re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

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Four-star defensive end Jarez Parks (Sebastian River, Fla.) grew up liking Florida. He has family with fondness and ties to both Florida and Florida State.

Early in his recruitment he publicly favored the Gators. A summer trip around the Southeast since opened his options.

Parks said he’s talked with his family about the possibly of leaving Florida for college, something they said they’ll support no matter where he opts to go.

The Crystal Ball reads 83-percent for Florida and 17-percent for Alabama.

I logged the first Crystal Ball pick in for the Crimson Tide July 23. After speaking with multiple contacts with direct intel of the nation’s No. 4 defensive end, that selection now has an even greater confidence level heading into the fall.

Parks trimmed his list of 32 offers down to eight late this summer: Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Clemson, USC, LSU and Oklahoma.

Parks hopes to take all five official visits, dates and locations he plans to decide on later this fall, before making a public announcement, something that will likely happen in early January at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

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Alabama didn’t wait long after losing four-star quarterback Jake Fromm to Georgia to offer five-star signal caller Tua Tagovailoa. The Tide staff subsequently received a commitment in May from the Honolulu (Hawaii) St. Louis product, arguably one of the most electric playmakers in the class.

However, Tagovailoa isn’t the only talented QB from the Aloha State, as his little brother Taulia is one of the rising names at the position in the 2019 recruiting cycle.

In another instance of not waiting long, Alabama offered the younger Tagovailoa who plays his high school ball at Kapolei.

“It’s a blessing,” Taulia Tagovailoa said of the Alabama offer. “It means a lot. I appreciate it. It got me on the map and opened a lot of colleges’ eyes. I’d like to thank Coach (Nick) Saban for that.”

Arguably Taulia’s biggest fan, Tua announced his brother’s offer to play for the Crimson Tide on Twitter late last month, a Tweet that is still pinned on the Alabama commit’s page.

“He’s just excited for me,” Taulia Tagovailoa said. “It was kind of an emotional moment for me and my family. Like I said, it’s a huge blessing.”

Recruiting restrictions make contact limited between players in staff. Taulia’s parents informed him of his offer from UA.

“I didn’t talk to any of the coaches yet, but I’m looking forward to it,” Taulia Tagovailoa said.

It’s rare two brothers end up playing D1 football together, let alone at the same position.

“That’d mean a lot,” Taulia Tagovailoa said of the opportunity to play on the same team as his older brother. “I could learn the system. Basically I could get a head start going into my freshman year of college. It’d be fun, too.”

It might not be long before Taulia makes his first visit to Tuscaloosa.

“I’d love to go out there,” he said. “I think we’re planning to go with Tua on his official visit. I guess we’ll have to see.”

With additional offers from Hawaii and Utah in his pocket, Taulia talked about other programs he would like to hear from.

“Honestly I really like the Auburn program because of the coach that they have and the quarterbacks that go to the NFL like Cam Newton,” he said. “I like the LSU program because of all the people that go to the NFL. Yeah, just like the D1 big-time Pac-12 or SEC schools. Those offers would mean a lot.”

It’s stat lines that Taulia is putting up early in the season – 723 yards passing, 10 touchdowns – that may make a few more big-time programs take notice of the sophomore signal caller.

At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, Taulia has yet to receive a 247Sports player rating.

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If OSU keeps the kid they have in 2018 now (Snead), they will probably try and add 1 more, who will likely be 5* gill, who is an in state APB.

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Laurinburg (N.C.) Scotland County class of 2018 five-star back Zamir "Zeus" White recruitment is shaping up to be a battle between North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson and Georgia. As things stand today, he is not expected to venture too far from his Laurinburg home so his family can see him play in person on a regular basis without it putting a huge strain on them travel-wise. While the Gamecocks are not the team to beat, I do think the arrow is pointing up for them right now. Running backs coach Bobby Bentley coached White’s position coach at Scotland County in Paul Adams, and that is a connection working in the Gamecocks’ favor.

White is expected to return to Columbia for a game or two this season and could be accompanied by his head coach on at least one of those visits. That will be an important step in the process, as his coach is involved in helping him make his decision. I can also tell you White noticed when four-star safety Hamsah Nasirildeen, the No. 1 ranked player in the Tar Heel State in the 2017 class according to 247Sports rankings, committed to South Carolina and called the coaching staff once the news broke. White is the No. 1 player in the North Carolina class of 2018 according to the same rankings and the Gamecock staff believes he is a game changer if they can land him. If White was picking a school today, I believe it would be North Carolina based on what I have to go on, but he is not close to making a decision.

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Tagovailoa receives excellent news

The past couple of months for Alabama quarterback commit Tua Tagovailoa have been spectacular, and the good news continued for him on Tuesday.

Tagovailoa is now rated the No. 1 dual-threat QB in the country and is a composite 5-star prospect. He is now rated the No. 3 overall QB prospect in the country behind Clemson commit Hunter Johnson and Stanford commit Davis Mills.

This news follows Tagovailoa being named the Elite 11 MVP and The Opening 7-on-7 MVP after a masterful performance at the nation’s top prospect camp.

Just this past weekend, he led Saint Louis High School (Honolulu) to a 49-7 win in which he was 12 of 16 for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown.

All rankings are provided by the 247Sports composite unless otherwise noted.

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Early visitors list for Alabama vs. Southern Cal

Alabama can’t officially host prospects at a neutral site game, but several commitments are expected to be in attendance when the Tide take on the Trojans in AT&T Stadium next Saturday in Arlington. Here are the early names for the game:

-5-star offensive tackle commit Alex Leatherwood (Pensacola, Fla.)
-4-star wide receiver commit Tyrell Shavers (Lewisville, Texas)
-3-star tight end commit Kedrick James (Waco, Texas)

Several more prospects in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will likely be there, too, but these are the names SEC Country has learned so far. I would expect 2018 QB Jalen Mayden, who is the brother of freshman cornerback Jared Mayden, to be in attendance. The younger Mayden does not hold an offer from the Crimson Tide just yet, but he is on Alabama’s radar. With the team’s top target in the 2018 class Jack West heading to Stanford, expect Mayden to get a lot more looks from the coaching staff.

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Five-star prospect Cam Akers of Clinton (Miss.) High School opened his senior season with a huge game against South Panola High School, accounting for 452 yards and five total touchdowns in a 38-26 win.

Akers was 14 of 22 passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns and added 180 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

Akers is a five-star running back prospect who is the No. 8 overall player in the nation in the class of 2017 according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

The former Alabama commitment (he decommitted in March) is still considering several major programs like Ohio State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Michigan, Auburn, Florida State, Cal, LSU, Georgia and the Crimson Tide.

His Crystal Ball prediction leaders are 52% for Ohio State, 22% for Ole Miss and 9% for Florida State.

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think if someone else better like UA really pushed he would flip.

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