Ex-Alabama football player understands why Nick Saban retired.
Nick Saban’s retirement forever altered college football, and it was a specific development in the sport that prompted the NCAA-record seven-time national champion to step down.
Nick Saban’s departure has forever altered college football, and while the seven-time national champion has defended his decision, several of his former players have their own opinions as to why he turned away from the game he helped define in the twenty-first century.
Former Crimson Tide defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry believes that certain aspects of the new NIL regime in college football influenced Saban’s decision.
“I definitely think that,” McKinstry stated on Robert Griffin III’s podcast, RG3 and the Ones. “I was in the last class where we didn’t have to worry about asking for money or anything like that after high school.
“People are worried about the wrong thing. They are worried about money. Like, he always looked at it as if you’d make money after you made it to the league. I’m just here to help you be a better man, a better athlete, and earn as much money as you want in the league.”
McKinstry went on to say, “There is money here [in college], but it isn’t the money that will help you care for your family or change your generational wealth. Coach Saban has always desired the best for us as players and individuals.”
These remarks match what Saban has said about his career and the NIL system.
After retiring, Saban stated that during his final season, “maybe 70 or 80 percent of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: what assurances do I have that I’ll play because they’re thinking about transferring; and how much are you going to pay me?”
READ MORE:
JC Latham educates Alabama’s Tyler Booker on the NFL selection process and discusses Saban’s impact.
The Trench King held court in a corner chamber of downtown Detroit’s vast One Campus Martius building. JC Latham, dressed in a glittering black suit and a snug Tennessee Titans cap, sat down as the newest member of the NFL draft class of 2024.
He had seen Deion Sanders become Primetime, and he wanted his own nickname, Latham revealed in his post-draft press conference. The offensive and defensive lines are referred to as the “trench” where the game is won; after establishing himself as a prospect on both sides of that struggle, Latham declared himself lord of the line of scrimmage. He demonstrated it at IMG (Fla.) Academy, then Tuscaloosa, and finally to new Titans head coach Brian Callahan and second-year general manager Ron Carthon.
Carthon told the Nashville media that Latham will move to left tackle. Latham will work with Brian’s father, Bill Callahan, a 22-year NFL offensive line coach who most recently worked for the Cleveland Browns. Draft experts praised the duo, seeing how the Callahans could shape Latham’s frame and potential.
Latham last played left tackle at IMG, alongside Tyler Booker. The two formed a bond — similar to what Latham did with UA’s prior first-round tackle selection, Evan Neal, another IMG alum — that carried over to Alabama. Booker, like Latham a year ago, is entering his junior year as a potential top prospect. Latham provided some advice to the new alpha in the Tide’s position group.
“That is my guy, T-Book. I tell him to enjoy the process. I didn’t expect to lose to Michigan, so I knew there was a chance I may lose and that would be it, and you just looked back and thought, wow, not long ago you were a freshman in a dorm battling with the Fourth Quarter Program, and now you’re considered a top ten choice in the NFL. Time really flies.
“I advise him to enjoy the process without rushing it. I think he’s doing an excellent job at it. Some guys say, “Man, I don’t care about next season.” I am only looking for the NFL. He’s doing an excellent job of not only putting the team first, with guys receiving credit, but he also understands that I’ll do it step by step and piece by piece.”
Across the street, on the set of ESPN’s CollegeGameDay, Saban evaluated all first-round picks, including former players. He described Latham as one of the most “strong” and effective leaders he’s had in the trenches at UA.
Latham got this approach from his father, Jerome Latham, and it was reinforced at a strong high school in Wisconsin, then in Florida with George Hegamin, a Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys and current Colorado assistant, and finally with Nick Saban.
“Saban had a significant impact on myself and everyone else, both on and off the field. If you want to be a leader, you must hold others accountable. If you want to be popular, sell ice cream. “Those are the things I took from him,” Latham explained.
Jerome believed that their system would help Latham develop into a first-round choice. He became one on Thursday night.
