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

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He's not a true Bama fan then

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Wide receiver Jordyn Adams released a top five of Alabama, Clemson, LSU, UNC, and Ohio State on Wednesday evening.

Adams (6-2, 175) plans to announce a decision at The Opening Finals in July (at the earliest) or on Oct. 18, his birthday (at the latest).

The Cary (N.C.) Green Hope four-star product spoke on each top-five contender.

Alabama - "Really just everything they've been doing. It's a powerhouse school that everyone loves. They're hard to say no to. I'm going to visit them for the first time over the summer, but I'm not sure exactly when."

Clemson - "What they've been doing lately and what I see in the future there. I see a program building up to be like an Alabama program. Coach (Jeff) Scott and coach (Brandon) Streeter are recruiting me, and the coaches give off a family feel. They see me as another Deon Cain because I can play boundary and some slot when I need to.

"I definitely plan to get back to Clemson before (a decision), but nothing is planned. I'll probably go over the summer."

LSU - "I kind of got everybody on choosing my fifth (school). I've just liked LSU since I was 12 or 13 when I lived in Monroe, La. The baseball program stuck out to me. It's just another school I could see myself playing both sports at."

UNC - "I like the coaches, coach (Gunter) Brewer really shows he wants me. I relate the coaching staff to Clemson because both are a family oriented group. It really sticks out when I'm around."

Ohio State - "I love the fan base. The fan base is really different. At spring games, most fans are over the game by halftime. But Ohio State fans were into it the whole time. They think I can play both boundary and slot."

Adams, who broke the Green Hope school record last week for stolen bases in a game with five, intends to be a dual-sport athlete in college. Ohio State, he says, is the only program in his top five where that may not be possible.

Adams' father, Deke Adams, is a first-year defensive line coach at North Carolina.

"He's really helping me a lot," Adams said. "He's known me my while life, so he knows what I like and don't like, and he knows what turns me off. He points out the good and bad of every school.

"Really just how I feel about the school overall, and how I fit in at the school in general and not just on the team will be important in my decision."

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Alabama has offered 2018 4* OG Trey Hill of Houston County (Ga.)

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A former Alabama commit is now heading elsewhere in the SEC.

Akail Byers, a defensive lineman from Fayetteville, Arkansas, was scheduled to sign with the Crimson Tide this February. When academic qualification issues came up, he signed with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

It now appears the academics have been cleared up and Byers committed to Missouri on Wednesday night.

He would be a late addition to the 2017 signing class, though the school hasn't announced a signing as of Thursday morning. His eligibility to play in 2017 has not been confirmed.

Byers is a four-star defensive tackle ranked 17th at his position, according to the 247Sports composite of recruiting rankings. He committed to Alabama last summer and was visited by Nick Saban as recently as January.

"Me and my mom talked a lot about it and we finally made a decision because they were on top of everything, like my academics," Byers told AL.com in December when he felt confident about qualifying. "It's a good school and there's no place like Alabama."

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Day 3 is in the books.

Alabama recruiting reporter Chris Kirschner and I made our way from Birmingham down to Montgomery to speak with a handful of the area’s top prospects on our way down to Mobile, which is where we’ll be Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The Montgomery pit stop took us to three schools — Park Crossing, Lee and Lanier — to see five different prospects. These visits were as Alabama and Auburn-centric as the previous two days of posts, but they still had plenty of useful notes for both of the in-state programs, as well as other schools around the SEC.

Check out the quick-hitters from these interviews below, and make sure to check back throughout the week for more detailed commentary from each of these visits.

Programming note: Thursday will be used to see Mobile-area prospects and Pensacola wide receiver Jacob Copeland before making one more stop in Birmingham before finishing up the trip.

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3-star ATH Cam Taylor, Park Crossing

Wolk: Taylor will be an interesting prospect to track this spring and fall. He’ll play quarterback at Park Crossing for his senior year, but most colleges see him as a slot receiver or safety. Auburn fits into the latter. There are a few smaller schools — Troy, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and others — who want Taylor to come play quarterback. But Taylor said he prioritizes playing at a Power 5, especially SEC, program as a receiver or safety over playing quarterback at a small school. The question is: What schools will he be able to choose from? Right now, his only Power 5 offers are from Michigan and Iowa State. But Taylor spent his junior year with a torn ACL, and coaches haven’t been able to properly evaluate his skill set. Auburn DC Kevin Steele and DB coach Greg Brown talk to Taylor on a fairly regular basis and have said they’ll come out and evaluate Taylor this spring. If that offer comes, I think it would difficult for any other program to land him. Taylor has a close friendship with Auburn standout Kamryn Pettway. The two have known each other since Taylor was a 7-year-old in city league football, and he’s able to lean on Pettway throughout the recruiting process whether it’s Auburn or otherwise.

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