Link: Coach Lance Thompson leaves Bama for Tennessee. How does this affect this class?

[Tidetwin]

AMEN!

. . . and they hate us. All is right in the world.

 

[BamaBuff24]

Some of you folks are killing me. You are started to sound like LSU fans and
Miami Dolphins fans. This is part of the business, you either except it or pick up another sport. Did they move Bryant-Denny Stadium or Coleman Coliseum? No, they are still there and will not move no matter what happens. I do not blame Tenn. for anything. CLK has an obligation to Tenn just like CNS has an obligation to Ala. Lance did a great job for us so be grateful. If nobody comes after your recruits or coaches you need to stop and think about.

Why don't we just tell Saban it was all a big mistake...we want to go back to 6-6 seasons and play ULM on a regular basis. We are sorry to have wasted your time. We will buy a condo in Shreveport so we can have permanent residence in the Independence Bowl. We want to go back there because we are a bunch of whining babies that can not handle success.


Chill and have a very good Roll Tide Recruiting Season.

 

[bayoutider]

Some of you folks are killing me. You are started to sound like LSU fans and
Miami Dolphins fans. This is part of the business, you either except it or pick up another sport. Did they move Bryant-Denny Stadium or Coleman Coliseum? No, they are still there and will not move no matter what happens. I do not blame Tenn. for anything. CLK has an obligation to Tenn just like CNS has an obligation to Ala. Lance did a great job for us so be grateful. If nobody comes after your recruits or coaches you need to stop and think about.

Why don't we just tell Saban it was all a big mistake...we want to go back to 6-6 seasons and play ULM on a regular basis. We are sorry to have wasted your time. We will buy a condo in Shreveport so we can have permanent residence in the Independence Bowl. We want to go back there because we are a bunch of whining babies that can not handle success.


Chill and have a very good Roll Tide Recruiting Season.

That really did need to be said. If no one wants your coaches you probably could have done better.

 

[Airborne Tider]

That really did need to be said. If no one wants your coaches you probably could have done better.

And the truth shall set you free. RTR.:BigA:

 

[rolltidescott]

Maybe we'll let TR tag on ANOTHER touchdown late aginst UT next year "just for Lance".

 

[Crimson Surfer]

Former assistant coach Lance Thompson calls move from Alabama to Tennessee 'business'

A day after leaving Alabama's football staff for rival Tennessee, assistant coach and touted recruiter Lance Thompson cited career ambitions as his reason, not unhappiness or a pay increase.

"I could have stayed at Alabama and been a recruiter, always been a recruiter, and five years from now I still would be the same guy," Thompson told the Press-Register on Friday afternoon while in between meetings at UT.

Thompson called it a "gut-wrenching" choice to leave the Crimson Tide after two seasons. Without elaborating, he also said it "was a little bit of a personal and a family decision with our situation."

 

[bamadp]

I do not blame Tenn. for anything. CLK has an obligation to Tenn

99% of Bama fans understand and expect our asst. coaches to move on, but the majority also see what the intent was.
Q. What obligation did CLK fulfill by hiring CLT now that he couldn't fulfill in a month?
A. His obligation to hurt Bama.
So I do blame CLK and Tennessee, not for trying to help his program, but for trying to hurt ours.

 

[JohnnyBlaze]

I think what is getting lost in the discussion is that kids do NOT commit to assistant coaches. They commit to head coaches and programs. College Football has and will ALWAYS be driven by the head coaches. They are the faces of the program. I think someone mentioned Pete Carroll earlier, and i think it is an excellent analogy. How many coaches have they lost over the past 8 years? Are they any worse off?

I believe what sets Coach Saban apart from other head coaches when it comes to recruiting is his ability to put in the extra time to get to know these high school coaches and he recruits and develops relationships with each prospect extremely early. To do this effectively you must put in an extraordinary amount of time and resources. Few head coaches are willing to make that sacrifice, but Coach Saban is. The big reason we recruit the gulf coast so well, is because he has relationships with those high school coaches since his days at LSU. I realize UT plans to use LT to get in that area and hurt us in the process, but I believe they will be sorely mistaken come next year.

As for Trent Richardson, I have little doubt he will commit to Alabama, mainly because of the points i made above. We have been on this kid for a very long time...long before anybody on this board knew anything about him. TR will look out for #1 just like LT did. We have playing time available and it has been documented throughout the Saban era that he will play Freshman early and often...if they can contribute. The smart money is on Bama for TR.

 

[BamaBuff24]

You look on the SEC coaching staffs and you will see that most of the Coaches
have coached at more than one SEC team.

Nick Saban hired coaches away from their previous schools. If he had waited after signing day to hire coaches, I would of been concern. CNS is a great recruiter but you cannot effectively do the team any justice by doing it by yourself. That is why he hires good coaches that can recruit.

If the departure of CLT effects our recruiting class this year then that tells me
he was the only one doing his Job. I do not think that is the case.

If I was coaching a SEC school I definitely would be looking in the SEC conference first to set up my coaching staff.

 

[p'colabamaman]

Will Trent Richardson Change His Mind

This article was in the Pensacola News-Journal this morning. He is still committed to Bama, but.........I'm not sure.

