Nick Saban, Mark Stoops have crossed paths before

Alabama head coach Nick Saban will hope to have more success with Mark Stoops than he has in the past, as the Crimson Tide takes on Kentucky Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Saban owns a 1-0 record on the field against Stoops, beating the Kentucky head coach 48-7 in a 2013 meeting in Lexington, Ky. However, away from the field, Saban is 0-for-1.

While serving as a defensive backs coach at Michigan State, Saban, 64, recruited Stoops, 49, when the Kentucky coach was a high school recruit out of Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio.

With his older brothers Bob and Mike already having already played for head coach Hayden Fry at Iowa, Saban knew he was facing an uphill battle. That didn’t stop him from giving it a try anyway.

“Mark was a really good player,” Saban said during his news conference Monday. “You know, we really tried to get him, but we didn’t. Hayden Fry had that family pretty wrapped up.

While Stoops was always bound to follow his brothers’ footsteps at Iowa, he admitted Saban provided him with the same convincing recruiting pitch the Alabama coach is known for today.

“He made it very difficult for me,” Stoops said via the Louisville Courier-Journal on Tuesday. “I remember getting off the phone saying, ‘Wow.’ But he was very persuasive and very good. I’ve always had great respect for the coach.”

Stoops might not have chosen to play for Saban, but he’s quick to heap praise upon the head coach. Stoops said he has “great respect” for Saban not just in his coaching ability but also in his character as a person.

“I always think he does things right,” Stoops said. “I think he does things with class, and I think he treats people the right way. How can you not admire that?”

Currently in his fourth season as Kentucky’s head coach, Stoops holds a 14-26 record with the Wildcats. The head coach is facing a bit pressure this season after failing to get Kentucky to a bowl game in his previous three seasons. This season, Stoops and the Wildcats are off to a 2-2 start, losing their opening games against Southern Miss and Florida before rebounding with wins against New Mexico State and South Carolina.

Despite the slow start, Saban said Stoops is far better than his record indicates and encouraged Kentucky to be patient with him as a head coach.

“I think Mark has done a really good job,” Saban said. “I know he works hard at recruiting. He’s probably improved the players, relative to what they’re playing with on the field. I think that continuity in programs sometimes gets overlooked. Sometimes you’ve got a better chance to build in the long run if you’re not constantly making changes.”

Kentucky is currently a 35-point underdog heading into Saturday’s matchup, according to vegasinsiders.com. The point spread marks the highest Alabama has been favored in a SEC game since a 2012 game against Auburn, where the Tide was a 34-point favorite. Alabama covered the spread in that game, beating the Tigers 49-0.

Alabama will look for similar success this weekend. But make no mistake, Saban isn’t taking the Wildcats lightly. He’s already been disappointed by Stoops one time too many.

“I think they’re a really competitive, physical team that is going to be a real challenge for us,” Saban said. “I think Kentucky has really good players, and all I know is they’re a lot better now and every year that I’ve seen them they’ve gotten better and better and better.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Nick Saban, Mark Stoops have crossed paths before."