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

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?DAVENPORT, Fla. – Led by the nation’s No. 2 recruit Xavier Thomas, many of America’s elite high school football prospects will take the field for Sunday’s Nike Football The Opening Orlando Regional.

This is the second stop on the nationwide tour for The Opening Regional series.

The 6-foot-2 ½, 249-pound Thomas was one of just a handful of underclassmen that earned an invite to The Opening finals last year. Looking to earn his second Golden Ticket to participate in this year’s finals, which are held every year in July at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout will arrive strongly considering offers from Clemson and South Carolina among others.

Eight more prospects competing rank inside the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Top50 in Miami running back commit Lorenzo Lingard, the nation’s No. 2 safety Tyreke Johnson (considering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame and UCLA among others), the No. 2 all-purpose back in the land T.J. Pledger (high on several including Nebraska, Oklahoma, Michigan, Notre Dame and USC), Penn State quarterback commit Justin Fields, America’s No. 5 receiver Brian Hightower (Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, UCLA and USC are top schools), the No. 6 cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles (Nebraska, Notre Dame and UCLA are a few), the top-ranked athlete in Florida State commit Justin Watkins and the No. 4 offensive tackle in the country in Richard Gouraige (Clemson, Florida and Florida State).

There’s an elite group of 2019 prospects competing as well led by top-ranked running back Noah Cain (LSU, Miami, Oklahoma), No. 1 athlete and Alabama commit Trey Sanders, the No. 2 safety and Florida verbal Jaleel McRae, the No. 5 and No. 6 receivers in Cameron Coleman and Maurice Goolsby, America’s No. 5 safety in Brendan Gant (Florida State is the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite) and the No. 4 weak-side defensive end in Nolan Smith.

Joining Fields in the quarterback group will be Auburn commit Joey Gatewood and Top247 passer Artur Sitkowski (Florida, Miami, South Carolina, Rutgers) among others. Florida State running back commit Charles Strong is another headliner in the backfield.

There will be several more high-profile receivers on the field including Top247 recruits in Joshua Moore (Texas is the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite), Warren Thompson (Florida, Florida State, Miami) and C.J. Smith (Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Oklahoma). Florida commit Jalynn Williams and Louisville pledge Zion Roland are also part of the group.

Florida is considered a heavy favorite to land two of the top offensive linemen slated to compete in the nation’s No. 8 offensive guard Cleveland Reed and No. 10 offensive tackle William Barnes. A couple other Top247 recruits include offensive tackle Reuben Unije (Alabama, Florida, N.C. State) and offensive guard Curtis Dunlap (Oklahoma leads on the 247Sports Crystal Ball).

Looking to battle those guys on the other side of the ball will be Top247 defensive end Stacy Kirby (Florida State and Miami among others), Top247 defensive tackle TK Chimedza (Florida State, Georgia and Georgia Tech) and four-star defensive end Jonathan King (Florida is the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite).

Clemson commit Mike Jones Jr. is one of the most ballyhooed linebackers on the field.

Other touted recruits in the secondary include Top247 safety Amari Burney (another Florida leads for on the Crystal Ball), Top247 cornerback and Florida State commit Isaiah Bolden, four-star cornerback Ken Montgomery Jr. and Virginia Tech safety commit Chamarri Conner.

Three more underclassmen arrive committed to high-profile schools in 2019 defensive tackle Jaquaze Sorrells to Florida, 2019 linebacker Jesiah Pierre to Miami and 2020 athlete Avantae Williams to Miami.

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With Alabama's 2017 recruiting class signed and in the books, it's time to get familiar with a new batch of prospects. Over the next several days, AL.com will be providing position-by-position looks at Alabama's top targets in the 2018 recruiting cycle. Today, we're analyzing the offensive line position.

TOP OFFENSIVE LINE TARGET

Jackson Carman (6-foot-6, 290 pounds, Fairfield, Ohio)

Alabama goes after elite tackles from all over the country and Carman is no different. He's a five-star recruit ranked as the No. 7 national recruit and No. 1 offensive tackle.

3 MORE TO WATCH

Nicholas Petit-Frere (6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Tampa, Fla.)

