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

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Fletcher explains what went into Moses’ decision

Before Dylan Moses, the nation’s No. 1 outside linebacker, took to Twitter to announce his commitment to Alabama, Thomas Fletcher was one of a few select people who knew Moses was about to announce to the world that his recruitment was over.

Fletcher, a long snapper from IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) who’s committed to Alabama, accompanied Moses on his official visit to Tuscaloosa over the weekend.

Heading into both of their official visits this weekend, Fletcher had been feeling more confident as of late with Alabama’s chances of landing Moses. Like we had mentioned at SEC Country for several months, if LSU made a major coaching change, it would dramatically alter Moses’ commitment.

“I’ve always thought it was possible we’d get him,” Fletcher said. “When Les Miles got fired, I thought it was really possible. I’m just excited that he made the decision he made.”

Fletcher, the nation’s top-rated long snapper, woke up Sunday feeling extra confident that Moses could possibly announce his commitment. Moses was originally expected to announce his commitment on Dec. 15, but he delayed it last week to Jan. 1, which is the day of the Under Armour All-American game.

Though Miles, who Moses is very close to, was fired from LSU, most people in the recruiting industry believed he was still going to choose LSU. Fletcher, despite that, continued working Alabama in his mind ever since he committed.

“I’ve been trying to sell him on Alabama since July,” Fletcher said. “It’s been a long time of talking to him about it. It’s nice to have him now locked in with Alabama. He’s really excited about playing with us. Our class is going to be unbelievable once we get all of the guys in that we’re talking to. It’s going to be unreal.”

Fletcher’s recruiting efforts were not working at first, though. This July at The Opening, Nike’s prestigious high school football camp, Moses told SEC Country he was “iffy” about Alabama because the team has three other linebacker commitments in 4-star prospects Markail Benton, VanDarius Cowan and Gary Johnson.

At that time, it looked highly unlikely Moses was going to choose Alabama.

His mind changed over time, though. Just last month, Moses told SEC Country that he was no longer iffy about Alabama after long talks with coach Nick Saban and outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi. They assured him that he was still the team’s No. 1 uncommitted priority at linebacker and there would always be room for him in the Class of 2017.

Since Fletcher has known Moses, the 5-star prospect has repeatedly mentioned Alabama as a school he could himself attending.

“He’s been talking about Alabama seriously for a long time,” Fletcher said. “He’s had the offer for five years now. When you know you want to be somewhere, you just know. For him, he always knew it was a possibility, which is my guess. It just clicked for him this weekend.”

When Moses told Fletcher of his decision a few hours before he went public with it, the Under Armour All-American was calm and collected. Fletcher describes Moses as a very soft-spoken, even-keeled kid.

“He’s an unbelievable football player, which is obvious, but he’s also a really great guy,” Fletcher said. “A lot of big-time recruits who have been in the national spotlight since they were 14 have pretty big personalities and are pretty big-headed, and he’s just not at all. He’s a really quality dude.”
Robert Beal by Jeff Sentell 082716d
Thomas Fletcher will now try to get Robert Beal to flip from Georgia. (Jeff Sentell/CMG)

Unlike Moses, Fletcher was not calm and collected. He was ecstatic.

“I was freaking excited when he told me,” Fletcher said. “We (Alabama) were hoping something was going to come out of this visit. I was pretty confident we were going to have a shot at him. I was excited to play with him this year at IMG and now we’re going to play together for the next four years.”

Fletcher will now work on recruiting another IMG teammate for Alabama, 4-star JACK prospect Robert Beal. Beal is committed to Georgia, but he also was on the official visit with Fletcher and Moses. Beal was with Fletcher when Moses told both of them about his commitment.

The long snapper knows it’s going to be difficult to flip Beal’s commitment, but Moses’ decision has Fletcher thinking anything is possible.

“I’m working on Beal. It’ll be a hard one, but Dylan was a hard one, too,” Fletcher laughed.

As far as how Fletcher’s visit went, it just made him realize that his commitment to Alabama this summer was the right choice.

