Nick Saban reveals why college QBs are unprepared for NFL

Nick Saban believes that college quarterbacks are no longer adequately being prepared for the NFL, and he thinks he knows why.

While appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, Saban explained that things have become simplified for college QBs due to the proliferation of run-pass option offenses, as well as Air Raid passing attacks.

“I think the one thing RPOs did was to take away from quarterbacks needing to be developed as drop-back passers, which in the NFL you eventually have to do," Saban said. "Because RPOs make a simple read; you’re reading one thing. Then they got into these wide spread formations — whatever you call that, Air Raid offense or whatever. Now the quarterback only reads one side of the field.

“So the quarterback never really develops in terms of what you have to know to play in the NFL. How you have to redirect protections so you protect yourself. How do you read coverages so you’re in the right place. A lot of times, the offensive coordinator’s going to give you a middle-of-the-field read on this side and a half-field coverage read on this side, and you gotta be able to figure it out based on reading the safeties. They never learn how to do that in college anymore, which I think really doesn’t help us develop quarterbacks for the NFL like we used to.”

McAfee suggested that softening things for college quarterbacks leads to more success in the collegiate game, but does not help quarterbacks develop for the long term quite as well.

Saban also told McAfee that he viewed himself as a defensive and special teams coach and wouldn’t have been able to serve as an offensive coordinator.

Keep Saban’s explanation in mind next time you wonder why some quarterbacks who had success in college can't translate it to the pros.