re: Class of 2015 Recruiting MEGATHREAD - Twilight Edition

A couple days late, but this is for Bama commit, and future de-commit since he's from Mississippi, Raekwon Davis:

Barton Simmons on Rico McGraw:

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To follow up on this bolt, I was actually a little bit down on Rico during the spring and summer. He had gotten a little out of shape with his injury and he's not the type of guy that is going to blow away the camp type events. But I'm back to really liking where we have him as a borderline top100 kid and in the conversation as the best player in Tennessee. He's so much better in pads and he really was making plays all over the field in all kinds of ways.

When you talk to his defensive coordinator, they can't say enough good things about him.

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He fits LSU's scheme pretty well I expect it to be a Bama - LSU battle when UF's high expectations aren't met lol we will see

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I wouldn't freak out about Ridley yet, based on what I am hearing.

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I wouldn't freak out about Ridley yet, based on what I am hearing.

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Go on...

Harrison is on as a FS though I thought? Him and Thompson? The only SS we have committed is SBB and he's technically an athlete

I remember Chris Nee talking about how he heard that SBB and Ridley were no longer a package deal. FSU has no interest in SBB. If they both play together it will have to be at Miami or Bama IMO. Miami might be appealing to SBB because right now they have 22 commits and zero of them are dbs.

I could see our depth at safety being somewhat intimidating, but from Bama's perspective we are losing at least three safeties this year: Landon, Perry, and Williams. A couple of our big recruiting targets at safety signed with Ole Miss.

Darrell Williams article:

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A-List No. 4: Hoover's Darrell Williams goes in-depth on recruitment by Malzahn, Saban

This story is part of the 2015 edition of the AL.com A-List, our list of the top 15 senior football players in the state of Alabama.

HOOVER, Alabama -- Few high school football players can say they've been invited into the inner sanctums of two of the best coaches in the nation. Hoover's Darrell Williams is such a rare star.

The 6-foot-3, 226-pound linebacker, No. 4 on AL.com's 2015 A-List of the top seniors in the state, was wooed heavily by both Auburn and Alabama and thus had the opportunity to see Gus Malzahn and Nick Saban in ways the rest us do not.

"Coach Saban is hailed like a celebrity, and on TV he's straight and all-business," Williams says. "Growing up an Alabama fan, my first time in his office, I thought I was dreaming. He has trophies and stuff everywhere. It's decorated, you can dim the lights however you want them and he has a remote for everything. He's like a mini-president.

"We sat down, he picked up the remote, pressed a button and the door closed by itself. I wanted to listen to what he was saying, but I couldn't. I was just sitting there saying 'Yes sir, no sir.'"

Williams' visit with Malzahn was a bit different.

"Malzahn is a little more laid back, but I was still up there in terms of being happy," he says. "I was nervous in his office too. It was decorated like everyone else's, but more mellow. After the first five minutes, you're chilling and having a good time. He has a nice way of welcoming you.

"He was talking about how he was going to build the program back up and how he was going to do it the right way. Game by game, they were finding ways to win and he was doing everything he said he was going to do. That's a coach you want to play for."

Malzahn should be welcoming Williams to the Plains next fall as a member of Auburn's 2015 class. He committed in May after a whirlwind recruitment that included offers from Florida State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Tennessee - as well as Alabama.

Some schools are still trying to sway him. Williams says he remains committed to the Tigers, but he's listening.

"I'm being recruited," he says. "Even if I didn't commit to Auburn at that time, they were still my No. 1. Committing early might be a good thing, but I feel like I should have waited a little bit longer."

GROWING UP
It didn't take Williams very long to show a knack for football. The youngest child born to Sherry Wells and Darrell Williams Sr., "D.J." showed signs of being a linebacker quite early.

"He was loving (football) before he realized it, at the age of 3 or 4," Wells says. "He would do things and look like a linebacker -- the way he would run into you when he got mad. He'd put his arm around my legs. I remember his dad would build the crates and he'd run into them."

