re: 2020 FB Recruiting & Roster

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1. How surprised are you that neither Texas nor Texas A&M made the list?

Spiegelman: Immensely shocked, given the momentum Texas garnered in the spring and how he viewed his fit in the A&M offense, and also the string of visits to Austin over the past year. For neither to be involved is a complete shock.

2. Do you get the sense either one or both of them will end up on Evans’ list?

Spiegelman: Some comments have pointed toward Texas not being in the race because they’re not championship-ready, but given the proximity to campus, Texas is not going to throw in the towel on Evans. The same goes for A&M, and I would fully anticipate one, if not both, could get back into the race before February.

3. There is the talk that Evans is the best running back in Texas since Adrian Peterson. Does that matter to Evans, and does it help Oklahoma at all?

Spiegelman: The pitch is great, but Jase McClellan committed and the Sooners are a finalist for Seth McGowan, so the odds are they’re not getting the two top-rated running backs from the state of Texas this year. Evans' last visit was probably more than a year ago, so they’d be fifth out of the top five in my opinion.

4. In Evan’s final five, he has pro-style teams, spread teams and teams that play both. What exactly is he looking for in an offense?

Spiegelman: He really can fit in a spread system, but he’s best-suited for the SEC. The SEC has its selling points, especially to running backs in regards to downhill runners, guys that can lower their shoulder and run over someone. Zach is a phenomenal receiver, too, so a team like Ohio State would be an exceptional fit.

5. Out of the top five - if he sticks with these top five - which school has the best shot right now?

Spiegelman: I’m really leaning toward an SEC school. You could make an easy case for each of the three in his final five. LSU was his first offer going into his freshman year, and he visited as recently as January and they have a pipeline to North Shore High School. He’s visited Alabama in the past, and they’re looking to restock the backfield. Being developed and going to the NFL is what’s on his mind and at Alabama you can do that and compete for a title. With Georgia, (assistant head coach) Dell McGee is going after Evans, Kendall Milton and Seth McGowan. When he visited, it was around the Super Bowl, and he got to see Todd Gurley and Sony Michel face off in the game. Georgia is RBU, which stands out and that clicks a lot of boxes for him.

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THE SITUATION

Southern Columbia High School has been a successful program for a number of years now. It has only suffered nine losses this decade, and only one since Fleming entered high school. Sophomore year, the first of back-to-back state championship seasons for Southern Columbia, is when Fleming started reeling in offers. His list of scholarships expanded exponentially and dozens of visits followed.

Penn State was the early favorite for Fleming because of family ties to the university and his many relationships with players and students in State College. He built relationships with the coaches at Penn Sate and at the many other programs that offered him. As Fleming took a closer look at his offer sheet, a few programs started to emerge as major contenders. Coaching changes after last season helped some programs and hurt others in their pursuit of Fleming.

Fleming whittled his list of contenders down to Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia. Each school has gotten him on campus at least once, but the only official visit he’s taken was to Alabama last month.

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THE VERDICT

“I think Fleming ends up at Ohio State after Penn State had the initial lead. He has a great relationship with the coaches and I think he likes the way Ohio State produces wide receivers.” - Mike Farrell, Rivals.com National Director of Recruiting

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Alabama continues to be in the thick of things for multiple 2020 running backs as nationally ranked backs, Zachary Evans and Sam Adams, included the Tide in their top schools list on Tuesday.

Evans released a top five, which included Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma and LSU. He garners a 5-Star ranking and is regarded as the No. 1 running back in the nation. He said he will focus on these five schools going forward.

”I would like to say thank you to all of the colleges and coaches for recruiting me these past couple of years,” Evans said via Twitter. “It has truly been a blessing and amazing experience but at this time I have decided to focus on these five schools.”

The Texas product shows a lot of patience when he is running the ball and is extremely quick on his feet. He has the skill set to make defenders look foolish in the open field.

Adams narrowed his list down on Tuesday as well. He released his top six and included Washington, Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas A&M. He is the son of former Texas A&M defensive tackle, Sam Adams.

The Washington product is more of a speed back. He can squeeze through right spaces and has great vision.

Alabama was also included in 5-Star running back, Kendall Milton’s, top four recently and are expected to get a huge visit from him this Summer.

Roydell Williams is currently Alabama’s only 2020 running back commit. The Tide wants to add a pair of backs to this class and Adams, Evans and Milton look to be major Alabama targets going down the stretch.

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Alabama 2020 defensive back commit, Jahquez Robinson, has impressed many on the recruiting trail, including NFL wide receiver, Dez Bryant, who had to let Robinson know about it.

Bryant sent Robinson a direct message on Sunday via Twitter, which stated, “My cousin showed me your film. You gone do work under Saban. I’m watching my guy. Bless up.”

Robinson said receiving the message from the NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver left him with a rush of emotions.

“I was excited and shocked,” Robinson said. “I was amazed, just filled with a lot of emotions.”

Robinson verbally committed to Alabama on Feb. 18. He is one of the four 2020 defensive backs verbally committed to Alabama. He has visited Alabama once since his commitment.

The Florida native got down to Alabama on April 5, where he got to spend a very long time with Nick Saban.

“It was a lot of love being shown,” Robinson said. “People told me it was the longest Saban has talked to someone in a long time. He was just letting me know my potential and showing that he really wants to coach me.”

Alabama has continued to stack their numbers at the defensive back position and the 2020 class looks to be no different. Robinson is a lengthy defensive back, who can play close to the line of scrimmage and has no problem with putting his hands on wide receivers. He can go stride to stride with wideouts and break up plays with his long arms.

Several teams have continued to push for Robinson’s commitment, but he has not wavered from his commitment. He plans to camp at Alabama and LSU this Summer. The Tide should be able to strengthen their relationship with Robinson while he is at camp and get a look at what parts of Robinson’s game have impressed the likes of Dez Bryant and others.

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PACIFIC PALISADES, Ca. - Traeshon Holden
has moved from Maryland to California for his senior season

“It’s different from where I was at in Baltimore, Maryland,” Holden said of his move from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances to Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne. “The transition has been fun, I’ve been working out, I work out almost every day trying to get better and everything is going good.

“Recruiting actually got busier/Schools recruiting harder. ”

While he feels that Bama is best place to develop it really helps that he has so many former classmates currently on or coming to Alabama already. They provide a place to stand when he visits and stay in his ear, also

Oregon, USC, Clemson, Florida, Arizona State, Texas and Florida State are some that are coming hard and while looking to see if USC or other PAC 12 school would work for him, he will def be visiting Clemson, Florida, Oregon and USC

“My mom likes it out here so we’ll see what she’s talking about,” Holden said.

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MOVED Commit date up to before season - He currently has four official visits scheduled in June. He will visit Tennessee (June 7-9), Alabama (June 11-13), Auburn (June 14-16), and Kentucky (June 21-23).

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The kickoff times and television designations for Alabama's first two games of the upcoming 2019 college football season were announced on Thursday.

The Crimson Tide's season opener against the Duke Blue Devils in Atlanta will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. Alabama and Duke will open the season in the 2019 Chick-fil-A Kickoff on Saturday, Aug. 31.

The following week (Sept. 7), Alabama will welcome New Mexico State to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a 3 p.m. CT kick on the SEC Network in what will be the Tide's home opener inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

It was announced Wednesday that Alabama's Week 3 road game and conference opener (Sept. 14) at South Carolina will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

Aug. 31 -- vs. Duke -- 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC

Sept. 7 -- New Mexico State -- 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network

Sept. 14 -- at South Carolina -- 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS

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