Nick Saban discusses evolution of QB, dispels speculation he would've moved Pat White to defense
When Nick Saban was the head coach at LSU, he was after a highly-sought-after quarterback prospect in the 2004 signing class: Pat White. And though the quarterback ultimately went to West Virginia and authored a storied career there, the possibility of Saban coaching such a dynamic quarterback would’ve been tantalizing.
But White had a hang up: He thought Saban wouldn’t have let him play quarterback and likely would move him to cornerback or something similar. And joining The Pat McAfee Show from Morgantown ahead of West Virginia’s season opener, White got to ask Saban — also making a guest appearance — if he would’ve taken the ball out of his hands.
The short answer, Saban said, is no.
“But I would’ve never moved you from quarterback unless you saw that you could have a better future at another position,” Saban said. “I never made anybody in our program ever play something they didn’t want to play. So you could’ve stayed at quarterback and may have been a great quarterback at LSU or wherever it were at the time. But I would’ve never made you play a position that you didn’t want to play. Now you would’ve never believed me then, but I got no reason now. I’m just this old guy that’s going fishing every now and then, so I’m telling you the truth. So I would’ve never moved you unless you wanted to move and you saw you had a better future at another position.”
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And Saban, who was known for fielding some old-school offenses with traditional pocket passers at quarterback — especially during his early tenure at Alabama — shared that he’s been a keen observer of the evolution of the quarterback position.
He’s also never shied away from having athletes at the position, he said. And in the later years of his Alabama tenure, Saban certainly embraced that idea as his teams fielded more spread out, modernized offenses.
”Well, I think first of all, the evolution of the quarterback is fantastic,” Saban said. “I think with the spread offense, it’s beneficial to have a more athletic guy playing quarterback, which you obviously did a tremendous job with. And Rich Rodriguez did a great job of utilizing that.”
At the end of the day, Saban didn’t manage to get White signed to LSU. The head coach would head to the NFL after the 2004 season and then end up back in the SEC a few years later.
But having grown up in West Virginia, Saban could take some solace in White’s final decision for where to play college football.
“If he had to go anywhere besides LSU, I’m glad he went to West Virginia and I was really, really proud of the kind of program that he had, performance that he had there and the kind of career that he had there,” Saban said. “Really proud of him.”