Epps: Saban puts pressure on rest of SEC

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — He confidently walked — no, glided — to the podium with a wry smile and a pink tie. Man, he was pumped. He used words like “happy” and “ecstatic” to describe his mood.

You won’t believe this, but I’m talking about Nick Saban. I’ve never seen him so enthusiastic, so fervent, so ... glowing. So at ease with himself that he answered every question casually, even the ones about individual players he typically avoids because he doesn’t want to establish any expectations.

There’s no controlling expectations now. Alabama, according to the Rivals.com team rankings, just landed the nation’s top recruiting class for the second straight year.

Saban’s class last year signaled that his impact was real. The meaning of this one? You can take away his defensive coordinator, you can take away his best recruiter, but you cannot take away his influence. Alabama football has one face and one voice, and that is Nicholas Lou Saban.

“I think that I probably had a pretty good idea going to bed last night what most of these guys were going to do,” Saban said, and my first thought was, Saban sleeps?

On a wild signing day featuring numerous last-minute switches among impact players, Alabama didn’t lose a single commitment Wednesday (and only one total) even with top recruiter Lance Thompson now at Tennessee. The Tide stunningly swiped receiver Kenny Bell from LSU.

Maybe Saban’s glow Wednesday reflected the news he received just minutes before his news conference, when star running back Trent Richardson announced his intentions to sign with Alabama. Richardson weighs 225 pounds and still finished fifth in the 100-meter dash as a junior in Florida’s 5A meet.

Saban opened his remarks with, “I’ve seen every Bama hat there is. I liked that last one, though. That was a pretty good one.”

Maybe Saban was thrilled to fill so many needs, which makes this class even better than last year’s impressive haul. Lose Glen Coffee to the NFL? Enter Richardson.

Lose Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis? Alabama signed, and I may be off by one or two here, every single offensive line prospect in the country. One of them, D.J. Fluker, is 6-foot-7 and weighs 350 pounds.

“I’m happy to step right in for Coffee and play behind D.J. Fluker,” Richardson said.

Lacking depth at linebacker? Saban signed two of the nation’s best in North Jackson’s Tana Patrick and Nico Johnson out of Andalusia, Ala.

Maybe Saban appeared giddy because while one superlative class gives you a chance, two in a row signals the start of an elite program. Or maybe it’s because this class signifies that Alabama is sought by high school stars for its program and not the face of an assistant coach. As Saban said before the Senior Bowl, “(Recruits) are really buying into the whole program. So the guy that sells you the car is maybe not as important as the car itself.”

This is not to demean the efforts of Thompson and the rest of Lane Kiffin’s staff at Tennessee. Not even Saban could sign a top class during his transition to Alabama. Kiffin and his boys shouldn’t be judged until the 2010 class. (Side note: Credit to Gene Chizik for rescuing this year’s class at Auburn.)

The real fun between Alabama and Tennessee in recruiting starts now. I believe Tennessee’s coaching model, when the head coach makes a little less and the assistants a little more, will be adopted by more schools.

It won’t happen at Alabama, where Saban is earning his $4 million check. We’ll see who wins the recruiting battle in 2010. We’ll see what Saban’s mood is like this time next year. The Vols can’t lose this competition again. They’re already two elite signing classes behind.

E-mail Darren Epps at depps@timesfreepress.com