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And now Jonathan Taylor....again

It's obvious that Taylor didn't deserve a second chance. Sometimes though, where grace is concerned, deserve has nothing to do with it.

Before we lampoon CNS, I'll say that his intentions matter in these cases. If he was genuinely trying to help the young man and concerned about his potential to lead a good, productive life despite his past transgressions, I'm all for stepping out on a limb once in awhile. Some people need advocates, even if they don't deserve it.

Unfortunately, sometimes the limb you step out on breaks. It's a black eye for Coach and UA, but one we'll recover from. The saddest part of all of this is the potential that Taylor threw away.


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2003TIDE said:
Hindsight is 20/20. If he would have been a superstar for us, the same people saying how they never wanted him here would be saying how great of a pickup he was.

Anyway he's gone and needs help that he wasn't going to get by playing football for UA in the first place.
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NOT ! i wrote Saban AND Battle of my objection to this guy. He should never have been admitted to The University with felony charges pending.

It was purely Saban trying to win football games (and I'm for that of course) but the price/risk on this guy was Far too great.
 
TideMom2Boys said:
I don't blame Saban..he thought he could change. Well he didn't and now this is where Saban needs to make the right decision and kick him off the team.
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Yep. It seems Taylor did pretty good at the JUCO, so more than likely Coach Saban and Battle figured he probably changed. Sadly they were proven to be very wrong. I didn't like the signing, but I understand why Coach did it. He truly thought he could help this moron.

selmaborntidefan said:
I didn't know the full story (I pay no attention to recruiting), so I'll just say while it's easy for me to say, I wouldn't have let him come here knowing what I know now. That said, he's gone and here's hoping it gets his attention (but I fear it won't).
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Well he was only offered and signed if agreed to go to anger management, volunteer at a battered women's shelter and stay out of trouble. He was told the FIRST strike here would be his last and Coach kept up his word by booting him and rightfully so.
 
RJ YellowHammer said:
Before we lampoon CNS, I'll say that his intentions matter in these cases. If he was genuinely trying to help the young man and concerned about his potential to lead a good, productive life despite his past transgressions, I'm all for stepping out on a limb once in awhile. Some people need advocates, even if they don't deserve it.
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I get it, but a 4* or 5* guy will get a second chance somewhere - not sure why Alabama needs to be 'second chance central'.
 
crimsonaudio said:
I get it, but a 4* or 5* guy will get a second chance somewhere - not sure why Alabama needs to be 'second chance central'.
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Isn't this the first time we have given someone a second chance, under these conditions, that wasn't already with the program. I wouldn't exactly call that second chance central..
 
I guess he didn't understand what zero tolerance meant. I don't have a problem with Saban giving him ma second chance. JT blew it, next time we see him don't forget to tell him to super size your order.
 
Actually, I hope UA reaches out and makes sure the victim is taken care of.

I doubt that there is any written protocol for who can get a second chance (and there probably can't be), but I assume that you look at the prior offense as well as evaluation of how the potential player has done things to turn his life around. Even then it's a judgment call and a gamble. The nature of gambles is that sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. This one clearly didn't.
 
crimsonaudio said:
I get it, but a 4* or 5* guy will get a second chance somewhere - not sure why Alabama needs to be 'second chance central'.
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If you're analyzing the scholarship offer solely on a risk vs. reward basis then Taylor shouldn't have been offered a scholarship to attend The University of Alabama. Some cases don't fit neatly into a risk matrix though. CNS recruited this young man out of high school, likely developed a relationship with he and his family, and, hopefully, thought he could help.

It's natural for intelligent people, familiar with the media and coach speak, to be cynical when it comes to matters like these. I am. But I'm going to take what Coach says about his reasons for preferring college coaching to coaching in the NFL at face value because I believe he could be successful in the pros; he wants to make an impact in young men's lives. Watch his impassioned press conference about "second chances" and tell me he doesn't believe he's doing the right thing.

The HC at UA must win. Most of us would like to think that CNS's desire for "everyone associated with the program to be better off bc of that association" isn't just hot air. I'd probably feel differently about it if DT were a position of "need" for 2015, but we're loaded. This feels to me like a case where the player needed the team more than the team needed the player. If CNS thought he was helping, then good on him. It's a shame Jonathan Taylor didn't capitalize.


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I seem to be in the minority here...but here goes. To Coach Saban...nice try. You took what you thought was a risk worth taking. Sometimes these things just don't work out. I'll not fault you for trying to help someone turn their life around. To Jonathan Taylor...shame on you! You have harmed so many people, physically, as well as people putting their faith in that you were worthy of a second chance. And now, you will pay a price that will haunt you for the rest of your life. The fame and monetary punishment that will result in your poor judgment is a pain that will cost not only you, but whatever family you might, or will have. Good luck, you will need it. You're not very good at creating your own.

Roll Tide!
 
bamagradinATL said:
I agree you can't save them all, but how does Saban know which ones will make the most of a 2nd chance?
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The thing is you don't know. People should get second chances especially if they can show remorse by willing to make amends and taking some kind of action that demonstrates you are sincere about not letting it happen again. That being said and done, a person can still screw up after being given a second chance. In no way does this reflect badly on Coach Saban, Mr Battle or the program. Of course, now everyone is a Captain Hindsight.

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crimsonaudio said:
I get it, but a 4* or 5* guy will get a second chance somewhere - not sure why Alabama needs to be 'second chance central'.
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There is no denying that being a halfway home for discipline rejects of other major programs has worked to great effect for many other top programs. Right across the state is a sterling example of the practice producing SEC and national champions. I'm assuming the growing number of second chance signings was Saban realizing he couldn't afford to say no to talent. It burned us this time but you don't have to look far for when it paid off.

It is always the risk with this stuff: you can have a Jonathan Taylor situation where it is immediate eggs in the face or if the player stays out of trouble then by October Gameday will be doing a human interest piece with Tom Reali about the kid learning lessons and becoming a better man.

I guess what I'm saying is - that despite me not wanting us to have anything to do with Taylor from the start - that there will probably be more signings like this one. The 24 hour news cycle is going to love this story into Monday, everyone but rivals will forget it (they love their ammo for smacktalk and hate), but if it worked out then the same media people would be writing human interest pieces about transformations. Being pragmatic, I know, but just a reality of this circus called sports media.
 
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theballguy said:
Kind of sick and tired of many people criticizing the coach lately. I'd like to know who you would nominate that would do a better job than Nick Saban right now.
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Ballguy, nobody is saying the coach is doing anything less than a superb job, but nobody is above criticism. This isn't a monarchy, and this one stunk from the outset.
 
Saw on Sportscenter where he has been dismissed. What a phenomenal opportunity Taylor has squandered. Don't blame coach for giving him a chance. It is totally Taylor's responsibility and loss.
 
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