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

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It was two years in the making, but Joseph Bulovas now has the chance to kick for his dream school.

Bulovas, a 6-foot, 210-pound kicker from Mandeville, La., announced his commitment to Alabama on Wednesday morning. It came a week after Brandon Ruiz, the Crimson Tide's longtime kicker commit, flipped to Arizona State.

Needing a replacement for graduated Adam Griffith, they turned to another kicker who impressed at the same Alabama kicking camp last summer where Ruiz earned a scholarship.

Bulovas called it the most competitive camp he's ever been a part of, and thought he did enough to earn the offer. Ruiz got it.

Bulovas, a three-star recruit on the 247Sports composite, committed to Georgia Tech. Rivals.com ranks Bulovas as the country's top kicker recruit.

But when Ruiz backed off his pledge, Bulovas was back in the mix. He took an unofficial visit to Alabama last Sunday - keeping it quiet, because he didn't know what to expect - and earned an offer from head coach Nick Saban.

"He explained the situation they were in," Bulovas said Wednesday night after baseball practice. "He offered me a scholarship. Alabama was actually my dream school to start recruiting early in my junior year. When he actually offered me, I felt like this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

Bulovas was his team's starting quarterback as a sophomore, leading Mandeville to a 9-1 record, but focused on kicking after that because he knew that was his future.

He announced his decommitment from Georgia Tech on Monday, citing another opportunity. That opportunity was Alabama.

"The best turned out of it, and now I'm committed to Alabama," Bulovas said. "Coach (Paul) Johnson and the Georgia Tech family were really great to me, but to play in the SEC and to play at a school that's four hours away and is ultimately the biggest and best team in college football and having me come in and play right away is something I couldn't pass up."

Bulovas played for the East team at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Ruiz and Tide early enrollee long snapper Thomas Fletcher played for the West, so there was time to bond.

"Alabama was still my dream school," Bulovas said. "I'm good friends with Brandon. We were at the All-American game together. Cool guy. He wanted to stay close to home.

"Coach Saban told me it was a hard decision at the beginning. It was choosing apples to oranges. But I'm just glad that the opportunity came around."

Bulovas won't return for an official visit this weekend, he said. There's no need following last Sunday's trip. He will sign on Feb. 1 and report to Alabama in late May.

There's a video of Bulovas kicking a 70-yard field goal in practice, but he said he's focused on being consistent from 55 yards and in and making sure his kickoffs are in the middle to back of the end zone.

"Field goal wise, you've got to be 'Steady Eddie' out there," Bulovas said. "They expect the most out of them. The fanbase expects the most of them. Usually when you get an offer from 'Bama, it means you're the guy for the next three to four years.

"When I got the offer, I knew what I was getting to, and it's a tremendous opportunity."

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Another source said 4-star cornerback Ameer Speed, who currently doesn’t have an offer, could potentially get one in the coming days because the staff sees tremendous upside in him. If that happens, we could see a late official visit from him.

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Saban at Dunham in Baton Rouge
2018 ATH Mike Williams (fresh off LSU offer)
2019 CB Derek Stinley (current LSU commit)

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Is there something in the water down there?

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