The simple answer is because he's someone Saban wanted.
Everything you said has to be colored with "because of that stupid SEC signing limit". I suppose the response to your question is, you can't just throw away talent because of the rule.
It was an overreaction to carefully calculated propaganda. You notice the issue has almost gone away once the SEC self-imposed the limit. The ACC teams are still "oversigning", but the people that were pushing this were trying to go after the SEC, not the ACC. If it doesn't impact the BCSCG this year, it will in the next couple of years. No team is good enough to pull a couple key players off of it and make no difference. All anyone has to do is look at Saban's first #1 class at Alabama, and consider what that looks like under the current SEC rule.
Edit: By the way, Nutt signed 37 in 2009.
But, to underscore what happened here just take a look at some numbers (I'm saying signed, but of course there can be any number of complicated issues). I left out the service academies because I'm not sure what's up with their having over 40 some years.
In 2012 Texas signed 28 and Miami signed 33, Northern Illinois signed 30, and Cincinnati signed 29.
In 2011 USC signed 30, FSU, and UCF signed 29.
In 2010 Miami signed 29, Troy signed 34 and Washington signed 31.
In 2009 UNC signed 29, Troy signed 40?, and USF signed 30.
In 2008 Miami signed 32, Minnesota (yes, a Big 10 team) signed 30, Troy signed 33, Kansas State signed 32, and VT signed 31.
in 2007 Oregon signed 29, Oregon St. signed 35, Kansas State signed 33, and Southern Miss signed 32.
In 2006 Texas Tech signed 34, Oregon St. signed 33, and Kansas State signed 30.
I ended it at 2006, because that kind of summed things up well. Did you hear anyone bash Kansas State for signing a full 85 over three years? Oregon St. for having 68 in two years? I left out SEC programs to make the point that this phenomena is not and was not limited to the SEC. Sure, it can get out of hand, like Nutt did by signing a lot of kids he knew wouldn't be eligible, but the resolution was the previous signing limit of 28, which left room to deal with academic casualties, MLB players and the like. The signing limit of 25 was one of the stupidest things the SEC has done. That means on any given class, two or three kids could be playing for Miami, FSU or the like because the SEC program they wanted to go to couldn't sign them.
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