re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition

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DeMatha Catholic (Md.) safety DeMarcco Hellams said it’s an easy explanation as to why so many high-profile players pick the Tide. “The factory of producing great NFL players who have great NFL careers, the opportunity to be coached by the greatest coach in college football history and the opportunity to play in the toughest conference in the country,” Hellams said.

Any time a No. 1 class comes together competition is a key unifier, and this group isn’t any different. Turnage said nothing is promised at Alabama. You’re not guaranteed playing time. You’re not guaranteed a special teams spot. Competition, Top247 athlete vs. Top247 athlete, occurs across the board.

Finding athletes who embrace the idea of iron sharpening iron is the annual key to Alabama’s top-ranked classes. But it all comes back to Saban at the end of the day.

Hellams vividly remembers his first visit with Saban. It’s the moment he arrived. “It means you’re the real deal,” Hellams said with a laugh. “Great college coaches don’t waste valuable recruiting time on guys they’re not sure of. Sitting and talking with Coach Saban made me hungrier. It makes me push harder so I know when I’m under a coach like that I get everything I possibly can from him.”

Turnage didn’t care about his assistant coach’s nametag much in recruiting, because he knows Saban will be at Alabama. In much the same way the Crimson Tide are an NFL factory, the program’s turned into similar feeder program for coaches: “It’s a pit stop,” Turnage said.

The one constant is Saban.

Turnage is quick to point out there’s another constant – winning. Alabama’s won 10-plus games for 11 years running, earning five national championships in that stretch. A juggernaut in recruiting and on the field, the Tide are college football’s premier program. It’s why four and five-star recruits flock to Alabama year after year.

“Who wants to lose?” Turnage said.

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