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

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Heading into his visit to Alabama this past weekend for A-Day, Will Ignont had chosen Georgia as his No. 1 school. That changed after he left Tuscaloosa.

Ignont, a four-star linebacker from Buckhorn High School (New Market, Ala.), told SEC Country that Alabama is not his official leader, but it’s clear the Crimson Tide have made a significant dent in where his recruitment stands now.

“I took a lot of big things away from that visit,” Ignont said. “Essentially, I wanted to go back on my top 10 and my top five because I have a team in my mind that I would go out and strap up for tomorrow. I’m just waiting it out now because I want to be 110 percent sure before I make that public.”

To be clear, Ignont has already given a verbal commitment to his school of choice but is waiting to go public with it to make sure that it’s the team he wants to play for.

Ignont mentioned five teams sticking out to him right now — Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Michigan and UCLA. It’s likely one of those coaching staffs has received a verbal commitment from Ignont.

Obviously, the timing of his decision bodes well for Alabama’s chances. Ignont spoke about why he decided on this mysterious school.

“I just felt at home. It feels just like home,” Ignont said. “From the coaching staff to the graduate assistants, I love all of those guys. They’re very special to me. Every time I’m on campus, they are always showing love. I feel like I fit really well in their defensive scheme and in their future plans.”

Alabama is recruiting Ignont at inside linebacker. He’s aware that linebacker is one of the Tide’s deepest positions, but a few conversations with coach Nick Saban has eased his concerns about the possibility of not playing immediately.

“The biggest thing about Alabama is that everyone is always worried about depth,” Ignont said. “I feel like they’ll get you out on the field regardless of the depth chart. Everyone is always worried about playing as a freshman. That’s fine, but the thing that Coach Saban has said many times, and it really sticks out to me, when NFL guys go there, they don’t look for freshman and sophomore film. They ask for the junior and senior film to see how developed you are. That’s big for me and makes a whole lot of sense.”

Out of all of the coaches Ignont communicates with, Saban may be the one he connects with the most. Ignont did not get a chance to talk to Saban much this past weekend, but he’s had plenty of in-depth conversations with him in the past.

“I love Coach Saban. He’s actually one of my favorite, if not the favorite, coaches to talk to,” Ignont said. “I love him. I think he’s a great guy.

“That’s the thing with him, a lot of people have so much against Coach Saban. Look at what he’s doing at the University of Alabama. Every time I go there, I’m just in awe. It’s such a great place to be. Throughout this whole process, he’s made it easy for me to talk to him. He’s definitely someone I could see myself playing for.”

The 6-foot-2, 238-pounder expects to make his silent commitment public soon. He still wants to take more visits to be “110 percent” sure of his choice. His mother, Daphane, doesn’t want her son to be 100 percent sure of his choice. He needs to have that extra 10 percent before he can make his decision public.

“Once I commit and I’m 110 percent and I make it public, that’s where I’m going,” Ignont said. “My mom always preaches being faithful and loyal to that school. If you commit to a school, don’t be 100 percent, be 110 percent.”

Even though he hasn’t gone public with his decision, it’s clear that he’s made up his mind on where he wants to play.

“Not really because I am pretty much set on that school,” Ignont said when asked if there was anything a school can do to change his commitment. “I’m not even going to lie to you.”

Ignont is rated as the nation’s No. 5 inside linebacker and is the state of Alabama’s No. 26 prospect in the Class of 2017.

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The decision to ban athletic satellite camps has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, but another rule that recently passed will also have a big impact on the NCAA and recruiting.

Proposal 2015-52 will allow institutions to pay the actual round-trip costs for a prospective student-athlete's parents or legal guardians to accompany the prospect on his official visit and will be implemented August 1, 2016.

The vote passed 14-1 with only the Sun Belt Conference voting against it, according to the NCAA's Division I Council report.

The current rule allowed for only the prospect's travel and accommodations to be paid for and prohibited schools from paying for transportation costs incurred by relatives, friends or legal guardians. Under that rule, prospects were either taking official visits by themselves or parents, guardians or high school coaches were taking on the costs to accompany the recruit on the visit.

The new rule specifies the funds will be available for transportation and meals for the parents or guardians. Prospective student-athletes are permitted to take five official visits starting on the first day of classes of the prospective student-athlete's senior year, so this rule will be in place for the Class of 2017.

