College Sports

TALLADEGA — Two days after more than 150,000 fans took in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama football coach Nick Saban drew a far smaller, but arguably no less enthusiastic, crowd for the local stop on the first-ever Crimson Caravan.

Saban was the star attraction for an event that drew close to 600 Crimson Tide fans from the Birmingham and northeast Alabama areas Tuesday night. But before taking the stage at the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame's Speed Channel Dome, Saban, his wife Terry and a handful of staff members took a spin around the race track in the pace car.

"Terry wouldn't let us go that fast, thank goodness," Saban said. "I would have gone faster. The Mississippi state police (clocked) me going faster than that when we beat Ole Miss up there in 2003 than we went today."

Saban's stop at TSS on Tuesday was the third of eight he and other athletic department officials will make around the state and region in a three-week span as part of the Crimson Caravan, a fund-raising event that athletic department spokesman Jeff Purinton said was largely Saban's idea. Tickets for the event cost $100 each, with all proceeds funding athletic and academic scholarships at the university.

Until this year, Saban had spent the months of April and May visiting high schools around the region as part of the spring recruiting season. But a newly adopted NCAA bylaw — commonly known as the "Saban rule" — prohibits head coaches from recruiting off-campus during the spring.

Saban has adjusted his schedule somewhat, but that doesn't mean he's stopped recruiting during the spring.

"I try to spend as much time recruiting being off the road, as I did when I was on the road, in terms of calling high school coaches, doing some of the video conferencing (with prospects) and some of the other things that are more personal than just a phone call," he said. "We're still very involved in the evaluation. We're just going to have to have a couple of (assistant) coaches do the cross-checks."

Saban spoke publicly Tuesday for the first time since last weekend's NFL draft, in which no Alabama player was selected for the first time since 1970. Saban said he thought that wide receiver DJ Hall, defensive back Simeon Castille and defensive end Wallace Gilberry "could have been drafted, maybe should have been drafted," but said he hoped the fact that they we were not would serve as an example to present and future Alabama players.

"From a program standpoint, we want our players to get drafted," Saban said. "I think it serves us well if we've got a lot of guys drafted and drafted high. But I also think it sends a message to the guys that are there right now that the guys that get drafted in the first round not only have a tremendous amount of talent, but they also do things right. They do the right thing. They work hard. They develop. They have a great reputation.

"You find out from a business standpoint that's the kind of character that people want to represent their organization. This is the first opportunity some of these guys get to find out what the real world is all about it. (Pro football) is business, and consistency in performance is very important in that."

Five Crimson Tide players agreed to free-agent contracts with NFL teams on Sunday or Monday — Hall (Giants), Gilberry (also Giants), Castille (Bengals), offensive lineman Justin Britt (also Bengals) and wide receiver Matt Caddell (Rams). Two others followed on Tuesday, linebacker Keith Saunders (Patriots) and offensive lineman Chris Capps (Texans).

Saban said those players might be better served in the long run by being free agents rather than late-round draft picks. Saban pointed to a pair of his former LSU players. Defensive linemen Eric Alexander and defensive back Randall Gay went undrafted out of college but have enjoyed long pro careers after singing as free agents.

"You get to pick your team (as a free agent)," Saban said. "Eric Alexander and Randall Gay were both free agents. They go to the Patriots. They both have three Super Bowl rings, and they're both still playing in the league four or five years later.

"But they got to pick their team. If you get drafted, you have to go to that team, and maybe it's not a good situation at your position. But if somebody's going to sign you as a free agent, there is probably a need at your position. It gives you a tremendous chance to make that team. Everybody's looking for those types of guys to make their team."