DeBoer gets his first transfer ... and it's a QB. Austin Mack

[Bamabuzzard]

I’m guessing he was recruited at Washington, so they may have already had familiarity with him.

Julian Sayin Timeline Events

247sports.com

Washington didn’t even offer him. So there is that.

If I'm not mistaken someone showed yesterday Sayin was offered by UW. But that is irrelevant. If him literally being asked or "highly encouraged " to leave and not even being given a shot at competing is true. I would love to know why because the staff has tape on Milroe as well and if we all can see his limitations then the new staff certainly can and certainly can project those issues wrt running their offense. So that begs the question, what did they see or experience with Sayin to encourage him to go? It can't be because they're more familiar with Mack, because they're more familiar with Mack than Milroe and Simpson. Are they asking them to transfer to? Something ain't passing the smell test on this one. 🤔

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Yep. I’m sensing it’s Mack/Lonergan at the end. And that’s a risk for the hold over captains like Booker, Lawson, Moore, Campbell etc - because I believe that would test their loyalty.

we are in a high risk high reward situation

You could be right about Mack vs Dylan.

I think Ty has a shot because of how talented he is throwing and running.

If things clicked mentally he would hard to beat but if they don’t then yeah he would be just as much on the outs as Milroe.

As far as the risk reward thing it may sound crazy but I’m willing to lose players and games to get that ‘Our Guy’ loyalty completely out of the program.

That USF game from last year never sat well with me and I don’t ever want to see another game like it.

I’d rather see ‘leaders/starters’ benched and 2nd string guys in that play just as hard no matter who is QB.

 

[BamaMoon]

I am seriously wondering what they could have seen (on tape or in a one on one meeting) to basically ask the kid to leave? If it were something on tape then I expect Milroe to be asked to leave next week...like Monday morning when the offices open.

Having reflected on this situation for almost a whole day I still don't buy the idea (even though someone with inside knowledge said this) that CKD met with JS for 5 minutes and JS got the impression he was no longer wanted.

It's not scientific of course, but the "smell test" works about as well as anything when it comes to internet rumor and this one just does not pass the smell test.

Now, putting that extreme rumor aside, I can see how the rumor might have sprouted some wings.

Suppose in this meeting CKD told JS he was going to accept Austin Mack's transfer since he already had a relationship with him and he was pleased about his progress within his system.

Suppose, as well, in this meeting JS shared his uncertainty about staying in T-town after the departures of CNS/CTR and suppose he even expressed concerns about learning Grubbs' system.

I mean all of this is conjecture but I can see how the story might how developed now as rumor that "CKD told JS he didn't want him" OR "JS told CKD I don't like your system."

 

[81usaf92]

If it is true, and we will probably never know, then DeBoer has given himself zero wiggle room for failure. If he cannot win with this QB room and he chased off a potentially generational talent, he would not deserve much grace.

The problem is also this. There is a vocal part of our fanbase that believes Deboer is going to kill the Saban infrastructure and sees anything negative as a form of it. I have no doubts that CKD brought Mack into compete. Why wouldn’t you? Atleast this wasn’t a late add like Buchner. But where I have my doubts is that he intentionally pushed out Sayin. I think it’s more likely Sayin didn’t like the idea of competition past Milroe than it is for Deboer telling him straight up that Mack is his guy.

Here is another little tidbit of the story. While there was alot of buzz around Sayin at the Rose Bowl practices, a common line that we kept seeing all through the year kept popping up…. Lonergan was the best quarterback in practice. I don’t think Sayin was as assured the job as many have subscribed to.

 

[Ledsteplin]

If they are truly all in with Bama as they say they are, they will run with it................personally, I see it being Ty, Lonergan and Mack.............I think Jalen is the odd man out due to his trouble with certain aspects of the QB role

I get it that many here on this board don't like Jalen Milroe as quarterback. And haven't going back to 2022, when he fumbled the ball twice in the pocket. And I get the hope beyond hope he doesn't start this September. But DeBoer and Grubb will give him a strong look during spring. I think they decide then who to move forward into fall camp with as starter. And if Jalen looks good in spring practice, he will be the guy.

