In today's edition of The Montgomery Advertiser, Tim Gayle reports on the recruiting efforts of new coach Nick Saban during the first weekend of official visits to the Capstone. Many of the recruits on campus were players who had committed to former head coach Mike Shula, including QB Robert Marve and DL Kourtnei Brown, both of whom have reopened their recruiting. While Saban has made it known that he intends to honor the 15 commitments made to Coach Shula, he has also made it know to any recruits that may be waffling on their commitment that he plans on looking around, too:
While the rest of the article is more of the same recruiting claptrap that bores me to tears, there is this tidbit:
Two players, defensive end Ezekial Knight and receiver Tyrone Prothro, continue to recover from medical issues. Knight's head injury was never fully explained by the previous coaching staff, but it appears to be a career-threatening disability. Likewise, Prothro underwent his fourth surgery recently on his broken right tibia and fibula and may never play football again.
As Orson points out, Saban can either let Prothro sit and avoid a humongenourmously bad PR situation, or he can cut him loose and free up a scholarship for someone who can make an immediate impact. On the one hand, I wouldn't blame Saban if he did. The prospects of Prothro ever playing for Alabama again are pretty slim, and he isn't one of Saban's players; He's an inherited medical redshirt.
But on the other hand, he's a hero and legend to both the fans and his teammates, and revoking his scholarship would instantly negate all the good will he's got going for him right now. While it might seem odd to say this considering the circumstances surrounding his hiring, I think Saban doesn't want the bad press. If Prothro or Zeke leaves the team, it will be because Saban talked them into doing it so it looks like a voluntary gesture to help the team. Either way, it sucks.