Nick Saban Accused of Tampering After Admitting on Live TV He Tried to Get Top Draft Prospect to Enter Transfer Portal

Some football fans are accusing Nick Saban of admitting to tampering on live TV after he explained trying to get a player to transfer to the University of Alabama.

During ESPN’s alternate broadcast of the the NFL Draft on ABC, the recently retired Saban reacted to the Philadelphia Eagles selecting Toledo corner Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd pick. While praising the 22-year-old, Saban revealed that he and the rest of Alabama’s football program wanted him to go to the transfer portal.

His wording, however, made it seem like the program was actively trying to convince Mitchell to leave Toledo.

“He was our no. 1 guy in the portal last year to try to get to come out of the portal,” Saban said, “and he would never get in the portal.”

More than a few Twitter users interpreted Saban’s comment as him openly admitting that he worked to pull an athlete away from their school to come to his. Some even outright accused the coach of tampering.

The more likely scenario, however, is that Saban misspoke. While the team surely would have exhausted its resources to get him to Alabama, that opportunity never presented itself since Mitchell stayed at Toledo. In an interview done moments after he was drafted, Mitchell was surprised by the news that he was Saban’s primary target.

Watch above via ABC