re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

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Wide Receiver:

Devonta Smith, Amite High School, Amite, La.
Jerry Jeudy, Deerfield Beach High School, Pompano Beach, Fla.
Henry Ruggs, Robert E. Lee High School, Montgomery, Ala.
Jeff Thomas, East Saint Louis High School, East Saint Louis, Ill.

After signing only two wide receivers in 2016, wide receiver is one of Alabama’s top priorities.

This class will be led by four-star Devonta Smith. Smith is likely going to be a five-star at some point because he’s been nearly unstoppable in every event he’s participated in this spring.

Out of the unsigned prospects, I think Smith to Alabama is the one I am most confident in. The former Georgia commit has a great relationship with Tide defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, grew up with guidance from Sam Petitto, Alabama’s assistant director of player personnel and is close friends with 2016 signee Shyheim Carter. That trio’s influence will be key on Smith’s decision. His personality also fits with Alabama’s style. He’s all business when it comes to his recruitment.

Jerry Jeudy, a four-star, is close friends with Calvin Ridley. Seeing Ridley blow up as a freshman has to be encouraging for Jeudy. He named Alabama as his leader at one point in his recruitment but has backed off of that. That doesn’t matter. Alabama is still the favorite to land him.

Henry Ruggs is another near certainty for Alabama. The four-star has visited Alabama countless times, and he loves the Crimson Tide.

Jeff Thomas is almost completely silent in the recruiting world. I have not seen quotes from him in months. But, when he did speak, he did have Alabama as his leader. The staff is high on him and would love to add him as a slot receiver.

Most notably absent on this list is Nico Collins, the top receiver in Alabama. His recruitment is going to go on until National Signing Day, and we may not know where exactly he’ll go until that day. Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Clemson are in the race. He just visited Ann Arbor and loved his trip there. But in the end, I think Georgia signs Collins. He’s arguably the Bulldogs’ top target and he loved what he saw from freshman quarterback Jacob Eason during the spring game. He also likes Jake Fromm, a former Alabama commit, a lot. I think we see Collins in the red-and-black.

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Offensive Line:

Alex Leatherwood*, Booker T. Washington High School, Pensacola, Fla.
Austin Troxell, Madison Academy, Madison, Ala.
Wyatt Davis, St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, Calif.
Kendall Randolph, Bob Jones High School, Madison, Ala.

This group is led by Alex Leatherwood, another longtime Alabama commit. I had one SEC assistant tell me that Leatherwood is a “future NFL player.” He’s a prototypical left tackle and one the Crimson Tide staff hopes sticks with his commitment. He has taken several visits to other schools, most notably Florida, but the offensive tackle maintains he’s 100 percent committed. We’ll see if that’s true in the coming months.

Austin Troxell could announce a commitment at any time. Even though he has a top four of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Ole Miss, it’s really down to the in-state schools. The offensive tackle grew up an Alabama fan and the staff has been pushing him to get on board. I think the Tide beat out the Tigers for him.

Wyatt Davis is a five-star offensive guard from California. He listed Alabama as his leader at one point and I think the Tide are still the favorite here. It would be another huge West coast win for Kiffin if he could help pull Davis away from the California schools.

Kendall Randolph, a four-star offensive guard, is the brother of former Alabama basketball player Levi Randolph. Like Troxell, this will come down to the in-state schools and the Tide will win out.

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Linebacker:

VanDarius Cowan*, Palm Beach Gardens High School, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Gary Johnson*, Dodge City Community College, Douglasville, Ga.
Will Ignont, Buckhorn High School, New Market, Ala.
Christopher Allen, Southern University Lab High School, Baton Rouge, La.

Cowan de-committed from Florida State twice before committing to Alabama. I want to believe that his recruitment is finally over. He has said that he will not be visiting other schools, so that’s good news for Alabama. He certainly has been one of the team’s most vocal recruits on Twitter.

Johnson randomly committed to Alabama two months ago. He hasn’t visited the campus in more than a year, but his commitment is strong. I don’t see him de-committing despite top schools vying to flip him.

Ignont told SEC Country shortly after visiting Alabama for A-Day that he had made a silent commitment to a school. You can read the tea leaves here.

Allen lists Alabama as his leader and has done so for several months now. Even though he’s from Baton Rouge, the four-star prospect has been enamored with Alabama’s program for some time now.

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Safety:

Xavier McKinney*, Roswell High School, Roswell, Ga.
Maliek Gray, LaVergne High School, LaVergne, Tenn.

McKinney, a four-star, has definitely flirted with Georgia for a while now, especially after Kirby Smart was hired. I don’t think the Bulldogs are a threat, though. I believe him when he says he’s 100 percent committed to Alabama. I don’t see him flipping.

Gray wouldn’t have been on this list if I wrote this last month but he’s definitely emerging as a big-time target for the Tide. The safety was paid a visit by defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley on Wednesday and Alabama is in his top three along with Florida State and Tennessee. I’m not confident in this pick, but there is a lot of momentum right now favoring the Tide.

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One of Alabama’s top recruits in the Class of 2016 was dismissed from the program after being on campus for only five months. We begin the weekly mailbag with the recruiting impact that may have on this year’s class.

Each week, we hope to answer some of the most pressing questions asked by our readers. You can either ask me on Twitter (@ChrisK_AJC) or comment below this article and we’ll use the best ones for the mailbag next week.

That said, here are the top questions from our readers this week.

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Besides Alabama commit VanDarius Cowan, who else is the team recruiting at outside linebacker?

(From @jplynn06)

Five-star Dylan Moses is the headliner out of this group. Alabama offered the nation’s No. 1 outside linebacker when he was in eighth grade. At one point in his recruitment, Moses named Alabama as his leader. He has changed that, and now Texas leads with Alabama trailing right behind. Right now, I think he’ll end up at LSU. He pretty much grew up on that campus and before transferring to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). He played his high school ball at University Lab, which is pretty much across the street from Tiger Stadium. If Les Miles is still at LSU next season, I think Moses will be the Tigers. Alabama definitely will not give up, though.

Four-stars Robert Beal and Christopher Allen are also top targets. In the mock signing class I did on Wednesday, I have Alabama signing Allen. Allen has named Alabama his leader since February and that’s significant because he lives in Baton Rouge and most people believe that’s the school he will wind up at when he makes a commitment. Allen has made several visits to Tuscaloosa over the past several months, and that’s always a good sign. When it comes to Beal, Notre Dame — the school he was originally committed to — seems to be trending once again.

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What’s the deal with Nico Collins?

(From @CharlieKane_)

Collins told a reporter earlier this week that Michigan was “probably” his leader, which led to that publication running with that by calling the Wolverines his official leader. That’s not the case. He doesn’t have a top school right now.

But what looked to be a lock for Alabama several months ago doesn’t look so certain anymore. Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Clemson are all in the mix, but the out of state schools are definitely trending here. Collins visited Georgia for its spring game and came away from that impressed with freshman quarterback Jacob Eason.

Alabama has lost some ground here, but the Tide will be in it until the end. Collins is one of the team’s main wide receiver targets along with Devonta Smith, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and Jeff Thomas.

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