There are already many people who think the Wonderlic is a bogus, pointless test. It’s supposed to be a measure of intelligence for football players, but how important is it when quarterbacks like Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw scored poorly on it but went on to reach the Hall of Fame?
Perhaps Nick Saban does not think much of the Wonderlic, which is why he has admitted to helping some of his players cheat on the exam.
“I hate to admit it now, but if I really liked a player, I would actually take the test out, look at it, tutor the guy a little bit, alright, before he took it,” Saban admitted during his radio show Thursday via SEC Country. “Maybe lose a few minutes on the timing part of it, so he had a little extra time… and they would do better. But we were trying to create opportunities then, just like we’re trying to create opportunities for people now.”
This is not the first time Saban has admitted to cheating regarding the test. Back in a 2006 Florida Today article, Saban admitted to helping a player cheat to improve his score. This was when Saban was a coach with the Houston Oilers.
“I’m not going to give his name, but he had a low Wonderlic,” Saban said, grinning slightly. “They sent me up there with the test to retest him.
“I really liked this guy. He played safety. I got the test out, and even though I didn’t take it, I studied it. Then I tutored the guy for about an hour before he took it, then I gave him twice as long to take it than he was supposed to.
“He doubled his score. We got him to where we could draft him. Now nobody knows about that, but I don’t think (Oilers owner) Bud Adams can fire me now, so I’m OK with it.”
So much of this has to do with preparation, too. If you are tutored or prepped for a test, you tend to do better. Or, if you’re like this guy, you might blow it off entirely and end up with a laughable score.
Do you consider this practice shady or not? On the one hand it’s Saban messing with the integrity of an exam. On the other, he’s trying to help his guys out, which is understandable.