"It's just in my blood to play sports," Williams says. "Out of life, in everything I do, football is just somewhere else I can go and have fun. I can get away from everything."

Born in Meridian, Miss., Williams and his mother moved to Hoover when he was seven years old and received his first exposure to the football-crazed city and state. He recalls flipping his Iron Bowl allegiances back and forth multiple times in elementary school.

"I was switching a lot, but as I got older I became an Alabama fan," he said.

TURNING HEADS ON THE GRIDIRON
Williams dreamed of playing for the Hoover Bucs on Friday nights --- and it didn't take long for the varsity coaches to catch wind of his potential.

"I've known Darrell since he was little," said Hoover head coach Josh Niblett. "I got to watch him develop not only as a football player, but as a young man. I feel like he's always been a leader and a good kid. He's always been driven and wanted to seek greatness, and that's what gives him an opportunity. He's just a great kid with a great personality and he understands right from wrong."

Williams got the chance to prove himself at the varsity level on Sept. 21, 2012, after a starting linebacker was dismissed from the team.

"We had Sunday practice and that day they told me I was going to start that week," Williams recalls, saying he "went off," in the 55-7 win, gaining at least 10 tackles. "One of my highlights was when I hit (Alabama signee) Bo Scarbrough and made him fumble and one of our players returned it for a touchdown."

Wells remembers her son's tunnel-vision focus that week.

"I tried to say 'Hi' to him before the game and he just gave me the hand," she says. "That was the night he showed me who he was and who he would become in the future."

RECRUITMENT
Williams' name soon began to circulate in recruiting circles. Mississippi State was the first school to offer, and Auburn and Alabama shortly followed suit.

Last summer, Williams camped at Auburn for the first time and hit it off with Malzahn, who extended an offer that fall. Alabama offered Williams and two of his teammates, Bradrick Shaw and Christian Bell, all at once during a Junior Day visit. What followed the offers, however, Williams describes as "kind of tricky."

"They offered me, then I went up there for A-Day and I was about to commit, but Nick Saban had to go. (Alabama offensive line) Coach (Mario) Cristobal called me and said I had to go to their camp first. I hadn't planned on going to any camps other than Rivals or Nike camps.

"Coaches were telling me I needed to find a school and try to commit early. Alabama wanted to see me at camp and Auburn was showing me a lot of love. So I committed to Auburn on a Tuesday and then that Wednesday (defensive coordinator Kirby) Smart came to my practice with a camera and taped me doing drills and scrimmaging. He took the video back to Alabama and all the coaches watched it. Coach Saban called me and said, 'Forget the camp, I want you to come to Alabama.'"

According to Williams, Saban had originally wanted to see if he could play inside linebacker, because the defensive scheme he was in at Hoover was different than what the Crimson Tide runs. The Tide coach could have just asked Niblett.

"The length he has gives him a chance to play inside or outside, or whatever they need him to do," the Hoover coach says. "He's hybrid guy who can do both. He's a student of the game."

Nevertheless, Williams says Saban apologized and took the blame for the confusion. Wells believes her son handled the situation with maturity.

"(Darrell) completely understood," she says, "and didn't get angry or anything."

Looking back, Williams remembers the pressure he was under to make a commitment as spots were filling up quickly.

"I think everything happens for a reason," he said. "I don't regret anything."

THE FUTURE
With his commitment in the rear-view mirror, Williams is focused on his final season at Hoover. The Bucs are coming off back-to-back state championships and have won 30 consecutive games. He maintains a close relationship with his head coach and is expected to anchor the defense in 2014.

"(Niblett's) a real Christian man," Williams says. "He talks to me every day. He wants me to be better than I ever have been this year and wants me to step up and be a leader."

Wells says she will miss Niblett and the rest of the Hoover coaches, but is looking forward to what her son can accomplish in the sport.

