re: Class of 2015 Recruiting MEGATHREAD - Twilight Edition

From the Miss St. recruiting thread:

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Those previously mentioned are four of the top five in Mississippi for 2015. The fifth, linebacker Leo Lewis (Brookhaven, Miss.) is expected to leave the state, but the Bulldogs are in the mix.

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sigh, not unexpected. We ever going to find a QB? Did the entire pro style QB class of the last 5 cycles not watch college football at all during their high school careers?

We don't need a qb with all of the stud running backs we are bringing in. Wishbone

Anyone else think Coker is here for 2 years?

On another unrelated note

I spoke to a really good friend yesterday that I really trust with stuff at Bama (Cousin is on staff) and he now works for a scouting company that helps run the camps and stuff and does evals of kids like Sparq camps and the Army AA Game (was a speaker this past year and got to spend some time with Frazier and a few other 2015 guys)

Some of the things he told me:
- Saban hit a "Reset" button basically with this new staff shake-up after a few evals Saban did

- He also turned a corner in his relationship with Battle and they came to a common ground and Saban just had to get use to the way Battle conducts business.

- Also said with the reset it basically means he thought that Saban won't be retiring anytime soon He said he could see now 5 more years and before the season he thought Saban was a couple, maybe 3 years away from retirement.

- He was SHOCKED that Steele wanted to stay and be a LB coach at Bama, said Louisville wasn't the only team to contact him for a DC job and it proves how much Steele loves Bama and Saban and felt like he owed Saban for rehiring him back, also said he is much better than the position he took at Bama but with his job he will get quite a bit of say in the front 7 scheming and we will see a big difference in pressure the way we did when he was here coaching before.

- He said Rumph was a guy who could coach a DE to rush but didn't really "understand teaching 3 man DL technique" and Bo Davis is one of the most technical teachers around today in CFB, he also said Bo is a lot more relatable and approachable to the kids. He really liked him coming back to Bama because he belongs teaching our system, one of the few coaches who REALLY understand it and he told me not a who,e lot of coaches even understand it enough to coach it correctly and that is what he thought about Rumph.

- He said the best DL he felt at the Army AA game this yr he felt was Josh Frazier (without me even mentioning or asking about him) said his technique and athleticism was above most kids his age and his size and he was unblockable, also mentioned Trenton Thompson 2015 #1 kid from Ga said he will go to UGA but he RAVED about Frazier

- Said he wasn't surprised at all by the Kiffin hire, said Saban has known and respected him and said despite the media hate LK gets among the coaching community Lane is well respected as an offensive mastermind. Said the O is very similar Lane just uses more wrinkles and formations and a faster pace at times but still very similar

Some good stuff from him hope you guys enjoy

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@ChristianMillr: Proud to say I will be wearing number 34 next year at Alabama, creating my own legacy. #Bama34

Who was the last great Bama player to wear #34? I'm drawing a blank.

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Darby is the first that comes too mind

OJ Smith tweeted he's 90-something (94 maybe?) and Pierschbacher tweeted he's 71

ETA: OJ tweeted he's 91

JC Shurburtt CB'd All-Name Team TE Bry'Keithon Mouton to us early this morning.

Kerryon Johnson story from Al.com:

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Some Class of 2015 recruits are a tad unclear when they talk about their recruiting plan for their senior season.

That's understandable. The bluest of blue-chips have numerous can't lose football factories vying for their signature on National Signing Day some 345 days from now.

Madison Academy junior Kerryon Johnson is not in that category. Johnson, one of the nation's top 50 recruits on anyone's list, is a wanted man but doesn't let it weigh on him.

He sifts through this whole recruiting thing with four staples in mind: Know what you what. Keep it simple. They are all good fits. Find the most comfortable one.

Madison Academy standout Kerryon Johnson poses for the high school preview content prior to his junior season. The five-star junior prospect seems content with a top three of Alabama, Auburn and Florida State at this point. (Eric Schultz / eshultz@al.com)

That's how he can plainly state 11 months away from his final decision day he'll likely choose between Alabama, Auburn and Florida State.
He also plans to commit well before his senior year.

Georgia recently offered last month, but he puts them at a distant fourth in the running right now.

"I'm no genius on this stuff but I know what has worked for me," Johnson said. "These recruits get all these offers and still consider all these people. They keep opening it up. They waste their time and other people's time when they know they have a select group of schools they would be happy at. They know their big schools and the ones they can see themselves playing at pretty fast in the process once they have their main offers."

