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

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What kind of player is Alabama getting in Quay Walker?

Shelton Felton, Crisp County’s former coach, remembered the play quite vividly.

Crisp County’s basketball team was on a fast break. Walker ran the length of the floor, caught an alley-oop pass and nearly brought down the basket with the amount of force he applied to the rim.

Felton was new to Crisp County and was looking for more talent on the gridiron. He approached Walker and told him he had a better future in football.

“I told him that you can stay here [on the court] and go to Auburn State or Auburn Tech or come on the football field and by senior year, you’ll be SEC or ACC with that freaky ability,” Felton said in May.

Walker didn’t automatically buy into Felton’s pitch.

“Quay was hesitant,” Felton said. “That first year, I put him on offense. Like a little baby, you give them a little candy and we threw him the ball. Going into his junior year, I sat down with him and said, ‘If you stay on offense, you’ll be a mid-major player. If you listen to me and go on defense and play on the opposite side of Big Cat, you’ll be a Power 5 player.’”

“Big Cat” is Markaviest Bryant, who signed with Auburn in 2017. Now that Bryant is gone, a target is going to be on Walker. Crisp County defensive coordinator Jeff Kent said his job this season is to play Walker at various positions in the 3-4 defense so it’s not predictable where he’ll line up.

“I haven’t seen someone at the high school level that has the ability to do the things he can at so many different positions, especially in our defense,” Kent said. “He’s found his home at outside linebacker with us, but we can move him to inside linebacker and it would be a natural fit.”

The Alabama staff loves Walker’s versatility. He still plays tight end for the Cougars and can play almost every position on the defensive side of the ball. Even though he’s played defense for only one year, Kent said the other 10 guys on the field look to him for guidance.

“He can pick up schemes very quickly,” Kent said. “You have to know a lot to play that outside linebacker spot. He’s handled that stress very well in Year 2. He has a leadership role because he understands where others need to be.”

The transition to Alabama’s 3-4 defense shouldn’t be too difficult for Walker because Crisp’s defense is actually similar to the Tide’s.

“I don’t think there’s any way to simulate what you’re going to get with coach [Nick] Saban,” Kent said. “But, I can say that our former head coach, Shelton Felton, is a disciplinarian. He’s very structured. Our style of defense, which is Coach Felton’s, is actually based off of Alabama’s 3-4. It’s one Nick Saban has run for years. I think it will be an easier transition for him because there are going to be some kids who haven’t had that structure yet. He’s going to have that edge on some other phenomenal athletes because of this routine we have here.”

Kent believes Alabama now has its next star in the making in Walker.

“His ceiling is as high as Quay Walker wants it to be,” Kent said. “If you walked into a college locker room and he was in there, he’s not going to get lost in the shuffle. Alabama is really a great fit for him.”

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Is Jobe in TTown?

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Didn't Mississippi State get a QB commitment from Jaylen Mayden?

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In my opinion, Alabama landed one of the more complete linebackers in the country on Thursday in Cordele (Ga.) Crisp County standout Quay Walker.

The four-star Walker chose the Crimson Tide over an offer list that also included Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami and Oregon among others.

As a junior the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Walker racked up 109 tackles including 19 for loss and eight sacks. There was also the 27 quarterback hurries, the five pass breakups and two forced fumbles and an interception over the course of 13 games.

On film, Walker doesn't seem to be short on athleticism. He's a long, twitchy pass rusher that closes quickly on quarterbacks. He has the strength to set the edge against the run and is a presence in the backfield in that regard as well. He's very comfortable in coverage and sometimes lines up in the nickel. Walker reacts quickly to where the ball is and changes direction well.

A finisher upon impact, Walker fits perfect in Alabama's scheme.

Adding to his prowess on defense, Walker is a two-way player that makes a dent playing receiver as well.

The industry-generated 247Sports Composite ranks Walker as the nation's No. 11 outside linebacker. We have him at No. 18. I'd wager we both have him too low.

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We got a CB for JJ Peterson from Wiltfong.

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AUBURN, Ala. — It’s camp season.

Auburn kicked off its summer filled with camps on Thursday. Gus Malzahn and his entire staff filed into the indoor practice facility to check out some of talent in town for the first camp of the summer. There were close to 100 prospects in attendance from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 recruiting classes.

Several of those prospects will end up on Auburn’s radar. Some were already there.

Take a look at a few notes SEC Country gathered at the camp.

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Pass-rusher target Richard Jibunor didn’t make it to Big Cat Weekend. Have no worries, Auburn fans. He returned to Auburn for a more personalized visit on Thursday after camping at Georgia (new staff still hasn’t offered) on Wednesday. Jibunor was walking around with fellow Nigerian football player Prince Tega Wanogho. Those two are characters. Wanogho — the dude is a giant — poked some fun at 6-foot-4, 215-pound Jibunor for being so small. It’s safe to say they’re both beasts.

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