 

[BamaMoon]

If I'm not mistaken someone showed yesterday Sayin was offered by UW. But that is irrelevant. If him literally being asked or "highly encouraged " to leave and not even being given a shot at competing is true. I would love to know why because the staff has tape on Milroe as well and if we all can see his limitations then the new staff certainly can and certainly can project those issues wrt running their offense. So that begs the question, what did they see or experience with Sayin to encourage him to go? It can't be because they're more familiar with Mack, because they're more familiar with Mack than Milroe and Simpson. Are they asking them to transfer to? Something ain't passing the smell test on this one. 🤔

Yeah, you and I are tracking on "the smell test" factor.

I wouldn't believe the Pope if he told met CKD me with JS for 5 minutes and basically told him "we don't want you at Bama" and encouraged him to hit the portal.

As you've stated, there is actual tape of JM (a whole season) and TS and DL in last year's spring game AND there are hours of JS's high school tapes. There's *absolutely nothing* that would cause CKD to tell Sayin he's not needed based on what he could have learned about him that wouldn't also cause him to send Jalen Milroe packing from day 1.

*absolutely nothing* - the only way CKD walks in a room and tells JS to hit the portal is that JS has been openly spreading doubt and division in the team ranks after Deboer's hiring. That's the only thing IMO that would rise to the level of his telling JS: "We don't you at Bama."

So, there's got to be another explanation and as somebody said, we'll never know. And JS will probably give some kind of explanation cause some yahoo reporter will approach him and want to publish a story about this but as the old saying goes "there are two sides to every story."

 

[twofbyc]

If I'm not mistaken someone showed yesterday Sayin was offered by UW. But that is irrelevant. If him literally being asked or "highly encouraged " to leave and not even being given a shot at competing is true. I would love to know why because the staff has tape on Milroe as well and if we all can see his limitations then the new staff certainly can and certainly can project those issues wrt running their offense. So that begs the question, what did they see or experience with Sayin to encourage him to go? It can't be because they're more familiar with Mack, because they're more familiar with Mack than Milroe and Simpson. Are they asking them to transfer to? Something ain't passing the smell test on this one. 🤔

Yeah - I ain’t buying it. Sayin left because he can count.

 

[JDCrimson]

It's obvious we are trying to thread a needle here in the offseason imo. We are trying to retain as much of the roster as possible while also putting the team in a win now mode in August. There are likely RBs and WRs who want to see more ball distribution in order to stay. CKD has to show them this in the spring. The only way to do that is have a QB in the fold who already understands the system. Mack checks that box. JM, TS, and DL don't have this ability.

JM is the starter and leader on the team and lockerroom. He likely played a role in keeping guys from transferring.

It's a calculated decision but I can see why AM was brought in. We also have to secure some portal transfers after spring. CKD has to be able to show transfers spring film with players already on the team.

 

[BamaMoon]

The problem is also this. There is a vocal part of our fanbase that believes Deboer is going to kill the Saban infrastructure and sees anything negative as a form of it. I have no doubts that CKD brought Mack into compete. Why wouldn’t you? Atleast this wasn’t a late add like Buchner. But where I have my doubts is that he intentionally pushed out Sayin. I think it’s more likely Sayin didn’t like the idea of competition past Milroe than it is for Deboer telling him straight up that Mack is his guy.

Here is another little tidbit of the story. While there was alot of buzz around Sayin at the Rose Bowl practices, a common line that we kept seeing all through the year kept popping up…. Lonergan was the best quarterback in practice. I don’t think Sayin was as assured the job as many have subscribed to.

Yep, I agree with you about the reasoning for accepting AM and in doing so it wasn't CKD intentionally trying to push JS out!

I can also believe JS might have seen the competition at Bama as very "doable" in terms of him cracking the rotation next year as he looked on this year from his TV in Cali, but once he saw things on the ground (in Pasadena) and then heard of the AM transfer he might not have felt the situation was as good as he thought it might be for quicker PT.

BTW, saying that doesn't mean he's scared of competition, but it just means he might have reevaluated his track to playing time and felt a transfer was warranted now.

Again, we'll never know the whole/true story most likely.

