Failing at the NFL and him accepting college football was his ultimate barometer is what helped Saban more than anything. He'd have done at LSU what he's doing at bama had he been 100% dedicated to LSU being his legacy. After the Dolphins he knew bama would define his career. He was all in in a way he'd never been before. He also never stops growing because he has the one quality i look for in the greats.. He hates to lose far more than he enjoys winning.
The reality is college football has nothing to do with college anymore. It's about winning and making money. In fact, I would venture to say probably 80 percent of the elite players that are signed around the country can't read or write on a high school level. They're recruited and paid to win, period!
The transfer portal gets crazier every day. Caleb Williams and Dillon Gabriel have entered and re-entered the portal. Williams after an outstanding year as freshman QB at Oklahoma and Gabriel who played at UCF the said he was going to UCLA switches to Oklahoma. The foundation that made college football great has cracked and I’m afraid it will destroy the game as we know it.
College players now have fewer restraints on freedom of movement and $$ negotiations than any any athlete in any professional league. And its impossible to unscramble this egg now that its been cooked and served. There will eventually be rules around this because anarchy does not work as a permanent condition. But there there is no doubt that college football will change in ways we cannot comprehend