[url]http://www.pnj.com/article/20090117/SPORTS/901170314/1002[/URL]

 

[Jack Bourbon]

Re: Will Trent Richardson Change His Mind

I'm not Future Trent Richardson, so I don't know the answer to your question.

 

[rolltideface]

Re: Will Trent Richardson Change His Mind

He was still set to take these other visits even with LT here so I'm not anymore concerned than I would have been anyway. I guess the UT visit is a new occurance but oh well. He will have to sit down and decide what's best for him, let's hope he makes the right decision- I bet he will.

 

[BAMAMICH]

Re: Will Trent Richardson Change His Mind

Trent said the following in that article ..."Now I'm just going to take my visits, but I'm still committed to Alabama."

Not again, he as not de-committed nor did he say he was going to, he's just going to take his visits like he said he would. And I say take them, if there's one off chance that he could find a better fit that he could than he has with UA right now, than he should take it.

We're talking about this young man's future, lets keep that in mind first. He has to do what's best for him. Right now, I do believe he won't find a better situation to be in than UA's right now tho.

UT wasn't able to even run the ball that game, let alone pass for any significant yards. It's going to take some time for that program to be rebuilt and the only way they can be successful in the SEC is pass UGA and UF ... and last time I checked, they're pretty much set for the next few seasons or so.

I say all that to say ... lets CHILL OUT and let the young man make the decision that's best for HIM ... not for us fans ...

 

[LCN]

Maybe we'll let TR tag on ANOTHER touchdown late aginst UT next year "just for Lance".

Thanks . I would appreciate that

 

[BAMAMICH]

I do have to say the situation is really funny tho. CLK is really trying to flip that program back in shape (which is what UT is paying him to do) ... by going out and making up his staff with the some league's best recruiters.

Problem is, most of the states he targeted have programs that will be significantly better that UT so what reason would they have to leave the state?

UA is now the solid program in the state, Old Miss will be the solid program in their state, LSU, UGA son on and so forth. At the most, he may pick up a few 3 stars from the states, that about it.

The only state he may have some immediate success in is South Carolina. But even then, UT is competing against, USC, Clemson, UGA, and UF for signatures. He will most likely sure up all the top talent in Tenn, which in all honestly, he's supposed to do anyway.

And even after that ... he somehow has to build a program that's better than the top teams in the SEC East ...

 

[Crimson Surfer]

Re: Will Trent Richardson Change His Mind

This article was in the Pensacola News-Journal this morning. He is still committed to Bama, but.........I'm not sure.

[url]http://www.pnj.com/article/20090117/SPORTS/901170314/1002[/URL]

Thanks for posting that article. There are two really good things in it besides the title 'Trent still rollin' with the Tide.' First and foremost Richardson is still committed to Bama with no real indications that his commitment is wavering and secondly and probably the most important "Academically, Richardson learned that he is fully qualified so long as he maintains his GPA for his final semester."

As TIDE-HSV, RTO, myself and others have said LT's departure to UT should not have any affect on any of the Bama commits or prospects and that is certainly the case with Richardson. He was taking his visits and he had also scheduled the UT visit prior to LT going to UT. Besides that LT has a given a pledge to CNS that he will not personally go after any of the Bama commits or prospects. Of course that will not stop the UT staff but I do not believe they will get a single commit or prospect that Bama wants because of LT being at UT.

 

[Airborne Tider]

Fact of the matter is LT leaving will have no impact on this class. Even if TR went elsewhere, which is a BIG IF, it would be for other reasons. And if he did leave it would not be for UT. And I fully believe he knows that Bama is the best place for him and he has developed a lot of great relationships with our players and current commits. He has become great friends with Julio and I know that Mark Ingram is helping him study the playbook. He also is always talking to DJ, AJ, and Dre and you know Nico talks us up as well. I think those relationships are the most important recruiting tool we have and TR signs his LOI to come to The Capstone on Feb. 4th. Not to mention he would have a LOT of Bama stuff to get rid of if he went some where else.

 

[Airborne Tider]

Also there was a little quote on ESPN radio from Rece Davis that went something like, "if an assistant coach is more important than your head coach, then you have the wrong head coach.":BigA:

 

[mkb193]

I agree with the posters saying that this isn't nearly as big a deal as people are making it out to be. While assistant coaches are essential to recruiting, this late in the game the head coaches certainly have relationships with these recruits. The fact of the matter is that Lance Thompson didn't make Saban the recruiter he is, but I'm sure that Saban has had a huge hand in turning Thompson into the recruiter he has become. Let's not forget who is really in charge here, Saban will keep Richardson at bama.

 

[Crimson Surfer]

Alabama will find out how valuable Lance Thompson really was

In the midst of a second essential official visit weekend, one that includes three players for which Thompson was the primary recruiter, coach Nick Saban is no doubt attempting to convince quarterback AJ McCarron of St. Paul's-Mobile, linebacker Nico Johnson of Andalusia and linebacker Jonathan Atchison of Douglass-Atlanta, among others, that the sum is greater than the hole Thompson left.

Not that they all need convincing.

"I was surprised," McCarron said, "but it's not that big a deal. I'm closer to (offensive coordinator) Jim McElwain, anyway."

McCarron was adamant that the departure of the super recruiter wouldn't dramatically alter the 2009 class. Experts agree. After all, Saban is a better recruiter than anyone.