Alabama Football: 5 biggest recruiting steals of Nick Saban era

Recruiting has always been at the highest level with Alabama football. Who have the Tide stolen from other schools during Saban’s reign?

Recruiting in college football has always been an interesting concept. For entire high school careers, star players are told by coaches around the country how they can help make them better players, get them educations, and take them to the NFL.

Players have to make decisions as to where they will spend the next four years of their lives. Should they go to the smaller school so they can get playing time early, or should they go to a top school that competes for titles? Alabama football has mastered the art of convincing stars to join their squad, and they have turned them into NFL talents.

Most of these decisions come down to the wire. Very few recruits have the luxury of knowing exactly where they want to go to college. The majority of players end up making a decision with at least some doubt. Whether it’s teams across the country or in-state rivals, these players with question marks can be swayed at the last minute to change their minds.

Alabama has been good at stealing some of these players at the last minute. As Nick Saban has built his empire on recruiting classes, he has ruffled some feathers and stolen some top recruits from other teams. Whether they are rivals or random opponents, he has kept other teams from having great recruiting classes as he has stacked his own.

As you look at previous recruiting classes, stories arise of some of these players. Players who were either committed to other teams or were projected to go to other schools, yet they still enrolled at the University of Alabama.

So, who were Alabama’s biggest steals in recruiting while Saban has been in charge? Here are my top five.