Alabama coach Nick Saban set the college football world abuzz Wednesday night when he told a gathering of business leaders in the state that Texas A&M assembled the top-ranked recruiting class in the country because it "bought every player" with name, image and likeness deals.
Decrying the influence of money in recruiting, Saban said NIL was being used unfairly. At Alabama, he said of its No. 2-ranked class, "We didn't buy one player, all right?"
Then Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher quickly assembled a news conference on Thursday morning in order to respond, and gasoline was poured on the fire.