Nick Saban denies Alabama football broke NCAA rules in recruiting WR Tyler Harrell
Alabama football coach Nick Saban denied that anyone from his team violated NCAA rules by recruiting transfer wide receiver Tyler Harrell to the program.
"We don't tamper with anybody," Saban told reporters at a golf event.
Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield disagrees, telling 247Sports that he believes tampering took place from Alabama's side prior to Harrell entering the transfer portal.
Satterfield said he couldn't prove the allegation.
"I don't know of anybody that tampered with him," Saban said of Harrell.
"You know, I don't really know that anybody's ever tampered with our players. I just think sometimes when things happen it makes you wonder.
"So I'm not making any accusations against anybody that's done anything to our players and I don't have any knowledge of anybody that's done anything with anybody else's players."
College Football HQ ranked Harrell as a consensus top 10 player in the transfer portal at the time of his announcement that he was transferring to Alabama.
Harrell, one of the fastest players in the nation at any position, caught 18 passes for 532 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Saban acknowledged that it's sometimes difficult to control third parties in the recruiting process, especially in the transfer portal.
"But you know, when you have a guy leave your program and go someplace else the day after the game, I don't have any evidence that anything happened and I'm not making any accusations, but it makes you wonder, I guess," he said.
"But hopefully we have enough honesty and integrity out there amongst us professionally in our sport that people are going to abide by the rules."