 

[JohnD]

Maybe somebody smarter than me can answer this - On3 has player’s NIL values listed on their site. Sayin’s is at $814K, and is BY FAR the highest on our list in the 2024 class. Is this accurate? If so, is this possibly a case of freeing up “cap space”, if you will?

It’s notable that Caleb Downs’ is listed at $903K and Proctor’s at $653K.
View attachment 40249View attachment 40251

This reminds me of when my nephew was little he would show me a value/price list for "rare" Pokemon cards that were priced up in the thousnds. But you could buy them for a few dollars at a card shop.

 

[TexasBama]

Don't worry about it, it's not a bad question if you just watched some of his pocket highlights. The difference really comes when he gets out and scrambles, and there aren't a lot of scrambles on that tape. I know some people don't like to follow video links and watch the entire thing.

Reminder: He's 16 years old in those clips. He reclassified to be able to sign with UW a year early. So he's still growing into his frame.

I watched some videos and he seems to have "good footwork"

 

[JohnD]

I am sorry on that one no Hurts does not have a Super Bowl ring, however my point is you don’t know how an athlete is going to do until they have the game in their hands.

Bryce lived up to the hype but we didn’t win any national titles with him, he did win a Heisman, Mac was our last NT QB and I am too lazy to look up his star rating.

But it is like we have great expectations for Sayin and he may live up to the hype , but he hasn’t even took a snap in a college game, obviously the young man coming in has much better HS stats but someone does make him a five star so everyone is deflated and are ready to hang up the season, run down the coach, and burn their bama gear.

I wish 247 would stop giving them band width. Let them quit for their greener pastures we will see how that works out…to date not many have made it big since leaving Bama.
This not holding kids to their commitments is a result of everyone gets a trophy attitude that they are raised in, heaven help us if things really get tough in America this generation will go to another country before they fight for their own.

It takes more than a QB to win a championship. Bryce had one until unexplicably there were no receivers left who could run a route or catch a pass.

Fans always expected too much out of 5 star QB recruits. There is a long long list of those who did not pas out. It was very unlikely that he would have played much as a freshman, and even if he had, the results would likely have caused a lot of people to doubt his abilty. Going from HS to major college competition is a huge step that takes some time to develop.

 

[BamaMoon]

Beyond the "what happened" speculation, AM is the "real deal."

Just read some about him and watch some of the HS tape from early in this thread and you'll see he's a real talent.

In no way was AM brought in as "a backup plan" like it seems Buckner was last fall. AM was brought in to strengthen the QB room and to have the opportunity to be the eventual starting QB at Bama!

I thought JS would be on a fast track to playing time this fall (not that he'd start necessarily) but that he'd really challenge everybody in front of him, including JM.

Now, I think AM has a greater opportunity than JS (don't take that mean he's more talented than Sayin (only time will tell that)!

But consider what AM offers next year:

#1: His knowledge of the offense. He's already spent a whole year learning it!

#2: His frame. Man, that kind of frame/height is special and you can't teach it. 6' 6" and 236 ain't "skinny" and I'd venture he'll add at least 10 lbs by next year!

#3: His arm. Watch the tape and see how "live" it is.

#4: Maturity/Willingness to sacrifice/wait. His willingness to reclassify and willingly accept a role of sitting/learning/waiting when he could have been playing as a senior and being the star tells you something about his maturity/head space. It tells you he's willing to learn, grow and sacrifice today to accomplish something more down the road.

#5: Beyond his knowledge of the Deboer/Grubb offense is his knowledge of football schemes, which is demonstrated in one of the earlier videos. He actually learned how to read defenses and understand offensive strategy in HS.

 

[MOAN]

First off the QB Is the most important player on the team! Coach Deboer has a returning Heisman finalist as well as two more experienced returning backups. He has a more experienced as well as the most experienced QB in his system wanting to come to Bama! Throw in a true freshman, Julian Sayin and you have 5 QB's on the roster!!! Don't take a genius to know there is going to be players leaving after spring.

