Demouy Kennedy Chose Alabama over Auburn After Nick Saban Showed Off Title Rings

Former Auburn Tigers commit Demouy Kennedy said he flipped to the Alabama Crimson Tide after head coach Nick Saban showed him a table filled with championship rings.

On Friday, Mark Heim of AL.com provided comments Kennedy made earlier this week about his recruitment on WNSP Sports Radio in Alabama.

"I liked when [Saban] said, 'Would you rather gamble on this table (pointing to the ring table) or the other table?' I said, 'I'm gambling on the ring table,'" the insider linebacker said Wednesday.

Kennedy, a standout at Theodore High School in Alabama, said he struggled to choose between the two high-profile in-state schools, and spoke on WNSP about his decommitment conversation with Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn.

"I told (Malzahn) I was just excited, and I didn't know what to do," he said. "I said 'recruiting was new to me. I was just excited and didn't know what to do with it.' He said he understands, and he thinks I'm making the right decision."

Kennedy is a 4-star prospect and the No. 98 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also listed as the third-best inside linebacker in next year's group.

Saban owns six national championships, including five since he took over the Bama program in 2007. Along with making the Tide a constant presence in the title race, he's also developed countless defenders into high NFL draft picks over the past 13 years.

Flexing that championship muscle landed him Kennedy, another future defensive stalwart.