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

Burton Burns reached out to Cam Akers last night.

Akers and my Clinton Arrows play our biggest rivals next week in Madison Central. Stephen Gostkowski, the kicker for the Patriots, played for them.

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Here's a look at the match-ups all of the Alabama commitments will take part in this weekend:

2017:

Najee Harris, RB, Antioch (Calif.) -- The 2-1 Panthers play at Rancho Cotate

Alex Leatherwood, OT, Pensacola (Fla.) Washington -- The 1-2 Wildcats host Pace

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Honolulu (Hawaii) St. Louis -- The 3-0 Crusaders face Kamehameha

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Deerfield Beach (Fla.) -- The 1-1 Bucks play at Grayson (Ga.)

VanDarius Cowan, LB, Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) -- The 1-2 Gators play at Seminole Ridge

Markail Benton, LB, Phenix City (Ala.) Central -- The 2-1 Red Devils play at Smiths Station

Elliot Baker, OT, City College of San Francisco (Calif.) -- The 1-1 Rams play at American River College

Tyrell Shavers, WR, Lewisville (Texas) -- The 2-1 Farmers are on a bye week

Brian Robinson, RB, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Hillcrest -- The 4-0 Patriots play at McAdory

Akial Byers, DT, Fayetteville (Ark.) -- The 2-0 Bulldogs play Bishop Dunne

Gary Johnson, LB, Dodge City C.C. (Kan.) -- The 2-1 Conquistadors face Ellsworth

Chadarius Townsend, ATH, Tanner (Ala.) -- The 2-2 Rattlers are on a bye week

Kendall Randolph, OT, Madison (Ala.) Bob Jones -- The 3-1 Patriots play at Huntsville

Mac Jones, QB, Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles -- The 2-0 Bulldogs play at Jackson

Kedrick James, TE, Waco (Texas) La Vega -- The 3-0 Pirates play at Mexia

Jhavonte Dean, CB, Blinn College (Texas) -- The 2-1 Buccaneers play at Trinity Valley C.C.

Aaron Sterling, DE, Tucker (Ga.) -- The 3-1 Tigers play at Jonesboro

Kyriq McDonald, CB, Madison (Ala.) James Clemens -- The 1-2 Jets play at Sparkman

Brandon Ruiz, K, Gilbert (Ariz.) Williams Field -- The 4-0 Black Hawks face Chaparral

Hunter Brannon, OT, Cullman (Ala.) -- The 1-3 Bearcats play at Fort Payne

Thomas Fletcher, LS, Bradenton (Fla.) -- The 3-0 Ascenders play at St. John's (Md.)

2018:

Dameon Pierce, RB, Bainbridge (Ga.) -- The 0-2 Bearcats play at Early County

Malcolm Epps, TE, Spring (Texas) Dekaney -- The 0-3 Wildcats are on a bye week

2019:

Trey Sanders, ATH, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy -- The 3-0 Ascenders play at Early County

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LINK

No. 100 percent sure it's a Juco. And I have no clue who it is, just that it's not Buggs. Someone asked him if it's Tart-Spencer, and he gave a strange answer (didn't really say yes or no) that lead me to believe that it wasn't. I'm not sure as to why the trail of vagueness here, as it's someone who is almost never vague and generally always specific. I guess we'll just have to see if there's a Juco DL that pops up on the radar in the next few weeks on one of the main recruiting sites.

Finally got an answer regarding Aaron Sterling from Hank South:

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The staff would love to have him in the class, but the belief is the commitment is not firm with other schools pushing harder than Alabama to flip.

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So my question is if the staff would LOVE for him to be in the class, why are they allowing themselves to be outworked by another school?

I've heard that height is the issue. But I'm still not 100 percent on that being the case myself.

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I've heard that height is the issue. But I'm still not 100 percent on that being the case myself.

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He's the same height as Courtney Upshaw. He turned out ok.

He's a DT now? I hadn't heard that. Interesting.. and kind of weird.

Speaking of interesting. I've heard that Diggs has gotten a lot of first team reps at CB this week (Averett still expected to start). Yes, not safety, but CB. Is there anything he can't do? Sounds like his overall recruiting ranking was WAY too low. Looking at his size, speed, highlight video, productivity (80+ receptions his Junior and senior year if memory serves me correctly), and bloodline, why was he ever a 4 star guy rated around #100 overall and not a 5 star anyway? He has everything you look for in an elite prospect.

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Speaking of interesting. I've heard that Diggs has gotten a lot of first team reps at CB this week (Averett still expected to start). Yes, not safety, but CB. Is there anything he can't do? Sounds like his overall recruiting ranking was WAY too low. Looking at his size, speed, highlight video, productivity (80+ receptions his Junior and senior year if memory serves me correctly), and bloodline, why was he ever a 4 star guy rated around #100 overall and not a 5 star anyway? He has everything you look for in an elite prospect.

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So Diggs, Brown and Averett have taken first team reps this week?

I just read that article on Kedrick James. Wow! What an impressive person. He's going to do well in life. And probably on the football field. He just went way up on my list of favorites in this class.

Charlie Kirschner, the SEC Country writer and Alabama beat man for the AJC, CB'd Phidarian Mathis to Alabama.