I don't have a clue what actually happened to cause Sayin to leave, but I can easily see Coach Deboer laying it out for him and his prospects of seeing playing time anytime soon. Maybe coach Deboer told him that he would be a big target with the opportunity to make big money should he decide to enter the transfer portal now, which would give him most likely a better chance to see the field earlier.

All that being said I don't have a clue what happened and why. But fans jumping to conclusions, getting mad over something, reading something into the situation they know nothing about is jumping the gun on our coach and is undeserved in my opinion.

Coach Deboer will sink or swim on his own accord and actions not the fans opinions. I reserve my opinions on his ability to lead and continue Bama's winning tradition when the season starts and has time to work or not. If you old enough to remember Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Mike Dubose, Dennis Franchione, Mike Price and Mike Shula, you definitely should be optimistic about the hire of coach Deboer!!!

 

[BamaMoon]

Here’s why bringing in AM is such a good move…the biggest mistake CNS made last year was going into spring ball without a QB that he KNEW could run the offense. He had 4 guys who he hoped could learn, but they never quite got there. He then brought in TB late to see if he could and we all know how that went. They regrouped as a coaching staff and decided the best way to try win games was run a high school offense. LANK was born and they accomplished some good things but couldn’t quite win it all…CKD now has a guy that he KNOWS can run the offense. I’m sure he expects one of the incumbents to win the job, but if not, he has some insurance in AM. Win-Win

Spring Game will tell us more than we normally learn since we are transitioning to a new offense system.

We'll at least be able to see who looks to be picking up on the offense and see who can make the throws required by it.

 

[Tidelines]

I get it that many here on this board don't like Jalen Milroe as quarterback. And haven't going back to 2022, when he fumbled the ball twice in the pocket. And I get the hope beyond hope he doesn't start this September. But DeBoer and Grubb will give him a strong look during spring. I think they decide then who to move forward into fall camp with as starter. And if Jalen looks good in spring practice, he will be the guy.

If Milroe is the best QB then he should start.

 

[UAH]

I get it that many here on this board don't like Jalen Milroe as quarterback. And haven't going back to 2022, when he fumbled the ball twice in the pocket. And I get the hope beyond hope he doesn't start this September. But DeBoer and Grubb will give him a strong look during spring. I think they decide then who to move forward into fall camp with as starter. And if Jalen looks good in spring practice, he will be the guy.

I believe Jalen is a great guy and is widely cared for as a friend and teammate. I is difficult for me to understand why the media doesn't see his short comings as a QB. I see it as a very difficult situation as a coach, paticulary a very offensive minded coach with a complex system that his QB will be asked to run. JM comes off poorly in a comparison to Penix with his fludity, touch and accuracy. It is a difficult example for JM to follow.

 

[BamaMoon]

I get it that many here on this board don't like Jalen Milroe as quarterback. And haven't going back to 2022, when he fumbled the ball twice in the pocket. And I get the hope beyond hope he doesn't start this September. But DeBoer and Grubb will give him a strong look during spring. I think they decide then who to move forward into fall camp with as starter. And if Jalen looks good in spring practice, he will be the guy.

I can't speak for everybody, but my feelings about JM have nothing to do with my "like" or "dislike" for him as a person. FTR, I "like" him and I think he's got a great personality. Seems like a good kid too! And I'm impressed with what I've heard about his attitude toward the change of coaches!

I don't think you are suggesting this, necessarily, but my critical comments about JM are strictly concerning his play on the field and nothing to do with him as a person.

I agree the new staff will give JM "a strong look" this spring, but I don't think he gets any more of a look than everybody else in the QB room. Of all years, who started last year should matter the least even though when they line up and throw next year JM will probably be 1st in line.

And, it's JMO but I doubt any decisions will be made about a starter after spring practice. Only way is for one of them to just be miles ahead of the rest and the only one I think who could come close to that would be AM because of his prior knowledge of the system.

What happens in Spring practice is important, but also what happens in the summer skeleton drills is too. And of course, what should matter most is who separates themselves in fall camp.

 

[81usaf92]

Ryan Grubb’s interview makes it seem that Mack is a highly intelligent quarterback with all the physical attributes one could ever want.

 

[TideEngineer08]

The more I learn about this Mack kid, the less concerned I am about losing Sayin.