Trent Richardson

It definately left an opening for someone.

That being said ....I'd rather Pratt because he was all LSU before that fiasco.

Yea, I like TR alot and would love to keep him from Bama, but Pratt is pretty great himself, and Id rather keep what we have than lose a kid who loved LSU.

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i can't even talk bad about bama?

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Absolutely.

What if Auburn got Trent Richardson. That would really chap their asses.

Lance Thompson is huge, absolutely. Unlike Steele, Thompson was definitely more than just a nameplate. He was Saban's #1 assistant and did a great job with the LBs this year. He was a great assistant and recruiter at LSU and at Bama. Thompson's area was Mobile. He was the point man on Jones, Scott, Richardson, Fluker, and Nico Johnson. No doubt he was instrumental in the success Bama had this year. This was indeed a coup for the Vols...a great pickup.

The Bammers are actually in a tizzy over this event. The reactions run the gamut: Saban is too hard to work for and is running off assistants...Thompson is greedy and cares about nothing but money...Thompson is lazy and can't keep up with Saban...Vols are shelling out money for assistants like crazy, etc. A little sampling from the Bama Boards:

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In a bit of troubling news, it appears that outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson is leaving for Tennessee. I wouldn't overly worry about his loss as a position coach, mind you, but he was a great recruiter who really helped us retake the Mobile area, and he was involved on several of our major commitments this season. I wouldn't think he'll be able to sway any of our current commitments in this short of a period of time, but we'll see. I'm not sure why he left, exactly. He probably didn't get much of a raise, and honestly my gut instinct is that he -- like so many others -- probably just got tired of Saban's infamously long work schedule. Either way, though, we'll need to get a very good recruiter lined up as his replacement so we don't start to lose the Mobile area again.

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Someone please explain this move to me. Is it money alone? Thanks for the time at the capstone lance, we will miss you. Now i have to despise you and what you stand for, pity.

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Lance Thompson to make a lateral move to LB coach...I guess I'm not getting that really. Of course it's still really early but I'll be interested to hear what CNS has to say about it although I doubt he'll go into that much detail other than the usual. I have faith that CNS will be able to fill both spots with very capable coaches...but losing Lance Thompson to Tenn definitely bothers me.

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I understand he's hard to work for, and I understand our spin of "yeah, but if someone wants to work for a winner, they'll work for CNS" etc. But as long as more nicer winners start coming to league, I can't help if CNS is going to "mean" himself out of some good coaches who realize they don't have to put up with that scat.

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Ouch this hurts...is CNS that disliked that assistant coaches are willing to come to work under him for some short period of time just for the experience and then get the heck out of dodge at first opportunity? If these are lateral moves like someone has said this is very interesting to say the least.

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So then it's a money thing?

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Well, apparently they still didn't work hard enough after looking at what we did in the Sugar Bowl. It irks me when people who make the amount of money they do complain about the job or the hours. You're either dedicated or your not. If you're not, exit stage left.

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No matter how you slice it, it is not good when your perceived top 2 recruiters bolt less than a month before signing day. The conclusion will be drawn, right or wrong, that Saban is running these guys off. The timing just couldn't be worse. Having said that, I fully believe CNS will find the proper replacements and all will turn out fine.

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I wouldn't say the sky is falling, and I think its much too late for it to really effect our class, especially with Saban as our closer. But as far as assistants go, I think Lance was the best recruiter in the SEC, and with Orgeron on board, they probably have the 2 best. And I'm sure Thompson left for a pay raise, as UT is basically out there trying to buy recruiters as they attempted with Georgia's Garner, probably coach Steele, and have succeeded now with Thompson.

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Why could he not wait until after NSD?!?! BAD BAD BAD timing!!!

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I like Coach Thompson a lot, and have actually gotten the opportunity to meet with him a couple of times and realize how well he performed as a recruiter for us (and me being extremely interested in that aspect of the game only helps with my man crush on him ), but I know we'll be fine

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It's it disappointing that both Steele and Thompson so close to NSD? Thompson yes, Steele no. It's also disheartening to see Thompson jump to UT, but hey think of it this way........imagine how LSU fans are feeling watching Nick Saban coach Alabama.

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When Bear Bryant coached at Alabama, and after that, I often thought that if you were an assistant coach at Alabama, you knew that the responsibility of that was probably tougher than at other schools where the tradition was not what it is at the University of Alabama. I think I am correct to say that, according to the book TURNAROUND, things were so tough at Alabama when Bryant first came that he kept a lock on the fence gate during practice to keep players from suddenly deciding to leave town.

I do not feel good about these two coaches leaving Alabama, but I think I will take this attitude about it. I get it from pages 132-133 of BEAR, where Bryant talks about his experience at Texas A&M. When he arrived there, A&M had a center who had made All-Southwest Conference the year before. But when Bryant and his staff graded the films from the year before this center never graded higher than 37.

Bryant began to ride this center during practices, trying to get him to improve. All of a sudden one day, the center was walking off the field in the middle of practice. The next day he showed up at the chow line with the other football players. Bear said to him, " 'Young fella, you must be making a mistake. A&M football players eat here.'

" 'You mean I can't eat here? ' "

" 'I mean exactly that. You can't ever eat here again.' "

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I'm sure we'll get a replacement that will be just as good as Thompson, if not better. Someone that wants to make his mark in the world by coaching for CNS.

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Reading through this, and about how Coach Saban is "the closer" brought a story to mind about John Michael Boswell's recruitment. As I understand, during one visit, Saban had everyone in the room, coaches included, ready to run through a wall for the Crimson Tide by the time he was through. No matter what coach recruits a kid, if Saban wants them, he can most likely close out the deal. I heard someone say that the car dealers in West Virginia better be glad he didn't go into car sales like he intended, I think that's a really fair statement.

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The replacements for CLT and CKS will be critical for UA. It certainly looks like we'll have an interesting off-season this year, and a few recruiting battles in the years to come as well. Oh, well. There's nothing like a good fight to make a man happy...

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"ABC...Always Be Closing." Sorry couldn't help it! "No coffee for you, coffee is for closers." I can see Saban making that speech to his coaching staff when it comes to recruiting. He definitely seems to be the ultimate "closer"

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The issue was money. According to CS he gave Bama the opportunity to match the offer from UT that was double his current salary, but Saban did not think he was worth it. Contrary to the opinion of most, this should not hurt Bama, though it will probably help UT some.

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I'd rather Pratt because he was all LSU before that fiasco.

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+1

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Says on al.com he was really upset with Lance Thompson leaving Bama for the Vols. Says he was closer to him then anybody at Bama and he's real upset. Talked to Saban who said he was also upset with the move and didn't see it coming.

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This isn't exactly what he said, here's the article. LINK
The fact that CLT isn't even answering his phone call doesn't bode well for UT, also he said he was closer to CLT than his position coach, not that we was closer to him than anyone at Bama. If I was trent I'd be pissed at Thompson for up in leaving. I mean what CLT gonna do, say yeah all that stuff I told you about Bama and how great it would be is BS, you need to come to Tennessee now. Give me a break.