Alabama: Micah Parsons Reveals Why he Turned Down Nick Saban's Offer
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Don't blame former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban for not trying to land one of the best defensive ends in college football at the end of the last decade.
Micah Parsons chose to play for Penn State, recording 192 tackles and 19 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles before being taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 12 pick in the 2021 draft.
Parsons earned All-American honors in 2019, and likely would have had a monster season for the Nittany Lions in 2020 had he not opted out due to COVID-19.
During an episode of "The Edge with Micah Parsons" on Wednesday, Parsons said he went on a visit to Alabama during his recruiting process but didn't like his visit after watching workouts in the Tuscaloosa heat.
“I’m going to tell you right now, and this is the god’s honest truth,” Parsons said. “I went to Bama for four days. I went out there. I said, ‘Let me go see what it’s like down South.’ I’m from up North. It was so hot.
"The workout conditions were so treacherous that I said, ‘There’s no way in hell I can survive up here.'”
Saban wanted to show the workout regimen to Parsons, showing how tough of a program the Crimson Tide had. The young pass-rusher was surprised by how early in the morning and how hard the team worked.
Parsons chose to stay up North and play for Penn State. That choice worked out for him, though he noted he might have learned a thing or two playing for Saban.
“I appreciated it,” Parsons said of attending the workout. “You know, I’d definitely get better (playing for Saban). But then by the weekend, it was just like, I don’t think I can make it. It was just too much. I just said it, it ain’t for me. Bama ain’t for everybody.”
There was a reason for the greatness Alabama had under Saban. However, Parsons might not have fit with such a rigid structure with the Crimson Tide.
Frankly, it might have been better for Alabama that Parsons chose not to try to make it work.
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