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The day Seth Williams’ recruitment officially began, it almost ended.

Williams picked up his first scholarship offer this past Saturday from Alabama, the school he grew up rooting for.

The four-star wide receiver from Paul W. Bryant High School (yes, his school is named after the legendary Crimson Tide coach), was personally offered by Nick Saban on A-Day. He admits that the thought of committing at that very moment crossed his mind.

“Yeah I had thoughts about doing it then, but I just decided to wait to see what other opportunities would come my way,” Williams told SEC Country.

Even before he picked up the offer, the Tuscaloosa native had heard from members of his community about playing for Alabama. Almost everyone he knows is a fan of the Crimson Tide.

“They tell me all of the time that it’s a good school and they’re always going to win national championships,” Williams said. “I just tell them that I know they do. They’re always going to have an opportunity at winning a championship.”

The 6-foot-3, 202-pounder, who has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.53, said he had the opportunity to talk with Saban for around 10 minutes this past Saturday..

Don’t ask him what Saban had to say during those 10 minutes because Williams’ mind was spinning.

“There was so much going on that I don’t even remember what he said,” Williams said. “I was just so happy. I just kept on smiling.”

Now that he has been given the opportunity to play college football , Williams is hoping for offers from SEC, Pac-12 and Big Ten schools. He doesn’t have any particular programs he’s hoping to hear from, but Alabama has the early advantage over every other school for the Class of 2018 prospect.

“It’s really close to my heart because I grew up around them,” Williams said about Alabama. “It just means a whole lot to me.”

Williams is rated as the nation’s No. 27 wide receiver and is the No. 4 prospect in the state of Alabama.

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Defensive line is arguably Alabama’s biggest position of need in the Class of 2017, and Chase Young feels like a priority to the Crimson Tide.

Young, a four-star defensive end from DeMatha Catholic High School (Hyattsville, Md.) told SEC Country’s Corey Masisak at Nike’s “The Opening” regional in Washington, D.C. that he feels wanted by the Alabama staff.

“I think I’m really high on their board, and that’s what they’ve been showing me,” Young said.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder said he talks to the Alabama staff “all of the time,” specifically outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi. Young also said that his next college visit will be to Alabama.

The nation’s No. 4 defensive end spoke about why he’s so interested in the Crimson Tide.

“Alabama is the best of the best,” Young said. “If you go there, you’re going to put in work every day. You’ll have that chip on your shoulder every day and it’s going to help you out in the long run.”

His coach at DeMatha, Elijah Brooks, said Young isn’t worried about any competition on the next level.

“I think his competitiveness separates him from the pack,” Brooks said. “He wants to be the best.”

Alabama isn’t the only school Young is high on. He mentioned Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Arizona State and Maryland as schools he’s strongly considering at this.

It’s unclear where Young stands on Alabama’s big board at defensive end right now, as Alabama is also targeting Ryan Johnson (Mobile, Ala.), LaBryan Ray (Madison, Ala.) and Robert Beal (Norcross, Ga.) at the position. Those three players appear to be higher on Alabama’s board than Young.

Things could change if Young does end up making that first visit to Tuscaloosa and the coaching staff falls in love with him.

Young is rated as the state of Maryland’s No. 1 prospect.

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Austin Troxell

The most likely player to commit to Alabama at some point in the near future is four-star offensive tackle Austin Troxell.

He told me a few weeks ago that he plans on making a decision before his senior season begins.

After visiting him at his school, I like where Alabama stands with Troxell, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him pull the trigger.

Right now, it’s a two-team race with Auburn. Here’s what he had to say about the Crimson Tide.

“It’s Alabama. If you go to Alabama, you get that Alabama label,” Troxell said. “If you go to Alabama, when you’re older, I feel like everyone would be so impressed that you played there. I can see people saying, ‘Dang, you played at Alabama?’ Not many people have the opportunity to play at Alabama.”

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Josiah Coatney

Coatney is scheduled to announce his commitment during the first week of May, and Alabama is in good position.

The junior college prospect is a member of the 2016 class and will graduate in May. If Coatney decides on Alabama, he will close out the 2016 class.

The 6-foot-5, 285-pounder recently released his top four and Alabama was tied for first with Ole Miss. He took official visits to both schools, but Alabama had the last chance to impress him.

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