A four-star recruit, Petit-Frere earned an Alabama offer before his junior season and told 247Sports that he "consistently hears" from the Crimson Tide.

Jamaree Salyer (6-foot-4, 327 pounds, Atlanta, Ga.)

Salyer is the nation's top offensive guard and a five-star recruit. He's ranked No. 8 nationally. It will be tough to get any top recruit out of Georgia, but not impossible.

Reuben Unije (6-foot-5, 302 pounds, Bradenton, Fla.)

Alabama has an offer to the four-star IMG Academy standout and his versatility stands out for college coaches.

IN-STATE GLANCE

No linemen in the state of Alabama have Crimson Tide offers yet, but ones to watch include four-star Park Crossing interior lineman Tank Jenkins and three-star Brooks standout Kameron Stutts.

RETURNING ALABAMA OFFENSIVE LINEMEN FOR 2018

In 2018, Dallas Warmack, Josh Casher, Ross Pierschbacher and Lester Cotton will be seniors, Richie Petitbon, Jonah Williams, Matt Womack and Brandon Kennedy will be juniors, Chris Owens, Scott Lashley and Deonte Brown will be sophomores.

Of the signees, Elliot Baker will be a senior or redshirt junior and the rest will be sophomores or redshirt freshmen.

2017 ALABAMA OFFENSIVE LINE SIGNEES

Elliot Baker (four-star, City College of San Francisco), Alex Leatherwood (five-star, Pensacola, Fla.), Jedrick Wills (four-star, Lexington, Ky.), Kendall Randolph (four-star, Madison, Ala.)

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Orlando was the site for this weekend's Opening Regional, with 12 names earning invites to this summer's Finals in Oregon.

Xavier Thomas, 5-star DE, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Tyreke Johnson, 5-star S, Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy

Lorenzo Lingard, 5-star RB, Orange City (Fla.) University -- Miami commit

Justin Fields, 4-star QB, Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison -- Penn State commit -- Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles

Reuben Unije, 4-star OT, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Joshua Moore, 4-star WR, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Amari Gainer, 3-star DE, Tallahassee (Fla.) Lawton Chiles

Thomas has maintained that his college decision will come down to either Clemson or South Carolina. The South Carolina native continues to listen to other programs like Alabama. Nick Saban told Thomas on a visit for the Texas A&M game earlier this season that the 6-foot-3, 249-pounder was the top priority for 2018.

Five-star safety Tyreke Johnson is a big Jeremy Pruitt fan. Alabama will certainly stay in play if it so chooses.

The Tide made a big impression on four-star offensive tackle Reuben Unije last summer when it offered. Unije said he was "elated" at the time.

Penn State commit Justin Fields is firm with the Nittany Lions, but 247Sports National Recruiting Director Steve Wiltfong wrote on Sunday that Fields said the Tide offer was eye-opening.

Four-star receiver Joshua Moore told 247Sports' EJ Holland earlier this month that both Alabama and Ohio State are currently standing out. The Tide offered last month.

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Orlando OL talks recent Alabama offer

Alabama offensive line coach Brent Key pulled the trigger on offering Dr. Phillips (Orlando) offensive tackle John Campbell on Saturday night, just 24 hours before he competed against some of the top defensive linemen at the Orlando Opening regional.

Campbell, a 3-star prospect, didn’t shine at the event like the other Crimson Tide offensive line targets, such as 4-star prospects Reuben Unije, Richard Gouraige and William Barnes. He’ll likely need to show out at one of the Tide’s junior day camps this spring or summer to raise his stock.

Nonetheless, Campbell was excited to learn that he has an opportunity to play for the Tide.

“(Coach Key) told me that I am a great fit for Alabama,” Campbell told SEC Country. “They think that I could play for them for the next four years. He believes I can do big things for them.”

Campbell mentioned Alabama along with Florida, Auburn, Miami and Tennessee as the schools he’s considering strongly at this moment. As far his interest level in Alabama at this point?

“I have high interest in Alabama, but I have high interest in all of my offers,” Campbell said. “I’m just blessed. I have God-given talent and I won’t let him down.”

