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re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition
Posted on 6/11/16 at 12:44 am to chattabama
Posted on 6/11/16 at 12:44 am to chattabama
quote:
Newest Alabama commit kept Auburn out of the loop on his decision
Chris Kirschner/AJC
Markail Benton admitted Auburn once led for him, but Alabama gradually took the lead over time.
‘When I go to Alabama, it feels like home,” Benton told SEC Country minutes after his decision. “It’s just something different about Alabama.”
Benton notified SEC Country about a month ago that Alabama was likely going to be his choice, but he still visited both schools to be sure. Prior to announcing his commitment to Alabama, Benton said he did not notify Auburn of his decision. He said he won’t be talking to the Tigers any time soon, either.
“I just want to focus on school and the school I am committed to,” Benton said.
Benton’s mother and stepdad are Alabama fans. “Whatever makes him happy, makes me happy,” his mother said. “I would have been the biggest Auburn fan you’d ever see if he was there.”
The Under Armour All-American doesn’t have a list of players he’s targeting for Alabama, but his teammate, Justyn Ross, is the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama for the Class of 2018.
“Justyn and I are really close,” Benton said. “We’re like brothers.”
Those two usually make all of their recruiting trips together, and Benton said Ross knew about his decision to attend Alabama for a few days now. He thinks the Crimson Tide are going to become the favorite to land his teammate when he makes his decision.
Family is important for Benton, but his mother, who is one of the most important people when it comes to his recruitment, was kept out of the loop on his decision to commit to Alabama until the last minute.
“I’ve known for about a week,” his mother laughed. “He said something like, ‘Well, I think I chose my school. Dad and I have been talking about it for a while now. I couldn’t tell you because I thought you were going to tell everyone else. But, I think you could hold it for a week, so I’m going to Alabama.'” Benton becomes Alabama’s third linebacker commit in the Class of 2017, joining four-stars VanDarius Cowan and Gary Johnson.
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Posted on 6/11/16 at 1:02 am to chattabama
I thought the Five Star Challenge started Friday. Did it not?
This post was edited on 6/11/16 at 1:45 am
Posted on 6/11/16 at 6:37 am to We_R_The_Tide
Yeah, that's what I heard. Don't know if he was selling it at Img or what, but drugs was a reason he was told to leave Img. Now that I know all the baggage Ignot has,I'm glad we got Benton instead. I'm going to have to watch Benton's film again. I haven't watched it since probably after the season was over with last year.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 6:41 am to chattabama
If we get Justyn Ross, the barn is going to have a come apart. Lol He's the top recruit in the state next year, and the barn thought he was a lock because of Benton.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 7:15 am to chattabama
Benton said he made his decison yesterday just before his announcement when he was interviewed.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 8:25 am to Sebastian
Najee at the five star challenge
Posted on 6/11/16 at 9:12 am to Cobrasize
It's crazy Devonta Smith is ranked 234th on ESPN
Posted on 6/11/16 at 10:27 am to Rizzy
Henry Ruggs getting a nod to Bama on BOL. Sorry if this has been mentioned. I dont follow crootin religiously but am very bored this Sat. Waiting on some college baseball to start.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 10:55 am to Rizzy
quote:
Andrew Bone ?@AndrewJBone 54m54 minutes ago #Alabama commitment Mac Jones connects on a deep ball to Rivals 100 WR DeVonta Smith. Might see that more in the future. #RivalsChallenge
Posted on 6/11/16 at 11:18 am to jatebe
Can someone post all of the Rivals'Challenge stuff throughout the day? I'm headed to a water park with the family and will be out of the loop.
It was nice coming here to find 3 pages of posts yesterday while I was on the road.
It was nice coming here to find 3 pages of posts yesterday while I was on the road.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 11:31 am to TideSaint
quote:
Alabama commitment and five-star RB Najee Harris having a fantastic day. #RivalsChallenge @tidesports
From Bone
Posted on 6/11/16 at 11:32 am to Cobrasize
quote:
Alabama commitment OL Alex Leatherwood and No.1 player DT Marvin Wilson split reps. I wouldn't get in between either. #RivalsChallenge
Posted on 6/11/16 at 11:34 am to Cobrasize
quote:
LB VanDarius Cowan runs over to OL/DL 1-on-1s to cheer OT Alex Leatherwood. Both committed to #Bama. #RivalsChallenge
Cowan is always recruiting
Posted on 6/11/16 at 12:34 pm to Cobrasize
Yeah he is! We have a few who are doing a great job. Mac Jones has been putting in work recruiting guys already. It reminds me of the class with Cornwell, and the class with McCarron and Trent Richardson. Both of those classes had several guys that were recruiting other players hard. The class with Cornwell was probably the closest class I've witnessed. They were all real close, and were always on twitter and at camps recruiting other players. The way it looks so far, we have some great leaders and they are forming great relationships with one another. Tua and Harris were always hanging out together last week at that camp. The opening is going to be awesome, cause almost all of them will be there and they can form that bond and recruit the heck out of the best players in the country.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 12:37 pm to Rizzy
It's down right ridiculous! Espn should be banned from ranking players.lol They are horrible. Every year I just shake my head when I look at their rankings.
