re: Class of 2015 Recruiting MEGATHREAD - Twilight Edition

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When: Saturday, Oct. 25; 7:30 p.m. ET

Last meeting: T.J. Yeldon had three rushing touchdowns in Alabama's 45-10 home win over Tennessee last October.



What to watch for

Alabama (6-1, 3-1 SEC) put forth its most dominant performance of the year last week, annihilating Texas A&M 59-0 at home to reverse a recent trend of poor offensive performances. The Crimson Tide scored on their first eight possessions and shut down a potent Aggies attack, getting back on track in the wake of criticism about not winning big enough.

Now they get to visit Knoxville, where offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin spent one notorious season as Tennessee's coach before skipping town to take over USC after the 2009 campaign.

Tennessee (3-4, 0-3) fans will be motivated by such an arrival, but with the Volunteers still looking to put together a winning performance against a key opponent, there's no room for distractions on the field.

"For Tennessee, that task is bouncing back from its worst loss of the season, a 34-3 rout at third-ranked Ole Miss, in time to regroup for a Tide team coming off a 59-0 blitz of the Aggies," wrote Patrick Brown of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The Vols have scored only 12 points in their last two SEC games and for the year rank 116th nationally in total offense.

While it would make for a great story if Tennessee were to upset Alabama and give coach Butch Jones his biggest win yet, that's just not very likely.

Prediction: Alabama 30, Tennessee 13

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CeCe Jefferson is currently the second rated defensive end in America according to Scout.com. The 5-star quarterback killer was introduced officially to America on Wednesday as a member of the 2015 US Army All-American Bowl, one of ninety of the top players in all of the land.

The weekend before, he made the trip to Tuscaloosa (Ala.) for an official visit with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Quite familiar with the landscape of the school, Jefferson got to spend a lot of time with familiar coaching faces like that of head coach Nick Saban, defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, and linebacker coach Lance Thompson.

“My trip to Alabama went great,” Jefferson said after an emotional Army Bowl ceremony. “I’ve been to Alabama previous to that that three times, but that was actually my first game. The tailgating was pretty good, just the atmosphere was great. Me and Coach Saban, Coach Kirby, and Coach Thompson and all the coaching staff, we hit it off real well… you know we have a good relationship. I had an overall good visit. My host showed me a good time and I enjoyed everything.”

Jefferson is in the middle of taking his visits and the weekend before he spent on campus at Ole Miss.

“I am 2-0 on official visits,” he said. “I went to Ole Miss when they played Bama and Ole Miss won. I go to Bama when they play Texas A&M on my official, they blow out Texas A&M. I think I am a good luck charm. We’ll see what happens when I take an official to UCLA when they play USC. If that happens, put me in a bottle and sell me, because I am good luck.”

Jefferson is certainly having a good time with the process, but Alabama is a school he is serious with and for good reason. He likes the fact they are recruiting him for the JACK position, where he sees himself as a natural fit, and so much more to like.

“I love Alabama,” he said. “I actually fit in perfect with their defense. I like what they have going on over there. They have great stability because Coach Saban isn’t going anywhere.”

Stay tuned as we will have more from his All-American Bowl ceremony shortly, and continue to follow Jefferson throughout the recruiting process.

Scout currently tabs Jefferson as the No. 5 overall prospect in the class of 2015.

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Desherrius Flowers got a nice birthday present Thursday morning.

The Alabama 2015 commit and Vigor running back received his official invitation and honorary jersey to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January.

"It's a blessing," said Flowers, who turned 18 Thursday. "I'm very excited about playing in the All-American Game. A lot of players wish they had this opportunity, but they don't. I just thank God every time I think about it."

RELATED: FLOWERS BLOSSOMING INTO STAR RUNNER

Flowers is one of 90 players nationwide chosen for the game and the only player from the state of Alabama. The 15th annual event will be held at the Alamodome at noon on Jan. 3 and will be televised by NBC.

"It's a humongous day," Vigor coach Ashley Johnson said. "When one of our guys gets elected to something prestigious like this - a national event - it is big for the whole school. We feel like we all have received an award. We work so closely together. We call ourselves a family here at Vigor, and it really is. It's a wonderful day."

The announcement was attended by many of Flowers' family members, fellow students and teachers as well as the football team and band. Mobile public schools superintendent Martha Peek also was in attendance.

"This is one of the biggest announcements in Vigor High School history," Principal Gerald Cunningham said. "Today is truly a great day."

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Flowers committed to Alabama prior to his junior year and has stayed firm in that pledge since. He re-iterated Thursday that he plans to graduate in December and report to Tuscaloosa in January.

