Nick Saban’s 17 years at Alabama saw not just limited to six national titles. Under his leadership, the program was at its finest. The recruits were coming in just because of Saban’s influence, and Alabama benefited not just on the field but financially too, as it became the biggest brand of college football. However, now that Saban has retired and stepped away from Alabama, many expected that the pull might fade under Kalen DeBoer. But here’s the surprise, Saban is still directly recruiting athletes for Alabama!!
For Saban, winning on the field didn’t involve prioritizing in-game strategies, tweaking offense, and defense. But for him, the fate of any college football program depended on recruiting. In a way, he showed the world what world-class recruiting can do for a program. “Everything we do is about recruiting. Everything we do,” said Saban. But recruiting didn’t just mean going on the road and meeting prospects; for him, even the smallest details mattered.
Saban made sure that when a recruit walked into the facility, he saw the world-class Bama that the world advertised. This meant even the smallest things, from bathrooms being neat, and all these things concerned Saban. “If anyone walked into the building and the bathrooms were dirty, it’d make the program look bad. This place has to be show-ready 100 percent of the time,” said Saban. The attention to detail helped shape Alabama into what it is today, and the program still is reaping its rewards. Now, even after his retirement, Saban is ensuring Kalen DeBoer gets the finest prospects.
Saban made appearances recently on Friday and Saturday at Alabama, meeting the top prospects on their official visits and ensuring that his influence is felt. Among the recruits, Saban met four-star running back Ezavier Crowell, five-star mega prospect Anthony Jones, and lastly the 5 star generational prodigy Cederian Morgan. And the influence? It did its job on Cederian’s parents as his mom, Cecily Lauderdale, was awestruck by the legendary head coach. She wrote on her Facebook page, “THE BEST TO EVER DO IT NICK SABAN WE MET NICK.” along with a photo of Saban and herself. Now, will it be safe to assume Cederian is a done deal for Bama?
“THE BEST TO EVER DO IT
NICK SABAN
WE MET NICK”
Mother of five-star WR Cederian Morgan (@cedeian2) shared on Facebook.
Morgan announces his decision on July 2.
Weekend updates on BOL:https://t.co/ZVuoN6KThN pic.twitter.com/J2IxSJaTk1
— BamaOnLine (@BOL_On3) June 21, 2025
Cederian is a five-star wide receiver of the 2026 class who is ranked 2nd nationally in his position. A native of Alexander City, Alabama, the receiver stands at 6’4″ and 210 lbs and has an illustrious career in high school. For instance, just last year, the wide receiver finished with 1,162 yards for his junior season and helped his high school make the first round of state playoffs. Apart from his receiving exploits, the player is also a track and field athlete and completed the 100-meter dash in 11.19 seconds, showcasing his explosiveness. And guess what? All the signs are indicating that he might be coming to Alabama.
Cederian Morgan set to commit to Bama courtesy of Nick Saban?
Nick Saban’s meeting with Cederian and his family might be the final deed that had to be done in his recruiting, and now it seems the WR will finally make his way to Bama. This is because initially, too, according to several reports, the wide receiver was trending towards the Crimson Tide, having an 89.4% chance for Kalen DeBoer. Morgan even praised Bama’s recruitment and hinted at the possibility.
“Me and Coach Shep [JaMarcus Shephard] have a great relationship, he has a great relationship with my family as well. By the time I get there, I could have a good chance of getting on the field early,” said Morgan about JaMarcus Shephard, Bama’s WR coach. Morgan also praised the legacy of Alabama. “You think of Alabama, you just think about winning. And I want to be a part of winning, so that’s why they are on my list.” But, Morgan has also emphasized that he would be considering all programs objectively, including Auburn, which is trending behind Alabama.
The prospect has set his commitment date to July 2nd. Nick Saban is now expected to co-chair the presidential commission to fix college football, and with his role coming into influence, the scales may have tipped decisively in Alabama’s favor. So, what’s your bet? Is Cederian Bama bound for sure?
The post 5-Star Cederian Morgan’s Mother Reacts to Nick Saban’s Unthinkable Move for Son’s Alabama Future appeared first on EssentiallySports.
