Nick Saban details role in Antonio Gates choosing football over basketball

The comments made by former Duke Blue Devils and NBA veteran guard Austin Rivers over the capability of NBA players being more likely to infiltrate the NFL than the other way around have been a highly discussed topic lately in both sports. And on a recent McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning episode, legendary Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban entered the conversation.

Now, the two cohosts did not have Saban pick a side in the debate; rather, they had him reveal an individual or two that he recruited to play football and opted for basketball instead. And to their surprise, the former Crimson Tide headman revealed one player who opted for basketball and later became a star in the NFL that he tried to recruit when he was the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans.

“When Michigan State won the national championship in basketball, we had (Antonio) Gates at Michigan State. He was going to play football and basketball [but] he left football and transferred and went to play basketball,” said Saban.

“You know when we play him in San Diego… he puts his arm around me and said, ‘Coach, you’re right, man. Sticking with football was the right thing for me.'”

Saban attempted to recruit Gates following the Spartans’ national championship victory in 2000. However, the future NFL great had other things in mind, such as he would commit to playing basketball at Eastern Michigan and later transfer to Kent State. Saban may not have gotten the best out of Gates at the collegiate level, but his advice to the former San Diego Chargers star tight end was right on the money, as Gates would finish his career as one of the best tight ends in Chargers’ history.

Along with Gates, there was another individual who was actually enrolled at Michigan State during his head coaching tenure with the Spartans, and he attempted to convert from basketball to football. Spartan star guard Mateen Cleeves was also on Saban’s radar. And the opportunity was there to have him suit up for the Michigan State football program. Unfortunately, the basketball program’s success might have gotten in the way of that.

“Mateen Cleeves was a great high school football player,” Saban remembered. “He was the point guard on Michigan State’s national championship team. And he was going to play both — he was going to play his basketball the first year and then try to play both. He had so much success playing basketball that he never did get into football. But he was probably a guy who would have been kind of an Andre Risen-type of athlete at some position. He played quarterback in high school. He would have been a tremendous football player.”

Saban may have missed out on utilizing the talent of Gates and Cleeves at Michigan State, but he more than made up for it during his time at LSU and Alabama. Between the two SEC programs, he would go on to acquire countless individuals with serious talent that he helped elevate to the NFL. In fact, over his career, Saban has sent 52 players to the NFL as first-round draft picks.