Connection with Nick Saban was key in Aaron Anderson's decision
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Aaron Anderson had been committed to LSU for about 10 months. He said this week at the Under Armour All-America Game practices that he was going to play for the Tigers - if Ed Orgeron was retained.
But Orgeron got his walking papers and the four-star receiver from New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr opened up his recruitment almost immediately.
“It would have been over,” Anderson said. “That’s where I was committed first and our connection was so good, now I feel comfortable here, it made me feel like I was at home. He was straightforward. That was a guy you could talk to personally about anything and everything. He would always have an answer to respond back.”
Less than two weeks after decommitting from LSU, Anderson pledged to Alabama. The Crimson Tide were always high on his list. He knows the reputation of coach Nick Saban and his program - especially among receivers - and it was a phenomenal landing spot.
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“Alabama is a competitive school,” Anderson said. “A lot of people want to go there. I was blessed to have the opportunity to go there. All the slot receivers are competitive and you’re going to eat regardless. When our number is called we’re going to make our play.”
Meeting with Saban is something Anderson, who was phenomenal during practices this week at the Under Armour game, was something he will never forget. The message from Saban sold him on playing for the Crimson Tide.
“That’s a blessing, too, getting to walk into his office, shake his hand, getting to look him eye-to-eye,” Anderson said. “It’s like you’re meeting the President. It’s a big blessing to do that.
“(Saban’s message was) No matter how small you are or how short or tall you are, if you can ball and you can play, you will play.”
It still was not a simple decision for Anderson to make. He’s a Louisiana kid and almost all of the elite ones go to LSU. He had been committed there for nearly a year. From New Orleans to Baton Rouge and New Orleans to Tuscaloosa is nearly four times the distance.
But it was one Anderson felt he needed to make. After the news Orgeron would not be retained and even after new LSU coach Brian Kelly got the job, Anderson did not hear from the new staff and has still not talked with Kelly. Now that Anderson is signed, it’s all over.
The commitment was made in late October and it was one Anderson was more than comfortable with. Combining Alabama’s development of receivers and Anderson’s incredible playmaking ability, it might be a match made in heaven.
“It was hard,” Anderson said. “It was a hard decision between Alabama and LSU but with my connection being so good with coach Orgeron, once he left it was like basically the man who recruited me isn’t there anymore so it was like on to the next.”