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

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Max Wray, a 2018 OT from Franklin, TN has added an offer from Bama. He's a recent Georgia commit.

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Pride. Every competitive athlete has it. And when it comes to bragging rights, many athletes are quick to let others know how competitive their state is, compared to others.

Each year, there are the usual suspects when it comes to finding the elite college football talent. But every year, a sleeper state or two is considered one to watch, as college recruiters and scouts go through the proverbial rat race that is recruiting.

Last year featured states like New Jersey, Mississippi, Maryland and North Carolina as states to keep an eye on. While those states once again feature an abundance of talent, here are 10 states loaded with athletes who can be immediate impact players at the next level.

The states were chosen using both the quality and quantity of each state's talent base.

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Seeing Najee Harris at Ohio State this past weekend is concerning. What are the chances he stays committed and getting a recommit from Cam Akers and are there any other running backs you see committing?

(From @thomas_w_brown)

I think the chances of Harris staying committed are good. Even though he wasn’t at Alabama’s spring game and decided to attend Ohio State’s, I still think he’s a strong commit.

He visited Alabama earlier this year for a couple of days and from all accounts, he told the staff that he was strongly committed. He’s still going to take other visits elsewhere and he has every right to because it’s his recruitment. Expect him to take all five official visits, too.

Akers de-committed from Alabama last month, but the Crimson Tide’s recruitment of the elite running back hasn’t stopped.

In fact, it may be better than it was when he called himself an Alabama commit.

“They continuously contact me, daily,” Akers told SEC Country at Nike’s “The Opening” regional camp in New Orleans on Sunday. “It’s not just me they are recruiting, either. They are always hitting up my mom to tell her to tell me to call them.”

When he de-committed from Alabama, Akers made it clear that he was still going to consider the Crimson Tide. Right now, I think Georgia is the strongest competition Alabama needs to worry about.

The 5-foot-11, 212-pounder is expected to make a visit to Alabama in the coming months. He did say that if Alabama continues to recruit him at a high level, then he would have no reservations about re-choosing the Crimson Tide.

Other RBs that could end up choosing Alabama: Anthony McFarland (Hyattsville, Md.), D’Andre Swift (Philadelphia), Bruce Jordan-Swilling (New Orleans) and Travis Etienne (Jennings, La.)

Don’t forget Alabama also has a commitment from Brian Robinson, the four-star RB from Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa.

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How is the wide receiver board looking?

(From @WCTideFans)

Alabama is still looking to land its first wide receiver commit in the Class of 2017. Receiver is one of the most important positions for the Crimson Tide in this class because they signed only two in 2016 — Trevon Diggs and T.J. Simmons.

There are five priority targets and then a few others that could be considered secondary options if Alabama doesn’t get someone in that group. The priorities are Devonta Smith (Amite, La.), Jerry Jeudy (Pompano Beach, Fla.), Nico Collins (Pinson, Ala.), Jeff Thomas (East Saint Louis, Ill.) and Henry Ruggs (Montgomery, Ala.).

In order of most likely to commit:

I don’t want to say it’s locked up just yet because recruiting is weird and wacky and anything can happen until that signature is on the letter of intent, but Smith is the most likely guy to end up in this class. He’s very good friends with Shyheim Carter, a 2016 signee, and is very close to assistant director of player personnel Sam Petitto and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. He’s made several visits to Tuscaloosa over the past few weeks and was on campus for A-Day. He’s so comfortable with Alabama that even though he was on campus for the scrimmage, he didn’t watch any of it. There’s nothing else he needs to see at this point, Smith told me recently. He’s supposed to make his decision a few weeks after his season ends. His recruitment may not last all of the way until then.

Ruggs is probably the second guy on this list most likely to end up at Alabama. It seems like he’s at Alabama almost every single week. He’s easily visited Tuscaloosa more than any other place, and the staff has made him a priority. Wide receivers coach Billy Napier visited Ruggs Wednesday. His commitment could come sooner than later.

Jeudy is close to Calvin Ridley, and I thought he was going to follow in the star receiver’s footsteps and end up committing at A-Day, which is what Ridley did in 2014. He’s named Alabama his leader at one point in his recruitment but has since backed off that statement and has said every school in his top 10 is equal. I don’t necessarily believe that’s the case, and I like where Alabama stands right now.

Some people may be surprised to see Collins fourth on this list. I am starting to get the feeling that Alabama isn’t in that great of a position with him as I had originally thought. And my feelings about that grew stronger after he told me that he was going to Georgia’s spring game and not Alabama’s. He also told Jeff Sentell of DawgNation that he has now made as many trips to Athens as he has made to Tuscaloosa. Personally, I think Smith and Jeudy are Alabama’s top two targets in this class and Collins may be Georgia’s top target. His recruitment is going to be one to watch over the next several months. Alabama is always going to be in this race, but it would not shock me if he ended up at Georgia.

Thomas is fifth because I really don’t know much about where he stands. I’m not even going to lie. I haven’t seen him grant an interview to anyone in months and he’s pretty much mute when it comes to his recruitment. I know Alabama is on him and was once considered the favorite for him. I do not know where things stand with Thomas now.

Look for Alabama to sign four to five receivers this class.

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What are the chances of landing Isaiah Wilson and Wyatt Davis?

(From @jplynn06)

Wilson, the five-star offensive tackle from Brooklyn, N.Y., visited Alabama for A-Day. He’s one that doesn’t talk to the media much at all, but he did tweet about his trip to Tuscaloosa.

From speaking with him in the past, I can say that Wilson is very high on Alabama but I don’t think he’ll end up at Alabama unless he makes another trip to Tuscaloosa. A-Day isn’t a recruiting event that allows prospects the chance to really get a lot of 1-on-1 time with coaches. I think Michigan is the favorite for him right now.

As far as Wyatt, Alabama has been viewed as the favorite for the five-star offensive tackle for a while now. I don’t think it’s a lock he ends up with the Tide, though. He needs to get back on campus for me to say Alabama has an excellent chance at landing his commitment.

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Amite (La.) High School wide receiver Devonta Smith has been bumped to a five-star on 247Sports. He is now ranked as the No. 12 player in the country and the No. 3 wide receiver.

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