re: Class of 2016 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Waiting On Demetris Robertson Edition

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The dust is finally beginning to settle in the aftermath of a frenzied national signing day. Results include several surprises, a few letdowns and some seriously talented classes.

We examined the country's top 25 recruiting hauls, as rated by 247Sports' composite rankings, handing out grades to each program. Our assessments are based on realistic expectations that were placed on each coaching staff at the outset of this cycle, with extra credit rewarded to regimes that closed strong despite duress.

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For the fifth straight season, Nick Saban and Alabama have captured the nation's top-rated recruiting class, per Barton Simmons of 247Sports.

In other news, the sky is blue.

Saban's current death grip on the college football recruiting national championship is unprecedented. Prior to the Tide's streak, the last time a program landed even back-to-back top-rated classes was USC in 2005-06.

No program has ever gone on a run like Alabama, and its recruiting dynasty will not end anytime soon thanks in large part to the controversial practice of the "Bama Bump"—the theory some experts in the recruiting industry believe leads recruiting services to rank kids much higher when they receive an Alabama offer, according to AL.com's John Talty.

One example of a prospect whose ranking jumped after committing to the Tide was offensive lineman JC Hassenauer of the 2014 class. As Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports noted, Hassenauer was rated the nation's No. 7 center when he committed to the Tide on June 17, 2013.

Less than a month later, according to Charles Power of BamaOnline, Hassenauer was rated as the best center prospect in the country. In fairness, the ratings spike came after he turned in a dominant performance at The Opening—the premier camp for the country's top prep recruits.

Saban offering a player is a lot like Jerry Rice calling for a flag or Barry Bonds taking a pitch: Most recruiting services are just going to take his word for it.

"Sometimes I don't know what comes first in recruiting rankings, the cart or the horse," Saban said. "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."



How Alabama Became the Perfect Recruiting Machine

While he clearly has no cares for the rankings process, Saban consistently wins on signing day because all top recruits see is an unrivaled track record for developing players and preparing them for the next level.

Despite a loaded depth chart in Tuscaloosa, talent flocks there in droves because players believe in Saban’s pitch, as Mike Farrell of Rivals told Bleacher Report's Lars Anderson recently:


Nobody has had a recruiting dynasty like this in college football. This is another great class for Saban. He can now basically go into any state he wants and get its best player. In the last few years, he's done this in Texas, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and I could go on and on. Players simply believe that if you can play for Saban, you'll do two things: win a national championship and get drafted into the NFL."

Given the Tide's annual triumphs every first Wednesday in February, Alabama's recruiting efforts have become machine-like. The kids are attracted to what a program as a whole can do for them, not just one coach or cog in the machine.

And it's not just blue-chip 5-stars Saban turns into NFL draft picks. No sir, if he sees what he wants in a prospect, he has proved he can take even lightly regarded recruits such as Josh Chapman, Vinnie Sunseri, Chance Warmack and Kevin Norwood and turn them into NFL players.

That's why the Tide can lose talented assistant coaches and a cavalcade of talent to the NFL each year without suffering any setbacks on the recruiting trail. Saban's history as a closer, the Tide's annual finishes atop the recruiting rankings and the success of his former players are part of why Anderson suggests Saban could be the best recruiter in college football history.

Once he identifies prospects who have the talent to play in his program, he's also able to dig into a player's mental approach and find kids who aren't afraid to compete day in and day out.

"What's crazy is that when I was first getting recruited, we never really talked about football," former Tide linebacker Nico Johnson told Bleacher Report. "He was so big on school, and telling me about my degree and making sure I was on top of that stuff. He feels like if you can be mentally strong, then you are able to do anything within his system."

It's that kind of legwork in the recruiting process that helps Saban identify what each player is capable of once he arrives on campus.



The 2015 Class

This year's class is further proof that Alabama is on another level.

Twenty of the Tide's 24 signees in this class were rated 4-stars or better, including 11 of the top 100 recruits overall and six prospects who were rated as 5-stars.

Saban hasn't typically landed big names at the quarterback position, until now.

Blake Barnett, who rates as the nation's No. 2 pro-style quarterback, is the first 5-star passer he's signed since arriving in Tuscaloosa.

He'll be joined by top-flight talents such as 5-star running back Damien Harris and 5-star receiver Calvin Ridley—each of whom is the nation's best at his respective position.

Corners Kendall Sheffield and Minkah Fitzpatrick represent two of the nation's top five corners, while defensive tackle Daron Payne is the top in-state talent in the Tide's class.

On paper, the 2015 recruiting class has the potential to be Saban's best crop, which is saying a mouthful. However, it's Saban's trusted process that ensures he and his staff will put in the time and effort necessary to develop the talent they get to the maximum of their abilities.

Recruiting is the foundation of every program in the country. Given Saban's sustained success in doing it better than everyone else, there's no program prepared to maintain its place as a powerhouse more so than Alabama.

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There's a CB prediction in for Mario Cristobal as "foggy" by Ryan Bartow.

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