re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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Buckeye06

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1. A new No. 1 is coming

The streak has to end eventually. Alabama has had an unprecedented run with seven consecutive No. 1 recruiting classes according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, but this is the year it comes to an end.

Currently Alabama is sitting at No. 62 nationally and No. 11 in the SEC. To be clear, that's nothing to worry about for Alabama fans. Nick Saban will bring in one of the best recruiting classes in college football this cycle, good enough to keep competing for national titles on the field. But when it comes to national championships on the recruiting trail, Alabama may be ceding too much of a lead to the Buckeyes to overcome in this cycle.

Ohio State has 10 commitments to Alabama's two in the class of 2018. Of the 10, only two are ranked outside the Top100 according to the 247Sports Composite, and all are four- or five-star prospects. The Buckeyes are teed up with more on the way. OT Jackson Carman, DE Micah Parsons and CB Anthony Cook are all five-star prospects that are Crystal Ball favorites to land in Columbus with others knocking on the door.

Conversely, Alabama isn't a Crystal Ball leader for any current 247Sports Composite five-stars. Unlike last year when we knew throughout most of the process that guys like Henry Ruggs III, Devonta Smith and LaBryan Ray were borderline locks to end up in Tuscaloosa, the natural ties to five-stars aren't quite there for Nick Saban.

Alabama's commit list will grow in the coming weeks and months as the staff starts to accept commits during its camp evaluation process. There will be some December and January flipping that takes place, too. But Urban Meyer is too good to let it slip away this year.

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NEW: Lakeland High star Deyavie Hammond (2019) has committed to Alabama

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Alabama added its third commitment in its 2019 class in four-star guard Deyavie Hammond, the Lakeland (Fla.) product announced on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

RollTide pic.twitter.com/9PMl5KOD8r
— Deyavie Hammond (@DeyavieH) May 23, 2017

Hammond opted for the Crimson Tide over Auburn, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia, among others.

In fact, earlier this month Hammond named the Gators his leader. However, that was before Alabama offered on May 17.

At 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, Hammond is rated the No. 5 offensive guard and the No. 108 overall player in the country, per 247Sports.

With the newest addition, the Tide sits at No. 6 in the 247Sports Team Rankings.

Wide receivers coach Mike Locksley is the primary recruiter on record.

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Lanett, Ala. -- In today's pass-first college football, prospects who can affect the passing game are as valuable as they have ever been. It's part of the reason the SEC is already heavy after class of 2019 defensive back Trikweze Bridges.

Measuring in a 6-foot-4, 175 pounds as a high school sophomore is fairly uncommon for a wide receiver and even moreso for a free safety. But Trikweze Bridges fits the bill early on and combined with his length and ball skills, has many college football programs interested.

The class of 2019 standout is closing in on double-digit scholarship offers.

"I've got seven offers," he said. "Louisville was the first one, Jacksonville State, Alabama, Mississippi State, Troy, Kentucky, Florida.

"But I've just got to stay humble and keep working, I can't get a big head."

Bridges hasn't, though he has begun attempting to learn more of some of his suitors with unofficial visits to Louisville and Kentucky last weekend in addition to in-state stops at Alabama, Auburn and Jacksonville State under his belt. The trips will continue.

One of the most recent was to Tuscaloosa, but he didn't hold the Crimson Tide offer at that point. That news stands as one of the early surprises in his recruitment.

"Alabama, because it's an in-state team and it's the team I grew up watching," Bridges said. "We haven't talked that much but we're working on it. They like the way I get after the ball and that I'm a good safety."

The Lanett (Ala.) prospect has a connection to a former Panther great who attends another school already on the offer list.

"My cousin (Marlon Bridges) plays for Jacksonville State but I haven't just visited as a prospect," he said. "I've been there. At Florida, I went to camp two years ago when I was a freshman."

As Bridges looks to make return trips to many of the programs having offered this month, it will only be apart of the foundation of his own evaluation. He is in no rush to accelerate the recruiting process.

"Probably the middle of my senior year," he said of a decision timetable.

It goes beyond football, too.

"Football won't always be there, so my academics will be important, like what fits me," Bridges said. "I'm looking at architecture or physical education."

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I also called you butthurt in the Carman thread. You're welcome

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