It’s a small world in college football.
The two coaches who will be on opposing sidelines for Saturday’s SEC championship were teammates in college.
Alabama’s Nick Saban and Missouri’s Gary Pinkel played together at Kent State in the early 1970s. Saban was a safety from West Virginia, while Pinkel was an all-conference tight end who roomed with NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert.
Pinkel told the AP a couple of years ago that he didn’t hang out with Saban in college, but that he remembers the two talking at the school library about going into coaching.
“Obviously we’re friends,” Pinkel said. “We just kind of grew apart, because he went to a different part of the country. I think Don James had a big influence on both of us. He came to a program that was down and out and built a championship team.”
Both Saban and Pinkel got a start in coaching by working as graduate assistants for James, who was their coach at Kent State. James, who won a share of the national title with Washington in 1991, died last year at 80 years old.
About the Author
