Nick Saban won’t say playing in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in the Georgia Dome each of these past two years is the reason Alabama has recruited Atlanta so well. But, in the words of the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, he admits “It Can’t Hurt.”
“The exposure we get from playing in a game like this enhances overall exposure and helps recruiting everywhere and obviously it helps in Atlanta,” said Saban, answering my question on a teleconference call Tuesday. “Georgia is a very good football state. There’s a lot of good football players there in Atlanta, the Greater Atlanta area. I don’t think this exposure hurts in any way in terms of our ability to recruit there.”
And it might have even helped.
Alabama famously played in the inaugural Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Clemson here last year. The Tide’s dominating 34-10 victory in that contest is generally credited for kick-starting Bama on the way to an undefeated regular season. It also appears to have kick-started recruiting in the area.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
9/3/09
Magnolia Tribune
