Nick Saban says Tosh Lupoi is an 'intern' to help with Alabama recruiting
With former Washington assistant coach Tosh Lupoi now a member of the Alabama staff, Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked Wednesday about Lupoi's role with the program.
Lupoi was dismissed from his role at Washington after allegations he offered the coach of a recruit money to pay for tutoring and classes to get the recruit academically eligible. The NCAA officially cleared Washington and Lupoi of any wrongdoing, but as part of his settlement to leave, he was paid $300,000.
"He's going to be an intern, and he's got a lot of good experience both coaching and recruiting," Saban said Wednesday (via AL.com). "He didn't get a job this year, didn't have any issues relative to the way we checked him out with the NCAA, which we do with everybody that we hire."
Yes, a former defensive line coach who was making $350,000 at his previous job is now an "intern" on Alabama's staff. Isn't college football wonderful?
Lupoi played at Cal from 2000-2005 and started his career there. He was named the 2010 Rivals recruiter of the year while there. He moved to Washington in 2012. Recruiting will be his focus at Alabama, but from Saban's comments, it'll be more electronic than face-to-face. It's probably for the best after the scandal that led to his separation from Washington.
"He's going to be an intern that helps us some in recruiting," Saban said. "A lot in the electronic media part of recruiting, which is something that we feel like we need to improve."
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is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