“I love the team I have here and knowing that I am going to have a similar experience going into the next four years was really exciting to see,” Fletcher said. “It was just another chance to assure myself of my decision. I was never unsure, but it just completely solidified my feelings of the place.”

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Sources with knowledge of his recruitment told Dawgs247 Sunday night that Robert Beal is still completely solid to Georgia following the official visit to Alabama and that the talented edge rusher did not see anything to make him question his commitment to the Bulldogs.

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Through extensive scouting of their regions, the Rivals.com analysts see the top players across the country multiple times in their high school careers. And with so much talent, the Rivals.com rankings meetings can become a bit spirited as analysts push for certain prospects in whom they believe deserve the highest honor: five-star status.

Below, our analysts share stories about the five-star they backed adamantly and now the player has backed up their support.

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FARRELL'S VIEW: NO

We still have two ranking cycles left, so anything can happen, but I’m not convinced Moses is a five-star after breaking down multiple IMG games so far this season. He dropped to a four-star for a few reasons -- the keys were a lack of natural instincts at the linebacker position, not as much quick-twitch ability as we expected and some issues in coverage and depth of his drops. While he’s been productive at IMG, I still see some areas of concern.

As we rank prospects earlier and earlier, it becomes more and more controversial when an early five-star drops to four-stars, even if he remains solidly in the national top 50. Moses, who was amazing as an eighth grade phenom and very impressive as a running back prospect who could also play defense through his freshman and sophomore years, has never taken that next step in development. As a junior, he played much more at linebacker, and he was very good but not great. Now at IMG, he’s also very good, but I’m looking for the freakish skills we projected and expected by this time in his development, and I don’t see them.

Don’t get me wrong, Moses is a special athlete and will probably do very well at Alabama. Heck, he could be an amazing running back for the Crimson Tide, even moreso than linebacker, but to be a five-star you have to not only be a great athlete but you have to be an instinctive, special player at the position you’re projected to play. There’s little doubt he will play linebacker in college at this point -- we will likely move him there when we re-rank in early December -- and it will be up to a group vote whether or not he earns that fifth star back.

At this point, he’s a very high four-star.

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5-star offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood: "My recruiting efforts worked after all."

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It's crazy that Rolo and CJ weren't two of the Top 10 LBs we've signed in the Saban era.

Just goes to show you how unreliable recruiting rankings are

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Sundays are supposed to belong primarily to the NFL. Recruiting found its place in the news this past Sunday with the assistance of four words Saturday that ultimately became a cryptic message.

"Savages play with savages," IMG Academy 5-star linebacker Dylan Moses tweeted late Saturday evening as he was on an official visit to Alabama. The nation's top-ranked outside linebacker went on to verbally commit to head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, becoming the program's 20th pledge and third 5-star player, per Scout.com.

Moses' commitment brings a familiar question to the table: Can Alabama ultimately catch Ohio State in the 2017 team recruiting rankings? Top-ranked Ohio State holds a solid lead over No. 2 Alabama, but with several stud targets still in play—for both powerhouse programs—the next four months until national signing day will be an interesting race.

Ohio State likes the position it's in for a few 5-star athletes, including running back Cam Akers and cornerback/athlete Jeffrey Okudah, but don't count out Alabama and its recruiting efforts. Akers, Okudah, 5-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson and 5-star offensive tackle Trey Smith are players to keep an eye on as the Crimson Tide look to close 2017 recruiting strong.

With Moses, Alabama is getting an immediate playmaker at the linebacker position. He can play outside or inside because of his speed, strength and nose for the football. Moses, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native and one-time LSU commit, has been a household name in college football recruiting since the eighth grade, and he's yet to disappoint as a star prospect.

What may be more important for Alabama is that Moses announced he is shutting down his recruiting process and choosing not to take any more visits. Credit Saban and co-defensive coordinators Tosh Lupoi (outside linebackers) and Jeremy Pruitt (inside linebackers) for their recruiting efforts on an athlete who can be a game-changer in the SEC early in his career.

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My favorite one is then calling out some of you for bad mouthing Moses when many of them are telling him to get out of the state.

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