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

quote:

---

Local star Seth Williams made his second trip to Alabama's campus within the past week on Monday.

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Williams is a four-star receiver for Paul Bryant in Cottondale, just minutes from campus. He visited last Wednesday, but head coach Nick Saban was returning from interviews at ESPN.

Monday, he had a chance to sit down with Saban. That was the main reason he returned. Williams is coming off a school year where he earned all-state honors in football, basketball and track.

"He was telling me just how they're going to basically use me and how the system is good," Williams said. "The process, basically, how it always works.

"It's good. It's a winning process. There's not really much you can say or anything you can say bad about it."

Williams also visited with assistants Brian Daboll and Michael Locksley.

"We talked about how they're probably going to use me in the offense and showed me some video clips of receivers," Williams said. "I also went and watched some (voluntary team) 7 on 7."

This came off Williams' visit to Auburn for its cookout on July 22.

"Just sitting down with the coaches, it was pretty much the same thing," Williams said. "You hear the same stuff on all your visits. They broke stuff down with me and showed me how they would use me.

"Auburn, they want me to play in the slot, but motion some. Alabama wants to play me inside too."

On the day of his Auburn trip, Williams noted that "every time I come here, it feels like family. I just can't get past that."

Williams has only visited Alabama and Auburn this summer. He said he wants to get to some games at Ole Miss or Florida State as well, but doesn't have anything set in stone.

He's also not sure when he will commit. It will likely come after the season.

"I'm thinking about the season right now," Williams said. "I've got the recruiting still in my head, but it's not in the front right now. We're trying to win games, get to the playoffs and win a championship."

Williams will also play safety for the Stampede and said he wouldn't rule out playing it in college, though schools talk to him about receiver. Williams is also his team's punter and kickoff specialist.

---

quote:

---

Dominick Wood-Anderson to commit on Tuesday

Dominick Wood-Anderson, the nation’s No. 1 junior college tight end from Arizona Western College (Yuma, Ariz.), will announce his commitment on Tuesday among three finalists: Alabama, Louisville and Texas, according to his coach Tom Minnick.

Alabama was the last school to host Wood-Anderson for a visit, which is important because throughout his recruitment he’s been heavily influenced by those trips. Every time he’s left a campus on a visit, that school has felt confident with where it stands with him. Alabama is no different. Multiple sources in Tuscaloosa told SEC Country that they felt very confident with where they stood for him.

Now, I have been told that Wood-Anderson has made multiple silent commitments to multiple schools, which really isn’t uncommon in the recruiting world today. It just makes it harder for reporters and coaches to discern what’s going to happen and what’s not.

The main thing I’ve heard the past couple of days is that he has been all over the map in his recruitment that it’s difficult to feel supremely confident in projecting him to any of his three finalists. However, it’s more likely that this is an Alabama-Louisville race more so than a three-team race, with Texas being on the outside. The Longhorns have felt confident that they will land former Alabama tight end commit Malcolm Epps.

Now, the Crimson Tide have reason to feel confident with bringing Wood-Anderson on board on Tuesday. After a multi-day visit in April, Wood-Anderson named Alabama his leader. There was some thought he could actually commit on that trip, but he decided to hold off. I’m told that his official visit to Tuscaloosa two weekends ago was a home run and there really was nothing that Alabama could’ve done better.

He’s also told SEC Country in the past that he believes Alabama gives him a good opportunity to play early and reach the NFL.

“It’s somewhere where I’m going to come in and make an immediate impact and somewhere that’s going to give me the best shot to be a top 5 tight end in the country my first year and be a top 20 draft pick after my second year,” Wood-Anderson said.

I’m not supremely confident in my prediction, but my pick is on Alabama landing one of the top offensive weapons in the country. There’s no set time for when Wood-Anderson is expected to announce his commitment, but with him living on the West Coast, I wouldn’t expect a decision early in the morning.

---

quote:

---

Jacob Copeland visits Alabama with commitment coming soon

Jacob Copeland, a 4-star wide receiver from Escambia High School (Pensacola, Fla.), visited Tuscaloosa on Monday. That’s important because a commitment is likely coming this week. Copeland finished filming a commitment video with SEC Country on Sunday. His final two schools are Alabama and Florida.

I will say that there was one ending filmed for Copeland, but I’m not at liberty to say which school was represented in the film.

Alabama gained significant steam for the slot receiver during his visit to Tuscaloosa for A-Day this spring. Nick Saban drove Copeland around in his car and personally escorted him inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Copeland was originally going to announce his commitment at the Under Armour All-America Game in January but decided to push up his timetable after visiting Florida for its Friday Night Lights camp. That’s usually a good sign for that school whenever that happens.

Regardless of the school he picks in his commitment video, this recruitment is certainly going to continue until Signing Day.

---

quote:

---

KJ Henry includes Alabama in his top 5

No surprise at all, but KJ Henry, a 5-star defensive end from West Forsyth High School (Clemmons, N.C.), included Alabama in his top 5 along with Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Those five schools are all expected to receive official visits this fall.

Henry has been to Tuscaloosa several times. He has previously told SEC Country that he Alabama is “a great place to be.” There are some in the recruiting industry, me included, who believe the Jack linebacker will ultimately decide between Alabama and Clemson when he makes his decision.

A final decision will likely be made in December as Henry is planning on signing his letter of intent on the first day of the new early signing period. Even though Henry won’t give any clues to where he stands with his recruitment, he did say that if the Crimson Tide keep up their efforts, they’ll be one of his finalists when that time comes to announce.

“They will be with me in the long run,” Henry said. “As long as they are staying with it and doing the right things and I continue to see success on and off the field, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be.”

---