AL.com rated Johnson the No. 2 player in the state in its initial A-List for the state's top seniors for the Class of 2015. Johnson is rated a five-star prospect by 247sports.com and the nation's No. 35 overall player in 2015.


Rivals.com rates him as a four-star prospect and at No. 50 in the nation. Scout.com has him as the No. 3 running back in his class and the No. 38 overall prospect.


Madison Academy defeated Leeds 31-14 to win the 2013 Class 3A Super 6 state championship.

Clemson, LSU, Ole Miss and South Carolina have also offered, among others. Johnson sees no need to complicate the matter.

"I knew I could see myself staying in-state and I knew from being a Florida State fan growing up that I could see myself going there," he said. "I didn't want to waste time going up North and I just set a standard to make it easy on myself and other people. I knew basically the few places I would likely go and luckily for me I picked three really great schools."

Johnson said the smart way to accurately gauge his recruiting would be to place his top three schools shoulder-to-shoulder in the race. He sees himself making his college commitment sometime this summer.

"I need to make a trip to each of those schools one more time," he said. "I want to do it before the summer. That's the goal. I wanted to do it earlier than that but it got pushed back by a bunch of things. I wanted to have already gotten to each of those schools by now but then my family and I just got busy every Saturday."

The 6-foot, 185-pounder is a transcendent talent. He's also a great high school basketball player. His older brother, Kerron, was named "Mr. Basketball" by the Alabama Sports Writers Association in 2009.

His Madison Academy football coach, Dr. Eric Cohu, came up with a near-perfect playing style comparison to NFL Hall of Famer Marcus Allen.

The Madison Academy junior two-way prospect took over the Super 6 as a sophomore and then shined playing through significant pain this year for another state championship team.

He's had significant injuries to both shoulders and endured a twisted ankle at the Super 6 this year against Leeds.

He also had a recent spiral fracture to his hand when he punched at a loose ball and wound up hitting another player's stomach.


That malady has forced him to miss Madison Academy's run to the Final 48 this week. There's an outside chance he could return to play this week, but it is not likely.


Johnson is a competitor. He loves having the ball in his hands on offense despite everyone pointing him to free safety whenever another injury arises.


Marcus Allen was also a tremendous defensive back in high school, too. It is also a fairly reckless statement to question the toughness of a kid that's played well through injury as much as Johnson has.


He's popped shoulders back into place and continued playing in games. Durability might be another matter, but Johnson's take on that topic explains his point of view.


"I need to make a trip to each of those schools one more time, I want to do it before the summer." -- Madison Academy junior Kerryon Johnson"The thing about that is most backs aren't getting 25 carries a game now anyways in the SEC," he said. "I think that just playing one way would help me out a lot."

"I know the level of football isn't as high, but in high school football a guy like me plays both ways. You take a beating doing that in high school football as well. I realize that's a different level, but there is more punishment on a player's body in high school when he goes both ways than just playing one way in college."


Playing safety, he says, isn't for the meek either.

"Playing safety you take just as many hits play in and play out," he said. "That's a lot of contact, too. That's hitting and disengaging and then making a tackle."

He's thankful each of those schools have offered him the ability to adapt.


"It is nice to have three schools that understand and are willing to work you at different spots no matter where your career goes," he said. "Maybe I go and have a terrible freshman season at running back. Maybe they will let me work at defense if that will get me on the field faster. It is nice to have big schools that might be flexible in how they play you."

He said each of those schools were great fits for him academically.


"You can't go wrong there," he said. "I just have to get back to all three schools again one more time and really figure out which one of those I feel most comfortable at."

He'd be a natural free safety, but said he could play cornerback at the next level. It would just take reps and time to make that adjustment as he's played that spot before.


What would be the main reason he would choose each of his three co-favorites? Johnson broke down the main pull for each program.

ALABAMA -- "They clearly know how to win and how to develop players into being all they can be."

AUBURN - "I like the mojo there that they have going right now. It is a great place to be. I like the feel of it and the coaching staff. Everyone says this but they really do treat you like family at Auburn."

FLORIDA STATE - "Florida State was my school growing up. I love the feel there and the vibe and the state and all that."

Those that deem it strictly an in-state race would be wise to consider his family connections in Tallahassee. Johnson has two uncles that reside in that area to balance out that distance from home with that "most comfortable fit" part of his recruiting equation.

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I got a baaad feeling on this one...