Former Texas A&M defensive back Leon O’Neal Jr. responds to Nick Saban's comments

On3 imageby:Nikki Chavanelle05/19/22

NikkiChavanelle

Alabama head coach Nick Saban did not mince words this week while discussing the current NIL landscape. He was especially explicit regarding one SEC opponent – the Texas A&M Aggies. Saban claimed that Texas A&M “bought every player on their team” with NIL deals.

Former Aggies star cornerback Leon O’Neal Jr. took to Twitter to respond to the comments from the seven-time championship-winning coach.

“Every player there had a scatpack hell cat before NIL I was in a Nissan Maxima lol it had a sun roof though,” O’Neal tweeted with a crying laughing emoji.

Top college stars driving sports cars and nice trucks are commonplace now that players can receive deals with local dealerships, however, O’Neal thinks the Alabama players got special treatment long before NIL became permissible. He compared “scatpacks and hell cats,” supped up Dodge Chargers and Challengers, to the modest Nissan Maxima he drove while in College Station.

A Cypress (Tex.) native, O’Neal chose Texas A&M over almost three dozen other Division-I offers. One of those other offers was from Alabama. He was a highly-coveted top-100 prospect and the No. 9 safety in the 2018 recruiting class, per the On3 Consensus. After slipping in the draft, O’Neal went to the 49ers as an undrafted free agent.

Nick Saban on Texas A&M recruiting

Nick Saban stirred things up on Wednesday by mentioning how Alabama’s recruiting class came in second to A&M’s after the Aggies supposedly “bought every player.”

“I know the consequence is going to be difficult for the people who are spending tons of money to get players,” Saban said via AL.com. “You read about it, you know who they are. We were second in recruiting last year. A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness.

“We didn’t buy one player. Aight? But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to sustain that in the future, because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”

Saban has been one of the most vocal opponents of the direction college football recruiting has moved since Name, Image and Likeness deals were allowed by the NCAA. While Saban maintains that he approves of the system as it enables players to make money on their work, he continues to disapprove of colleges using money as a recruiting tool.

On3’s Austin Brezina contributed to this report.