. Alabama just happens to have done this extremely effectively for the last 4 or 5 years, which is why they have signed 20-30 more recruits in that time than many other elite schools.

I think the NCAA (or more likely the new governing body of the super-conferences in the future when they abandon the NCAA) needs to simply have a hard limit each year for how many scholarships can be given out (say 22 or so), with no roster cap. That way teams are not rewarded for players transferring out of their program. They should be responsible for keeping the recruits they sign, and if they can't then that is on them. Likewise, teams that have players go pro after 3 years won't be rewarded for that either. That might help non-elite schools have a bit more even field than they have right now.

There were 9 seniors that signed scholarships out of HS or JUCO.

There were more actually on scholarship. 2 were awarded to walk-ons this year that are never counted in that number.

We know 3 Jrs are leaving, although that number expects to go up to at least 4, possibly even 5. That 15-16 scholarships right there. There's one sign and place that is committed so, assuming we do go to 25, it is actually 24.

There are about 5 or 6 4th year guys that will not be back for their 5th year I would imagine as well. Some will make a big deal about that, but some schools award the 5th year at the end already...and in most cases the 5th year isn't awarded (Notre Dame and Stanford are 2 that do that). They avoid the scrutiny by doing it that way, but it's the same thing.

So actually, you have 20-22 spots depending on this or that at the moment.

Personally, I don't care how it works out, but there it is. Football players shouldn't be babied because they were once good.

define scholarship

I agree

Not really. Most students are either paying their own way or their parents are. Scholarship athletes don't belong in the same category, IMO.