re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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The Alabama Board didn't exist for the Class of 2012. Was it on the LSU recruiting board?

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Tyler Friday set to announce his decision this Friday

One of Alabama’s top targets is set to come off the board this Friday in 4-star defensive tackle Tyler Friday out of Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.). Friday will announce his decision at 2 p.m. ET.

Friday, the nation’s No. 3 defensive tackle in the 2018 class, will either commit to Alabama, Michigan or Ohio State. Barring a last-minute change, I don’t expect Alabama to be the choice, according to a source close to the Tide and a source close to the Ohio State program. Both sources expect the Buckeyes to be the choice.

The 6-foot-3, 263-pound prospect took an official visit to Tuscaloosa last month, and, at the time, he said those three programs would “definitely” be in the mix for him when he made his decision.

Friday said shortly after his first-ever visit that Alabama was more relevant in his recruitment than what it was prior to his trip. Since then, the coaching staff has made a big push to get Friday on board. Defensive line coach Karl Dunbar was in New Jersey last week and the staff has been in constant communication with him.

It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be enough, though.

Alabama signed 4-star defensive linemen Stephon Wynn Jr.[/b and [b]Christian Barmore during the early signing period. The Tide also have a commitment from 4-star defensive lineman Bobby Brown.

The team would like to add at least one more defensive lineman in this class, and it has its eyes on 3-star defensive end Malik Langham out of Huntsville, Ala., who will take an official visit to Tuscaloosa this weekend.

It’s possible Langham decides to commit to Alabama this weekend, either silently or publicly.

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Coaching staff visits linebacker commit Quay Walker 

Outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi, co-defensive coordinator Pete Golding and personnel assistant Denzel Devall (who is on the road recruiting because Alabama doesn’t have a full staff in place) visited 4-star Alabama linebacker commit Quay Walker on Wednesday.

Walker didn’t respond to SEC Country’s request for comment on how the in-home visit from the staff went or if his weekend visit plans have changed. He was expected to visit Tuscaloosa this weekend, but he ended up changing his plans to what his original plan was all along, to visit Georgia this weekend. Now, his visit plans remain in doubt, and we may not know which school the Under Armour All-American visits until he actually shows up on a college campus. Ah, recruiting is so much fun, is it not?

Walker’s commitment to Alabama has been shaky at best since defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt left for Tennessee and defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley, Walker’s primary recruiter, left for the Oakland Raiders. He just doesn’t have that strong of a relationship with anyone left in Tuscaloosa. He has told SEC Country numerous times that relationships with the coaching staff are what matter most.

I don’t think Walker is going to end up signing with Alabama when he makes his decision final on National Signing Day, but he hasn’t de-committed from the Tide just yet.

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