"I know he'll only be a couple hours away," she says. "But I know he's going to be OK because of the maturity level he's carrying now. I know Coach Malzahn will take care of him."

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A-List No. 15: Alabama commit, long-haired linebacker Keaton Anderson an 'animal' for Florence

FLORENCE, Alabama - Florence head coach J.B. Wallace can easily remember the first time he met Keaton Anderson.

It was in the spring of 2012. Wallace, then an assistant, came over from Prattville with new head coach Jamey DuBose and Anderson was a budding sophomore linebacker with a crew cut.

"I really didn't know who he was and he came back and told me I'm going to be one of the best players you've ever coached," Wallace said. "He didn't smile. That's how he introduced himself."

Anderson, an Alabama commitment, is an A-List selection.
Some things have changed at Florence since then. Wallace, who coached the linebackers, was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach this spring after DuBose left to coach another state school. Anderson grew his hair out to shoulder length after a challenge with his older brother.

But the promise has been kept. Anderson emerged into a top prospect not only in the state, but nationally. He committed to Alabama in May and opens the season ranked No. 15 on AL.com's A-List of the state's top football prospects in the Class of 2015.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Anderson had 191 tackles last year as Florence's weakside linebacker. At the position, he makes the calls for the back line of the Falcons' defense.

"He plays at a different speed than everybody else," Wallace said. "He understands our schemes and he understands what the offense is doing. He has to be a leader of the defense, for one. He has done that, and we're expecting him to make big plays for us.

"He's a leader. What you see is what you get. He's going to be first in running sprints, he's going to be first in the weight room and he's going to be first in whatever he does."

The word that describes Anderson best between the lines is 'Animal.'

Anderson is relentless, teammates say, and he looks the part with the long hair.

"He's a freak," Florence senior safety B.J. Oakley said. "When you see Keaton and see him work out and do drills, everything is aggressive. He's got his heart in it.

"Anything that's football-wise, he's a completely different person. It feeds the team."

The long hair came from a challenge with older brother Carson, who was an offensive lineman at Tennessee. Two years ago, the brothers made a promise to let it grow long.

Since then, Keaton has kept the promise, but cuts it to where it remains shoulder-length. Carson, now 24, had to cut his hair "for business attire." Carson now works in Dallas.

"I don't know about intimidating, but Coach Wallace says it gives me some secret powers, my Thor powers, so I can't cut it," Anderson said.

Long before he grew out his hair, Keaton Anderson was destined to be a football player. His father Terry and uncle Charlie played at Tennessee.

"Dad always had a ball in my hand," Anderson said.

But league football didn't start until he was eight. From there, he said his teams won five straight championships and lost just one game in five years. Florence running back Roland Adams, hearing that claim off to the side, noted that Anderson's teams were stacked with all-stars. Much like the NBA's Miami Heat of the past four seasons.

If so, Anderson still stood out. He played defensive back and running back and starred at running back in middle school before focusing on defense in high school. He did get to run the ball on a fake punt last season, but his best chance to touch the ball will come on interceptions and fumble recoveries.

Anderson had offers from Tennessee, LSU, Duke and Miami, but chose Alabama. Naturally, people were surprised that he didn't follow his family to Tennessee, but now his support system is all crimson and white.

"He's all for where I want to go," Anderson said of his brother. "Once I told him I was going to go to Alabama, he was probably one of the most excited people. He's happy for me. It's the right decision and I'm proud he's got my back. I knew he would.

"While I'm there, he'll wear crimson for me. He'll wear my number and he won't think twice about it."

Anderson, who is calm off the field and spends his free time at the lake with friends and countless hours watching film, didn't remember telling Wallace that he'd be one of the best he'd ever coached, but he credited his head coach for teaching him how to play the game at a high level.

"From day one, we've had a great relationship," Anderson said. "I didn't know what pulling guards were and stuff like that. He's coached some really good linebackers and if I can be in that group, then I'm doing something right."

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