Posted on 6/11/16 at 4:23 pm to Cobrasize
quote:
Of course the situation is not limited to Allen or Florida. Player-on-player recruiting is as much a part of elite camps as post routes. The Alabama camp has been one of the more vocal groups when it comes public persuasion. Most times, you can hear the roar from across the room. On Saturday morning, Bama-bound linebacker Vandarius Cowan wandered around drills shouting “Roll Tide” to just about anyone that would listen, paying special attention to 2018 defensive back Al Blades, as he interrupted an interview to remind Blades of Alabama’s existence.
Free rivals article
quote:
Cowan has even coined a recruiting rallying cry of sorts. Twenty-four hours into the event, it’s spread quickly throughout the camp. “Savages want to play with savages,” said Tide offensive line commit Alex Leatherwood. “I feel like that’s all we need to say.”
This post was edited on 6/11/16 at 4:25 pm
Posted on 6/11/16 at 5:52 pm to Cobrasize
Tua got an offer from Oregon. I thought he had one already
Posted on 6/11/16 at 5:59 pm to Cobrasize
The Oregon mod just CB'd Tua to Oregon:
quote:
Perhaps it is an offer that should have been made a year ago. But the Oregon staff have finally made one of the most anticipated offers of the 2017 class.
Oregon chose to offer Ryan Kelley over Tua Tagovailoa under Scott Frost's lead. But now Kelley is gone just like Frost.
Since then, Tagovailoa has committed to Alabama. While there is an allure of competing for a national championship at Alabama, is it the best fit for him?
On paper, the Oregon offense seems to fit his skill set a million times better. However a player like Tagovailoa has the ability to play in any system.
There's a lot to get into so I'll just get going. Not just in regards to Tagovailoa, but Oregon quarterback recruiting in general.
Why the wait to offer?
Grades. And what I mean by grades is Tagovailoa doesn't have especially strong grades. They're good enough to get him into school, including Oregon. But ultimately what scared Oregon off is you don't want your quarterback to be dumb or lazy.
Physically he's got all of the tools. He fits the offense.
There has always been that concern about his academics and how it would translate to the football field.
Oregon was finally convinced enough he's not dumb. He's actually a pretty sharp kid.
The success of Vernon Adams and his season at Oregon likely helped Tagovailoa pick up this offer. Adams wasn't an honor roll student but that kid knew football and it didn't keep him from being successful.
I'm trying to be careful how I word all of this. And I want to make it abundantly clear I'm not trying to say anything negative about Tagovailoa.
But ultimately his lower grades are what delayed this offer.
Is it too late?
It's never going to be easy for Oregon to try and steal away a prized commit from Bama. But Oregon has more than a puncher's chance here.
For starters this wasn't a decision to randomly offer. There has been a fairly substantial amount of communication between the two sides. Which was ultimately instigated by Tagovailoa.
Alabama is an amazing program. But it's a culture shock for a kid from Hawaii. At Oregon there are a number of other players that he can relate to.
And Oregon isn't the only school still in the picture. USC and UCLA are also speaking regularly with Tagovailoa.
But I think the Ducks are now the favorite. It's early, and I'm perhaps being a tad bit early with my prediction. But I've got my 247Sports Crystal Ball now switched to Oregon.
This offer is going to be big. And the only thing that keeps Tagovailoa from Oregon is what I will be posting below.
Tagovailoa Isn't Offer No. 1
Perhaps the craziest part of this whole saga, is the fact the Ducks have already made another quarterback offer. Now I was hesitant to mention this at all, because I can NOT disclose his name at this time.
But last week Oregon offered a different quarterback that has yet to report the offer.
At this point it's about to become a race for the spot. Both players will now know the pressure is on to visit and/or commit. Perhaps that is Tagovailoa or our 'mystery qb.'
Jacob Free is probably next in line for an offer if the Ducks make a third. After him would likely be Jack Sears.
At this point, those are the four names to keep tabs on.
But Oregon has more than a real shot with Tagovailoa and this will definitely be something worth watching.
Remember when I said this was g
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