Nick Saban Admitted to Helping Players Cheat on the Wonderlic When He Was in the NFL

Nick Saban was on his weekly radio show last night, and according to footballscoop.com, via SEC Country, admitted to assisting players on the Wonderlic during his time in the NFL.

“I hate to admit it now, but if I really liked a player, I would actually take the test out, look at it, tutor the guy a little bit, alright, before he took it. Maybe lose a few minutes on the timing part of it, so he had a little extra time… and they would do better,” he said on air according to SEC Country.

Hey, lots of us aren’t fans of the Wonderlic as a tool. There is a questionable basis for believing it translates to football skills and knowledge, plus there are the always inevitable leaks that seem to be designed to shame players or drive perceived draft value down. For Saban’s part, it was usually because he liked the player as a prospect and didn’t want a test (that he might not have believed in) to be used as a reason to mark them down.

Of course, on the other hand, this is cheating. In a 2006 article, Saban was quoted in USA Today saying the following:

" “I really liked this guy. He played safety. I got the test out, and even though I didn’t take it, I studied it. Then I tutored the guy for about an hour before he took it, then I gave him twice as long to take it than he was supposed to. “He doubled his score. We got him to where we could draft him. Now nobody knows about that, but I don’t think (Oilers owner) Bud Adams can fire me now, so I’m OK with it.” "

This wouldn’t be a college student anymore, but I’m not sure a college coach should be associated with things like tutoring a guy after looking at the specific questions, and giving him double the time. (and also, what kind of testing program doesn’t have specific protocols over who administers and monitors the test?) The ethics of the NFL are different and I’m sure there’s no reason to think a coach would ever do the same on an actual test to keep a player eligible.