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

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There we go big fella .. Come home big fella ... join the fam big fella ... ROLL TIDE ROLL big Fella

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?First Dylan Moses and now Christopher Allen.

Nick Saban and the Alabama staff take another coveted target from rival LSU, this one right out of Baton Rouge.

The Top247 recruit capped his official visit over the weekend to Tuscaloosa with a verbal to the Tide.

Saban and his staff are moving close to the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class for a seventh-straight year as a verbal from the 6-foot-4, 234-pound Allen increases their lead over Ohio State in the 247Sports Rankings.

Allen brings versatility to Alabama’s front-seven as a guy that can be a difference-maker rushing off the edge or playing inside and being a presence there. He'll be able to wreak havoc as a blitzer up the middle while also having the traits to help set the edge when those outside backers are rushing the passer.

Pretty much another freak in the room.

An alien surrounded by aliens in this recruiting class.

Allen is the fourth linebacker to say yes to Saban and company this cycle, joining five-star Dylan Moses, Top247 outside linebackers VanDarius Cowan (a violent player) and Markail Benton.

And I don’t think Alabama is done.

My 247Sports Crystal Ball reads Crimson Tide for five-star Baron Browningwho may be the best of the bunch. Moses and Browning are elite athletes, a bit raw but a ceiling through the roof. Allen and Cowan are those chippy, old-school physical backers that Saban and company will be able to get creative with.

Alabama loses three starting linebackers in Tim Williams, Ryan Andersonand Reuben Foster. You have guys waiting their turn like Mack Wilson, Christian Miller, Rashaan Evans, Anfernee Jennings, Terrell Hall and Ben Davis, but they will be immediately pushed by the mutants like Allen coming in.

Allen is rated the No. 7 outside linebacker the No. 118 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. 

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Christopher Allen, one of the nation’s top linebackers, wasn’t expected to announce his commitment until National Signing Day, but he decided to end his recruitment Sunday afternoon following a trip to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl.

Allen, a 4-star prospect from Southern University Lab High School (Baton Rouge, La.) is being recruited by Alabama as a JACK linebacker, which is a hybrid of outside linebacker and defensive end. It’s the position Tim Williams currently plays for the Tide. Several staff members have compared Allen’s game to Williams’, and those same coaches believe Allen is destined to be a first-round pick when the time comes for him to enter the league.

Shortly after Allen’s commitment, numerous fans asked me if his abrupt decision affects other linebacker/JACK prospects who remain on the board for Alabama in the Class of 2017. I received word from a source close to the team that 5-star linebacker Baron Browning and 4-star JACK Jarez Parks would still be welcomed in Alabama’s class if they want to commit.

We’ve reported that Alabama is considered the favorite to land Browning,who is expected to announce his commitment on Tuesday. Alabama, as we’ve stated for several months now, remains the behind-the-scenes favorite for Parks.

The Tide now have four linebackers committed in the Class of 2017 in Allen, 5-star prospect Dylan Moses and 4-star prospects VanDarius Cowan and Markail Benton, but it appears as if Alabama will not stop recruiting the position even with all of the talent already on board.

Alabama signed three linebackers in the 2016 class in former 5-stars Ben Davis and Mack Wilson and JACK prospect Terrell Hall. With the impending departures of Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams, you can bet that the Tide are doing everything they can to reload at linebacker.

If all of the above names in the 2017 class ultimately sign with Alabama, the Tide will have accomplished their goal of getting the best linebacker class in the country.

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