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

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Brown said the trio would get into Alabama today and begin the visit tomorrow. They will only visit Alabama this week while inside the state.

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Adding of a December Signing Period

This new signing period coincides with the current 72-hour junior college signing period. Prospects will still be able to sign a binding national letter of intent during the February signing period.

Pros: A player can lock in his decision, then relax until his early enrollment in January, or not have to stress about being dropped by a new coaching staff, or being recruited over, in late January in the run up to the traditional signing day on the first Wednesday of February.

Conversely, programs can identify talent and sign players in December and not deal with the potential flips in late January and on signing day. The benefit should be bigger for the non-elite schools. The idea is there is less time for "bigger" programs to re-assess their needs and pluck prospects from other programs as signing day approaches.

Cons: A prospects signs with a school, a coach leaves or is fired, and now what does the prospect do? Does he ask out of his letter? What about the pro-style quarterback whose new coach will employ a read-option offense?

Look no further than Washington basketball last month in which a coaching change was made and players asked out of their national letters of intent. As prospects look to protect their interests more and more, getting out of binding letters will become a bigger issue.

Also, the rule gives a lot of leverage to schools. The player who is not highly recruited in the spring misses out on those official visits, so he plans them for the fall. However, a deep playoff run has him on the field each weekend into December, cutting down his official visit options. If he is not a top tier recruit (let's say in the Scout 300), schools can pressure him to sign in December after one or two official visits are made, or the player risks not having a slot come February's signing day.

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The 10th Assistant Rule

FBS programs are allowed to add a 10th assistant coach, effective Jan. 9, 2018.

Pros: More coaches breaking down film, more coaches coaching, and more coaches recruiting. It should make for less mistakes in recruiting, better relationships and better evaluations.

Cons: The rich get richer. As coaches aspire to be at the top of their fields, it means the better coaches will continue to be with the better programs. More depth and resources at the top means less depth as you slide down the food chain, and the bigger separation on the spectrum. Smaller programs with a tight budget now must add a few hundred thousand dollars to their ledger.

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — It's just the beginning for Antwan Burnett. This young man has a chance to be Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball for the state of Alabama if he chooses to play both sports long enough. He scored 15 touchdowns last fall, then averaged over 20 points per game in the winter as a freshman. He sprinkled in a couple of 40-point games in there too.

The 6-foot-4, 200 pound athlete is different. He will not only have options in terms of scholarships, but he will have options in sports too. While around Montgomery recently, coaches raved about Burnett and his ability and potential on the gridiron and the hard court.

Burnett is shining in basketball right now playing on the AAU circuit, but his first three offers in either sport have come as a football prospect. Florida offered first, then Alabama and Georgia followed. All came in recently, around the same time.

The Gators have won national titles on the football field and basketball court in the last 10 years and although he has not spent time in Gainesville (Fla.), he knows a little about the Florida program.

"I think about Tim Tebow and those years when I think about Florida," said Burnett. "I have not been there, but I watched them play on T.V. and I know they have a good team with good players. I like the way they play."

Alabama and Florida have matched up often for SEC championships in football over the years and Burnett has now visited the in-state school twice.

The first visit was for the Iron Bowl late last fall and he was recently there to take in a spring practice. The Crimson Tide has impressed him.

"The facilities there are really nice, I like the people there and the Iron Bowl was great. The crowd was so loud at the game and it was a lot of fun. I got the campus tour when I was there a few weeks ago and everything was nice. It is a school that wants everything to be perfect."

Burnett does not know much about Georgia yet, but he would like to get to Athens (Ga.) this summer if his AAU schedule allows him to. His offer list is going to grow in the coming months and he will have offers in two sports before long.

He is just taking it all in stride right now.

"You just have to stay humble," said Burnett. "As quick as I got the offers, they can be taken away, so I just have to keep working."

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Over 30 schools have offered College Park (Ga.) Hapeville Charter cornerback Chris Smith. He has spent days on the road visiting schools across the country over the past 12 months. The 6-foot, 165 pound rising senior has built relationships, examined a long list of schools and he is ready to cut his list down to six with a decision looming.

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At the Los Angeles stop of the Rivals Three Stripe Camps presented by Adidas, Solomon Tuliuapupu announced that he would make spring break visits to Alabama, Auburn, and Ohio State.

Just before Easter weekend, he crossed that trip to Columbus off the list.

“Coach (Bill) Davis is a great coach,” he said of the Buckeyes linebackers coach. “He has a lot of experience in the league, and of course that’s one of my dreams. But they also have a good education to fall back on in case football doesn’t work.”

The Rivals100 linebacker said that a trip to the southeast would be his first, but he already has an idea about the culture in that region.

“I know it’s hard football out there and that’s what I like,” he said. “I like hard work and (visiting) is going to be a great experience.”

IN HIS WORDS

On Alabama

“We’re still talking, I would say the interest level there has been the same,” he said. “I talk most with Coach (Tosh) Lupoi, but we try and keep it professional, you know. We’ve talked about scheme, what I need to work on, things like that.”

On Alabama’s main selling point to him

“It’s just been being able to compete for a championship,” he said. “Being able to compete with the best and coming up, there is going to be competition to get to the next level, and that’s what you gotta do - face competition.

On Auburn

“The linebackers coach, T-Will [Travis Williams], and I actually have a good relationship,” he said. “He’s pretty big-time, he played in the league, he knows what’s going on - he’s a young guy. I think I can get a lot from working with him because of his experience.”

RIVALS REACTION

Tuliuapupu has 30 offers and claims not to have any favorites at the moment.

“Though this process I don’t really have any top schools yet,” he said. ”I’m just mostly focused on this season. I’m going to continue thinking about it, praying, talking with my family, and get as many visits in as I can and get the whole experience.”

Visits like the ones he’s planned over spring break are big opportunities for those programs to make an impression on Tuliuapupu. At the Rivals camp, many of his peers thought he was more likely to stay local, but all of those programs he's mentioned visiting could make a claim to being a great home for a top linebacker.

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