Steve Spurrier’s most shocking move today may have been his compliment to Nick Saban

We’ve said it numerous times here on this blog and elsewhere: You never know what to really expect from Steve Spurrier.

And, in a way he delivered at SEC Media Days in Hoover, AL this morning, recalling his old days in the USFL, giving his thoughts on the proposed trophy between his South Carolina Gamecocks and the Texas A&M Aggies that’s supposed to be a replica of James Bonham, USC alum and a member of the Battle of the Alamo–“I always was taught the hero of the Alamo was Davy Crockett…Him and those Tennessee guys that came in and got killed and so forth”–joking about donors, and having a happy reunion with former quarterback Stephen Garcia.

But the most shocking move today–one that caught the nation’s attention–was the fact that he actually complimented Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Yes, you read that right. He had something nice to say about Saban. And there were no strings attached, no comments about how Saban works too much or hasn’t taken full advantage of his top classes by not winning enough.

No, just a straight-up compliment about his coaching and recruiting abilities (the whole transcript’s here if you want to read it):

“[T]hey’ve had five number one recruiting classes out of the last six years, which has got to make (Saban) the greatest recruiter in the history of college football. Arguably, they’ve got the greatest collection of football players ever assembled for a college team. If the recruiting services are correct…

“When I was at Florida, we had two number one classes…but at Alabama they just keep signing them year after year after year. It’s amazing. I give him credit for it.”

That’s all he had to say. I’m surprised. Is the Ole Ball Coach getting soft in his old age? Is he a changed man, as recently as a few months ago? Has he turned over a new leaf and is now looking to make peace with his counterpart in Tuscaloosa? Or was this another veiled shot at Saban’s relative lack of titles, another salvo thrown towards Dixie, another way of saying that they haven’t done enough over there, as The Sporting News suggests?

You decide.