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

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Kiffin will likely take Tosh and Sark with him. This will likely implode the top half of this class. I would expect Harris and Tua to leave if this happens. This is the danger of Kidfin getting the HC job and not an OC position.

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SEC recruiting classes will include a few high-profile JUCO signees, and some of those players may have to fill big roles right away.

JUCO recruiting is almost always a temporary solution to a problem while a team finds a more long-term answer. Departing seniors and draft-eligible juniors often leave holes that younger players aren’t ready to fill.

This year in the SEC, most of those holes are in the trenches. A bunch of teams are pursuing JUCO transfers who can step in and make a difference as pass rushers, pass protectors or run stuffers. It helps that JUCO recruits usually have been in a college weight program for two years, so their bodies are more SEC-ready than true freshmen.

Let’s take a look at where each SEC team may look to a JUCO transfer for help in 2017:

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Alabama: Offensive Tackle

Alabama probably is losing its two most experienced offensive tackles after this season. Cam Robinson likely will declare early for the draft, and Korren Kirven is a senior. The Crimson Tide have three freshman tackles on the roster and four high school recruits in their 2017 class. A veteran JUCO tackle, such as 4-star commit Elliot Baker, could be a helpful stopgap while the Crimson Tide develop all those young linemen.

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NEW ORLEANS — Saturday marked a significant juncture in DeVonta Smith’s recruitment.

Of course, the 4-star Amite (La.) High wide receiver helped his team advance to the Louisiana Class 3A state championship, one of the blue-chip LSU target’s goals for the past two years.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association held Amite out of the state semifinals in 2015 after a brawl ensued at the end of the quarterfinals game, keeping Smith from reaching the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as a junior. It’s no wonder he entered the title game Saturday more focused on the task at hand than his recruitment.

“It felt like a regular old Friday night, playing my last game with my teammates and my brothers,” Smith told SEC Country. “It’s the only thing I have on my mind — the unfinished business and what they took away from us last year.

“I haven’t thought about it (my decision) at all. I’ve been locked in on the game and I have been since the beginning of the season. The focus has been on my season.”

Smith capitalized in the big moment, too.

The U.S. Army All-American hauled in 8 passes for 111 yards and also nabbed an interception in the championship game. Smith found the end zone on a 93-yard kickoff return en route to being named his team’s Most Outstanding Player.

But now Smith is about to shift his focus over to the elephant in the room.

LSU, Alabama, Miami, TCU and Oklahoma remain major players in the 6-foot-1, 160-pounder’s decision. At least those are the programs that communicated with Smith throughout his senior season, but gave him space while he devoted most of his time to his team.

“I haven’t been talking a lot … just a little,” Smith explained. “I told coaches I wanted to focus on my season and they understood. It felt good and it let me know that they understand where I’m coming from and it’s not all about them.”

Smith, Louisiana’s top-ranked receiver, still plans on making a decision on National Signing Day. He has plans to officially visit both Alabama and Miami … for now.

LSU also could host Smith, but that has not yet been scheduled.

The Tigers have quietly gained steam with the elite wideout thanks to the promotion of Ed Orgeron and the new offense on the way in Baton Rouge. Smith made an unofficial visit to LSU along with his mother and little brother, Christian, for the Ole Miss game, the first time his entire family was on campus. He returned a few weeks later, taking in a practice along with 5-star linebacker Dylan Moses during Thanksgiving break.

“I like Coach O and I believed he deserved that job,” Smith stated. “It’s just the man that he is. … He’s a man of his word and a great man to be around.”

Wide receivers coach Dameyune Craig is among the coaches who allowed Smith some space during his senior season, but has been pitching a familiar message to the blue-chip prospect throughout the fall.

That message: early playing time. LSU will lose senior Travin Dural and possibly juniors Malachi Dupre and D.J. Chark. With a more dynamic offense ahead, making an early impact is something the U.S. Army All-American is looking for.

“I can come in and play and have a big-time role as a true freshman,” Smith said. “Really, I feel I can go in anywhere and play as a true freshman, and LSU is a great place to be. But only God knows …”

Smith also mentioned education among the most important factors in his decision. He plans on majoring in sports management.

He also noted that LSU, Alabama, Miami, TCU and Oklahoma have made him feel like a priority. LSU has only one other wide receiver commit — 4-star Mannie Netherly. Alabama, Miami and Oklahoma each have two, and TCU has three.

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What’s up with Najee Harris?

That is really the question everyone wants to know, right? The 5-star Alabama running back commit took an official visit to Michigan over the weekend with his mother, Tianna Hicks, who is an integral part of his recruitment.

She’s been to Michigan twice now and Alabama at least three or four times. Hicks has told SEC Country previously that she’s extremely comfortable with her son going to college on the other side of the country in Tuscaloosa. We have not spoken to Hicks since her recent trip to Ann Arbor to see if she has similar feelings on that city potentially being her son’s home for the next three to four years.

Ultimately, despite visits to the California schools, the recruitment for the nation’s No. 1 overall player will come down to either Alabama or Michigan. Several sources close to Harris have no idea what’s going through the Tide commit’s head, as he hasn’t given any indication on what he’ll do.

Those close to the Alabama program believe he will stick with the Tide and those close to the Michigan program believe the Wolverines gave Harris a lot to think about this weekend. Again, not even the people closest to Harris know what he’ll actually do. His recruitment has been a giant mystery, and that won’t be changing until he signs with his school of choice.

There is one thing that could be a deciding factor in his recruitment — the training regimen at both schools. A source close to Harris told SEC Country recently that he prefers Alabama’s weight program more so than Michigan’s. In fact, one player Harris personally knows at Michigan became very out of shape, and it was off-putting. Harris is a workout freak and Alabama strength coach Scott Cochran may be the best in college football.

Harris is an early enrollee and his final decision will have to come in the next few weeks. Hicks told SEC Country that Harris is expected to announce his plans at the Army All-American game, but because of his lack of interest in the recruiting process, it’s possible he could announce it before then.

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