Nick Saban ruled over College Football for decades as Alabama's Head Coach, whether it was on or off the field. If you faced Nick Saban on the field, you were in trouble, as the Crimson Tide won 6 National Championships and 9 SEC Championships under his watch. The only area Nick Saban may have been more dominant than on the field was on the recruiting trail, as he constantly got his pick of the Nation's biggest playmakers.
If you held a commitment from a player or felt good about where the recruitment was heading, Nick Saban's scholarship offer to the recruit felt like a death blow. Nick Saban constantly said he couldn't coach bad players and his dominance on the recruiting trail made sure he never was tasked with doing so.
Alabama Running Back Jam Miller is a great example of how Nick Saban was able to enter a recruitment and turn it in his favor in a moment. The Tyler, Texas native committed to the In-State Longhorns in June of his Junior year making his family of Texas fans very happy.
The Crimson Tide lurked in the recruitment and, after getting him on campus for a game visit in October, truly started to turn up the heat. On November 25th, 2021, Miller flipped his commitment and would sign with Alabama in December, dealing a massive blow to Texas' recruiting class.
At Alabama's Media Day on Monday, Jam Miller was asked about his recruitment, where he told the story about how the Crimson Tide ended up pulling off a Thanksgiving flip.
"It’s going to sound messed up, but I knew Alabama, but I didn’t really know Alabama, how great they was. I always grew up a Texas fan. My godparents, they went to Texas, graduated from Texas. Whole time, since I was little, mind was ‘If I get an offer from Texas, I’m going to Texas.’ I believe it was my junior year, I committed to Texas… did the whole process. OVs, all that. Later, I ended up getting an offer from Bama. Everybody was like ‘Bama is a big thing.’ Bama has been great for so many years."Jam Miller
After talking about the pull Alabama had as a program and how much Texas meant to his family, Jam Miller shared the story about officially flipping his commitment and how he likely ruined the Thanksgiving of Texas' Running Backs coach Stan Drayton.
"It was Thanksgiving night, it was me and my Mom in the car, we were just talking. ‘You’ve got to make a decision now.’ And that night, I remember calling the Texas running back coach and telling him ‘I’m decommitting from Texas.’ And that broke a lot of family members’ hearts… But I had to make the best decision for me"Jam Miller
The 2024 season proved to be a breakout year for Jam Miller as he rushed for 668 yards and 7 touchdowns while adding 155 yards and a score receiving. As Jalen Milroe and Justice Haynes departed this offseason, Jam Miller is poised to lead Alabama in carries and could further drive home the sentiment that he made a great decision in flipping to Alabama.