Nick Saban Admits To Tampering With Quinyon Mitchell During Live NFL Draft Coverage

Former Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was selected 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday, which isn’t the most surprising thing in the world. Mitchell was pegged as a first round pick in virtually every mock draft and was considered one of the top prospects in the entire class.

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t shocked at all considering he tried to lure Mitchell to Tuscaloosa last offseason. 

"He was our No. 1 guy in the portal last year to try to get him to come out of the portal, and he would never get in the portal," Saban said while serving as a draft analyst on ABC. 

Now, you might be asking yourself ‘hey, isn’t that tampering?’ 

Yes. Yes it is. 

Nick Saban and Quinyon Mitchell. (Getty Images)

Did Nick Saban And Alabama Tamper With Quinyon Mitchell?

Was Saban the first coach tampering with players who might be interested in leaving their current schools? Absolutely not. He won’t be the last either. The practice is as widespread as pollen in April in the south. However, it is quite funny considering that Saban himself lamented the current state of the sport in a story from ESPN in February.

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"I thought we could have a hell of a team next year, and then 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'm going to play because they're thinking about transferring, and how much are you going to pay me?" Saban said.

The fact that the best college football coach in the history of the sport would openly admit to tampering during one of the biggest sports events of the year is a perfect encapsulation of the wild world of the sport. 

Will this become an issue for Alabama? Probably not. The NCAA is tied up like a ball of yarn with all of its legal issues, and going after the best coach of all-time after he retired doesn't seem like a responsible use of its time. However, it is likely that the NCAA can use Saban exposing a massive flaw in its transfer recruiting process to the rest of the world as a starting point for some kind of reform or attempt to streamline the process.

Simply put, there are no rules. 

NIL inducements can come from anywhere. Recruiting current players to stick around is common practice. Phone calls and texts are made across the country to future players 24/7/365 and the only way to stay competitive is to live in the gray area between what is allowed and what’s forbidden.

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The sport is beautifully dysfunctional in every way, and Saban reaffirmed that notion on Thursday night on national television.