"Talking to Nick Saban felt like talking to robot": High School recruits drop hilarious first impressions on meeting Alabama HC

The Athletic interviewed some of the top high school football prospects at the Under Armour All-America Game media day and asked them about their recruiting experiences. They anonymously provided their honest opinions on the coaches they met and how they felt about them.

The Athletic also asked them about their first impressions of Alabama's Nick Saban, who is known for his success and intensity. Some of the prospects reportedly said that they did not like Saban or found him weird or arrogant. One said:

“Talking to Saban felt like talking to a robot. It didn’t feel real."

Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban

Another high school football prospect said that Saban gave him a bad vibe.

“I didn’t like (Nick) Saban. It was just the vibe.”

A third one said Saban ignored his parents at a dinner table and only talked to him.

“I’d say coach Saban. My mom wasn’t happy with him. We were at a table eating, and he acknowledged me, but not my parents,” a player added. “My mom said, ‘If you’re acknowledging my son, you should acknowledge me.’”

However, not all the prospects had negative things to say about the coaches. One of them mentioned Deion Sanders, the coach of Colorado. He said that Sanders was not arrogant but just confident and had his own style.

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The most-friendly coaches high school recruits met?

The Athletic also wanted to know the most friendly coaches high school recruits met — from schools they didn’t sign with.

A high school football player took the names of Sonny Dykes at TCU and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan:

“Dykes is a family-oriented coach. I have the utmost respect for coaches from Texas.”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes

Another said that he enjoyed meeting Georgia coach Kirby Smart and ex-defensive backs coach Fran Brown, Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and executive director Dennis Smith.

“Just good people. They talk to you about more than football.”

One player took the name of Ohio State’s Ryan Day.

“You feel like you can talk to him about anything.”

Talking about the star coaches, one said that Alabama's Nick Saban was not what he expected:

“He was different than I expected.”

However, Nick Saban is one of the most dominant figures in college football. He has been leading the Crimson Tide as the head coach since 2007 and has amassed a remarkable career record of 297-71-1 over 28 years.

In 2008, Forbes magazine recognized him as "The Most Powerful Coach in Sports" on its cover.