re: Class of 2015 Recruiting MEGATHREAD - Twilight Edition

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It’s been quite the run for Saban and Alabama, especially in the recruiting rankings.


According to the 247Sports composite rankings, this is Alabama’s fifth straight No. 1 class, a streak that dates back to 2011. That means that every player on campus in Tuscaloosa was part of a No. 1 class. And according to Rivals, before this year Alabama had pulled in the No. 1 class six of the last seven years, going all the way back to the 2008 class many credit with launching Alabama's dynasty.


Some of that has been just because of the sheer talent Saban brings in. But Saban himself thinks that his players automatically get a little bit of a bump.


"Sometimes I don't know what comes first in recruiting rankings, the cart or the horse,” he said before the SEC Championship Game, according to The Associated Press. “When a guy gets recruited by what I'm going to call high-profile programs, he gets ranked higher. That's where I question the validity of how accurate some of those things may be."


Still, it’s hard to deny that recruiting success hasn’t turned into on-field success. Alabama has won three national titles in that span and have only missed at least a BCS bowl (or, now, College Football Playoff berth) since that 2008 recruiting class.


As Cecil Hurt of The Tuscaloosa News noted, while everyone is gleefully throwing out the no-5-stars-in-the-Super-Bowl stat, there were 15 in the playoff. It helps to recruit the best, and Alabama does just that.

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After giving up the most passing yards of the Saban era in 2014, Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart took big steps in shoring up that part of the defense in this cycle.

For the second year in a row, Alabama signed two 5-star cornerbacks, grabbing Kendall Sheffield and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the No. 4 and No. 5 corners in this class, respectively.

Alabama returns Cyrus Jones, who started every game at cornerback, while Eddie Jackson Tony Brown will likely compete for the other starting role. But Sheffield and Fitzpatrick add depth to a unit that appears to have a very bright future. They could see playing time this year on special teams.

Where the real immediate impact could be is at safety, where Alabama added 4-stars Deionte Thompson and Ronnie Harrison, both of whom enrolled early and have already started class.

The Crimson Tide lost its top three safeties this offseason, so there is plenty of room for opportunity and competition. It wouldn’t be out of the question to see Thompson or Harrison get some looks at Star or Money (essentially the fifth and sixth defensive backs) in spring and fall camp.

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It’s hard to look at quarterback Blake Barnett and wide receiver Calvin Ridley and not have flashbacks to Greg McElroy-to-Julio Jones or Blake Sims-to-Amari Cooper.

Barnett is a 5-star mobile quarterback, who could be a game-changer at that position in Lane Kiffin’s offense, and the highest-rated quarterback prospect Saban has ever signed. Ridley is also a 5-star, and they made quite a pair this summer at The Opening.

With a wide-open quarterback battle set to take place this offseason, Barnett’s status as a true freshman shouldn’t necessarily limit his chances to win the job.

And there is definitely a precedent for wide receivers playing right away. Cooper and Jones both did just that and were dominant players from the time they stepped on campus.

If Barnett and Ridley can both catch on sooner rather than later, it could be the start of a special duo for a few years.

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