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

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What the hell is wrong with new York? You would think a state with that much population would have some football talent. 

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Didn't we have a RB in the 90's from New York?

So I’m hearing chatter about some possible good news on the recruiting front, anyone have the latest?

Offers continue to stack up for QB Taulia Tagovailoa | al.com

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How does Thompson 2019 QB Taulia Tagovailoa compare to big brother Tua?

Thompson 2019 QB Taulia Tagovailoa added power-5 offers from Arizona and Nebraska this week as his recruiting stock continues to rise.

The Class 7A Back of the Year finalist help the Warriors to 12 straight wins before they lost a rematch to Hoover in the state semifinals.

"If Taulia improves as much this year as he did last year, I think he can be as good as anyone out there," Thompson coach Mark Freeman said. "A lot of people compare him to his brother (Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa) and that is probably unfair at this juncture, but Taulia can be special. He already is special, special guy."

The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Tagovailoa is currently the 11th ranked player in the state for 2019, according to the 247 composite rankings. His early offers already include Alabama, Florida, FAU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Oregon.

Though he didn't arrive in Alabaster from Hawaii until last spring, Tagovailoa caught on quickly at Thompson. The first-team ASWA All-State selection threw for 3,823 yards and 35 touchdowns for the Warriors. He was intercepted just eight times. He is thought to be one of several contenders for the state's Mr. Football award, which will be handed out on Jan. 30 in Montgomery.

"The thing I was most impressed with was Taulia's work habits and study and preparation for games," Freeman said. "At first, we tried to take things he was already good at and incorporate it into our system so we would have something to fall back on if needed, but he picked up our offense very easily. He could see the system and where we were trying to go with the ball. It was all clear to him."

Though Freeman said it is a bit premature to compare Taulia to older brother Tua -- who rallied Alabama from a 13-0 halftime deficit in the national championship game to an overtime win over Georgia - he noted there are plenty of similarities.

"He and Tua are so very similar in the many ways you can see just watching them play," Freeman said. "You see a lot of Tua in Taulia because of how they both play, the throws and decisions they make. I don't know how anyone in the state could have done more for their team did Taulia did for us this year. He came in here and acted like he'd been here his whole life. The kids accepted him right away, and that is why we were so successful."

Freeman said Taulia also compares favorably to another quarterback he's extremely familiar with, 2015 Mr. Football winner Tyler Johnston. Freeman and Johnston helped Spanish Fort to the 2013 Class 5A state title. Johnston is now at UAB.

"Those two guys, Tyler and Taulia, are both very unselfish players," Freeman said. "They are similar in the fact that Tyler was and Taulia is respected by all their teammates and deservedly so. They weren't respected because they were the quarterback. They were respected because of how they worked in practice, how they studied film, the effort they both gave all the time. They are both quiet leaders. They do it with their actions and character."

Freeman said his main goal for Taulia is for him to get stronger in the offseason.

"I think if he puts a little weight on and gets physically stronger, it will take him to a whole new level," he said. "He's very accurate already. He knows where to go with the ball. On every play, he has three parts of the field he has to look at and get it to the right part of the field whether it is by run or pass. Taulia has an uncanny knack to see things very fast."

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We are either going to come out of this weekend solid or epic, im excited to see what happens

Glad we have several spots left.

I still can't help but get anxious on Saturdays of big visitor weekends, even though I know nothing ever really comes out until Sunday night typically.

Just had to get that out there!

Since we have a good shot at 3 receivers it'll be interesting who we actually land

My focus is on Surtain.

Logic dictates we have no shot... however the entire family took the trip and it's not like they need freebies.

I hope we can convince Sr, that Jr doesn't need Corey Raymond to get him where he wants to go. Also that his son can come in and start for a program that will make him legendary.

If we can find a way to pull Surtain? While we've pulled Barmore, Wynn, Anoma, J.Davis, B.Brown and Saivion Smith???

I don't care what the class is ranked. We'd have met every need and set ourselves up for great future success.