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Justyn Ross' recruitment is heating up rapidly, but he's in no hurry to narrow down his 23 offers to a few favorites.

The standout receiver at Central High School in Phenix City has more important things on his mind. He's awaiting the return of his mother, Charay Franklin, a truck driver with the National Guard who is currently deployed in Kuwait.

Franklin's been gone since June and is expected to return home sometime this summer.

"It's hard," Ross told AL.com. "This is her third time doing it -- she's been to Afghanistan twice. I'm not saying I'm getting used to it, but it's not as hard on me as it was when I was younger. She is a very big part of my recruitment. Whenever she comes back, that's when I'll start cutting everything down and getting to my top schools."

Ross' grandmother is taking care of him while his mother is away, and Central head coach Jamey Dubose is helping him remain patient with his recruitment.

"We've talked about it and what he's interested in and things like that," Dubose said. "We're not going to release anything like that until Momma gets back, because we want Momma to be involved in this. I told Justyn to get what he's thinking together and I'm going to carry him out during the spring to see some of these coaches and universities. Hopefully he can break that number down from a larger number to a little bit smaller number this summer."

The 6-foot-4, 198-pounder plans on holding off until National Signing Day 2018 to make a commitment. He hears from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, LSU and Ohio State the most.

While his recruitment is "wide open," Ross noted the in-state schools are always going to be factors. He grew up a "split" fan of both the Tide and Tigers, and the only stadiums he's been to for games are Bryant-Denny and Jordan-Hare.

"Auburn is great," Ross said. "I have a great relationship with the coaches and I'm starting to get a good relationship with some of the players... Alabama's a great school and their program is amazing. They put out great players and Coach (Nick) Saban is a great person."

Two of Ross' former teammates, Auburn cornerback John Broussard and Alabama linebacker signee Markail Benton are regularly in his ear about coming to their respective schools.

"Markail especially, because he's still here (at Central)," Ross said. "Markail is like a brother. We grew up on the same team. John is a little older than me but we built a great relationship when I came up (to varsity) my ninth grade year. At the end of the day they know I'm going to make my own decision so they don't get on me too hard."

Ross is one of the most sought-after players in the country. The 247Sports Composite ranks him as a four-star prospect and the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama. Often double-teamed, he caught 38 passes for 663 yards and eight touchdowns last season and is a 2018 Under Armour All-American.

Dubose has been impressed with his hands and feels the biggest area he needs to improve on is breaking away from press coverage, which he doesn't see a lot of.

"I would definitely agree that Justyn is the No. 1 player," Dubose said. "He's got so many things you look for in a wide receiver -- he reminds you a lot of a Julio Jones. He's got height, size, speed, leaping ability, tremendous hands. I've seen him make catches that are just remarkable.

"It's probably been a long time since we've had a player of his caliber in this state. I think not only is he the No. 1 player in the state, I think he's going to contend to be one of the top wide receivers in the country if not the top receiver in the country."

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Alabama has its new offensive coordinator, even though Brian Daboll hasn't been formally announced by the school for the position.

On Monday, Alabama offered its first quarterback since Daboll's reported hire. It was a dual-threat quarterback in four-star Dorian Thompson-Robinson from Bishop Gorman, one of the country's powerhouse football programs from Las Vegas.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Thompson-Robinson told AL.com that he got the offer from Nick Saban and there was no discussion of the new offensive coordinator, but his 25th offer was one he was excited to get.

"If you get a Alabama offer, that means you're pretty legit," Thompson-Robinson said. "I didn't (have any planned visits yet to Tuscaloosa), but I definitely want to now."

Thompson-Robinson is the country's No. 55 overall prospect and No. 2 dual-threat quarterback, per the 247Sports composite.

He backed up Ohio State five-star signee Tate Martell over the past two seasons, hitting 21-of-31 passes for 269 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions last season. Thompson-Robinson also ran for 171 yards and six scores and shined as a receiver, catching 22 passes for 397 yards and eight touchdowns. He'll play quarterback this season.

Thompson-Robinson also has offers from the likes of Oregon, UCLA and Arizona.

Check out his junior highlights.

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