Nick Saban bemoans trend of young players transferring from Alabama

TUSCALOOSA — Players come and go every offseason, but the number of talented youngsters electing to transfer this summer concerns Nick Saban.

In the past few months, six Alabama players who participated in the spring have either transferred or attempted to transfer: freshmen linebackers Christian Bell (Wisconsin) and Adonis Thomas (Northwest Mississippi Community College), sophomore receiver Daylon Charlot (Kansas), sophomore safety Shawn Burgess-Becker (UCF), senior defensive back Maurice Smith (undetermined) and dismissed former junior college offensive lineman Charles Baldwin (Kansas).

Outside of Baldwin and Smith, the rest were either first- or second-year players who opted to pursue their college football dream elsewhere.

The most recent was Charlot, who transferred to Kansas.

“Daylon Charlot, (a) fine young man, did a great job here and made a tremendous amount of improvement,” Saban said. “I think that a lot of young guys right now, they get really, really fearful of their future, and it creates a lot of anxiety. They think if they change environments, that’s going to help solve that anxiety and help them be able to get where they want to go.

“We certainly feel like we can help guys develop here, but if they think that there’s a better way for them, another place, then we’re going to support them in every way that we can to help them do the things they would like to do if they don’t want to be in our program here.”

Not always, though.

Alabama and Saban are embroiled in a dispute with Smith, who has reportedly requested a release from his scholarship to go to Georgia and play immediately as a graduate transfer.

Saban reiterated the team’s stance, siding with the SEC’s policy that restricts inter-conference transfers.

While Smith’s situation has made more headlines, it’s the departures of several highly rated younger players that concern Saban.

“Some guys need the time to develop and learn and grow, whether it’s physically, emotionally, mentally, learning the system,” Saban said. “But I think sometimes there’s unrealistic expectations placed on guys, based on their reputation that they create in high school, and sometimes the people around them want that same immediate self-gratification, which puts a lot of pressure on guys, which creates a lot of anxiety.”

While there are always exceptions — like true freshmen starters Calvin Ridley and Minkah Fitzpatrick, and junior left tackle Cam Robinson, who has started every game of his college career — the Saban “process” at Alabama centers on players doing what it takes to be a contributor, even if that means waiting for their chance.

“I knew the talent we had down here. It’s hard to come in right away and be a Cam Robinson,” said redshirt sophomore center Ross Pierschbacher. “Not everyone can do that. I knew that I was going to have to work really hard to earn my spot, so that’s the approach I took — come in and work and things will fall into place.”

The “process” isn’t for everybody.

“Mentally I feel like it’s a good and a bad thing because if you let it affect you too much you might get demotivated to work hard and stuff like that,” said senior defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson. “But on the positive side, it will be like you got this time to better yourself on the field.”

Certain positions, such as linebacker, are loaded with talent. Players come into the program knowing they might have to wait their turn to play.

Senior linebacker Reuben Foster is an example. The former five-star prospect ranked as the nation’s No. 1 linebacker in 2013 out of Auburn High will be a first-time starter at the Mike linebacker. He spent the past two seasons working behind first-round draft pick Reggie Ragland, who waited for his turn behind C.J. Mosley.

“When you come in, you really kinda got to be able to just adjust to the fact that you might not be playing right off the bat,” said junior Rashaan Evans, who is competing for a starting spot with Shaun Dion Hamilton beside Foster.

“But every guy who was before me did the same thing, so you have to have that kind of mentality.”

For others like Charlot — whether they’re looking at what’s ahead of them on the depth chart or what elite players might be coming in behind them — that opportunity might appear closer elsewhere.

“I just wish (Charlot) would have had a little more patience to hang in there,” Saban said. “I think he would have been a great contributor here, and I think he’ll have a good career wherever he chooses to go.”