"I'm very excited about going up and starting classes and workouts so I can be ready for the next football season," he said.

Flowers rushed for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns on 136 carries as a junior. As a sophomore, he ran for 922 yards and 12 scores.

This year, he has been hampered by a nagging ankle injury all season but seems to be getting healthy at the right time. Flowers scored three TDs in a win at Faith Academy two weeks ago and ran for 47 yards and an 11-yard touchdown in a 21-6 win over Williamson last week.

"It still bothers me," he said. "I hurt it in practice sometimes but when it comes to game time I always feel 100 percent. I'll be ready to go Friday."

Flowers and his Vigor teammates will take on Class 5A No. 1 St. Paul's in the AL.com Coastal Game of the Week on Friday.

Johnson said Flowers' potential is untapped.

"He is still a very young individual, a kid really," Johnson said. "He might look like a man, but he is still just a kid. He has a lot of growing to do. There is no telling what he could become at Alabama, but we also very proud of what he has going on now. He deserves it. He is going to go and get a free education. Wherever it takes him - whether it is the NFL or not - he will be very prepared to live a fruitful life."

Flowers is ranked No. 10 on AL.com's updated A-list of the top senior players in the state.

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Which brings us into our next two five-stars, the nation’s top two strong-side defensive ends Byron Cowart and CeCe Jefferson. Florida holds 88 of the 43 forecasts for Cowart, while they hold 94 percent for Jefferson.

With Cowart, Alabama looks to have made a major move with the Seffner (Fla.) Armwood talent this past weekend during his official visit. So much so, that he told BamaOnLine insider Charles Power that he could return to Tuscaloosa for either the Mississippi State or Auburn game, which are currently weekends he has officials scheduled to other schools. Cowart wants to give Alabama as much a chance to sign him as he has Florida, citing that he’s been to The Swamp for several games and that he’s only seen the Crimson Tide play once. If he makes a return trip to Alabama, that could be enough to start swinging the 247Sports Crystal Ball towards Nick Saban and company. Every year Saban and his staff seem to be good for at least one out-of-state big-timer that appeared destined for elsewhere before inking with the Tide. Perhaps that’s Cowart in 2015.

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Don’t sleep on Alabama or Florida State for the nation’s No. 3 cornerback Kendall Sheffield. Texas A&M currently holds 89 percent of the Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall standout’s 36 Crystal Ball forecasts, but no doubt both the Crimson Tide and Seminoles staffs are confident about where they stand with the Lone Star State lockdown corner. Sheffield won’t decide till January, so lots of recruiting to still be done here, which would still include an official down the road to Alabama. Florida State had Sheffield in town for his official this past weekend.

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Alabama is the heavy favorite to sign Birmingham (Ala.) Shades Valley School defensive tackle Daron Payne, but he continues to mention Auburn as one of his leaders and no question the Tigers won’t go down easily here. Payne has already been to one Tigers game this year and could return before the season is out. Don’t mark this down as a commitment to the Tide just yet, although Alabama holds 94 percent of the 51 Crystal Ball forecasts.

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Glen St. Mary (Fla.) Baker County 5-star defensive end CeCe Jefferson was awarded with his US Army Bowl jersey on Wednesday…

Listening to Baker County head coach Tom MacPherson, and you can understand just why coaches are drawn to CeCe Jefferson and it goes beyond his play on the field.

“He is one of the best players in the country and one of the first things I could tell right away was how dynamic of a personality he has,” MacPherson said of Jefferson in front of a crowd gathered to watch his acceptance into the US Army All-American Bowl. “With all of the things he goes through, as an 18 year old kid I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been able to handle it the way he does.”

MacPherson talked about Jefferson being a huge factor both as an athlete, but as a guy that knows the game of football.

“He’s extremely football smart,” MacPherson said. “His talent on film speaks for itself and is so easy to see. But, I was so impressed with how smart he is as a football player. That is something that will have you seeing him playing not only for the next four years, but also on Sunday, I guarantee you that.”

Jefferson is also known for his Twitter game. The social medium gets a new eyeful from him quite often during this recruiting process.

“In today’s world of social media, I don’t know if there is anyone better at spinning it and twisting it,” MacPherson said. “He is good at what he does. He understands how to play the game they are playing with them. He understands that as a top recruit that all the schools are playing a game with him and he does a phenomenal job of playing the game back.”

But MacPherson wasn’t saying that Jefferson is all fun and games.
“He handles things with a great deal of class and respect,” he said.
Scout.com was on hand at the announcement and here are some photos of the event.

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