Nick Saban Names College Football Superstar Who Changed the Culture at Alabama

When Nick Saban arrived in 2007, the Alabama Crimson Tide was a much different program than fans are used to now. Under former head coach Mike Shula, the team finished with 10 wins just once, in 2005.

Shula's other seasons ended with six wins in 2004 and 2006 and a four-win season in 2003. Fast forward to Saban's last season in 2023, and he guided the program to six national titles and produced four Heisman winners.

It all started with the Crimson Tide's 2008 recruiting class, which included players like Mark Ingram II, Courtney Upshaw, Terrance Cody, and Mark Barron. However, on a recent episode of "The Pat McAfee Show," Saban revealed that Julio Jones was the real reason for the culture change for the receiver position and Alabama as a whole. Saban remembered when Jones suffered a broken hand and still played in the following game.

Jones played at Alabama from 2008-10 and amassed 2,653 receiving yards during that time.

"That's the one thing I loved about Julio Jones," Saban said. "Julio Jones changed the culture of the receiver position of Alabama when he came there in our first recruiting class. This guy wanted to be on the kickoff team. He would block. He was physical. He wanted the ball. He broke his hand and played in a game. Everybody said he was gonna be out for three or four weeks. He caught the ball and never complained."

Other receivers who flourished under Nick Saban include Amari Cooper (2012-14), DeVonta Smith (2017-20), Calvin Ridley (2015-17), Jerry Jeudy (2017-19), and Jaylen Waddle (2018-20). Smith won the Heisman, Biletnikoff Award, and Maxwell Award in 2020 and is Alabama's all-time leading receiver with 3,965 career receiving yards.

Jones and that 2008 recruiting class left an immediate impact on Alabama, winning a national title in 2009 after beating the Texas Longhorns 37-21.

No. 7 Alabama faces the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers in Week 8 for the "Third Saturday in October" rivalry. Saban had plenty of success against the Volunteers, losing one game to Tennessee during his tenure.

Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Related: Nick Saban Breaks Silence on College Football Players Faking Injuries