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re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:43 am to TideSaint
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:43 am to TideSaint
quote:
4-star wide receiver Justyn Ross
- Is Auburn “in it” for Justyn Ross? Without hesitation, he said definitely. That might seem obvious, but with Clemson trending, it was worth asking.
- Ross decided to go to Auburn instead of Alabama, mainly because he hadn’t seen Auburn play in person yet this year. With Kodi Burns attending his Friday game, in which he scored 3 touchdowns, Ross felt it made sense to visit the Plains.
- Ross hasn’t declared a public leader and still plans on a National Signing Day decision.
- If Auburn has an advantage, Ross said it’s that his family is very comfortable when they come to the Plains. He also noted his relationship with the entire coaching staff might be stronger at Auburn than anywhere else.
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Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:45 am to JJ27
quote:
That's about as good of an endorsement as a kid can give you. "We" shows his mindset.
He had to like the pass back to Josh Jacobs for a TD. He could make a bunch of those throughout his career for us.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:45 am to TideSaint
quote:
The Alabama football season is well underway but recruiting never stops.
The early-signing period in December is two months away. Nick Saban and Co. still have plenty to do to help close out a top-10 recruiting class and address several key positions of need.
Every month, SEC Country will outline the three biggest items that the Alabama coaching staff must accomplish on the recruiting trail to make that a reality. Here is the to-do list for October:
LINK
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:46 am to TideSaint
quote:
1. Continue chipping away at quarterback recruits
Alabama hosted Ohio State quarterback commit Emory Jones and Kentucky quarterback commit Jarren Williams for the Ole Miss game. Both quarterbacks are big targets for the Crimson Tide, but both prospects continue to say the right things when it comes to their commitments to their respective schools.
Jones, from Franklin, Ga., has visited Tuscaloosa three times this year, while Williams, from Snellville, Ga., made his first trip to Tuscaloosa since re-committing to the Wildcats. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see both players take official visits to Alabama later this fall.
Tim Watts said yesterday there is a feeling that if Alabama pushes we can flip Jarren Williams from Kentucky. TIFWIW.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:47 am to TideSaint
quote:
2. Land a key piece to the front 7
Coynis Miller, a 4-star defensive tackle from Jackson-Olin High School (Birmingham, Ala.), will make his commitment on Oct. 14. Alabama, Auburn and Florida are his finalists.
Miller visited Tuscaloosa for the Ole Miss game and was on campus earlier this fall for Alabama’s game against Fresno State. The in-state product says Florida is his leader, so we’ll see if the Crimson Tide are able to change his mind with 12 days to go until his decision.
If Miller does commit to the Tide, he will be the team’s first defensive tackle commit in the 2018 class.
Miller is tentatively scheduled to be in Auburn this weekend, but he also says he might visit Florida instead.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:47 am to TideSaint
quote:
3. Get JUCO corner Saivion Smith on board
Saivion Smith, a former 5-star prospect and LSU cornerback now at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, visited Alabama for the Ole Miss game. The Crimson Tide are believed to be the favorites to land Smith when he makes his commitment.
Cornerback is one of the team’s top priorities as Anthony Averett and Levi Wallace will leave Alabama after this season. The Tide also signed zero cornerbacks in the 2017 class, so depth is very thin.
Getting Smith on board would be a big boost for Alabama’s secondary because he’s a guy who can step right in and make an immediate impact.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:49 am to TideSaint
quote:
He had to like the pass back to Josh Jacobs for a TD. He could make a bunch of those throughout his career for us.
Did you see the Seattle game this week? There was a comment that stuck with me. "You put a 20 jersey on a guy and the defense will put a linebacker on him no matter what." I laughed and thought about Slade at Bama. Hope the commentator was right.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:49 am to TideSaint
quote:
Does Alabama have much of a chance with Justin Fields?
Word got out on Friday that Justin Fields, the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2018 class, was taking an official visit to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday. Fields and his father, Ivant, were in attendance for Alabama’s blowout, 66-3 win over Ole Miss on Saturday where they sat in the first row in the recruits’ seating section.
Like the majority of recruiting visits, the Fields camp enjoyed themselves in what was an electric environment on Saturday for the Tide’s second straight dominant performance over an SEC opponent.
But, the main question coming out of the visit was just how interested Fields was in Alabama. He had taken one visit to Tuscaloosa over the summer, but that was it.
According to two sources close to the Alabama program, both believe that while Fields did enjoy himself this weekend, they do not think he is interested in competing with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa for the starting quarterback job next year in Tuscaloosa. With the way Hurts and Tagovailoa have played this season, it’s highly unlikely a true freshman — although Fields is incredibly gifted — could unseat both on the depth chart.
Both sources believe that Alabama is a long shot, at best, for the 5-star prospect from Harrison High School (Kennesaw, Ga.), even though he used one of his five official visits at the school.
While Fields has told SEC Country in the past that he likes how much Alabama wins and how Nick Saban plays the best player regardless of class, Crimson Tide fans need to be realistic here. Jalen Hurts won the SEC offensive player of the year award as a freshman and is in strong contention to win the award again this year. It doesn’t matter how talented a recruit is coming out of high school, it’s nearly impossible to believe that that person will take over for a quarterback who has led Alabama to a 19-1 record thus far.
Oh, by the way, Hurts is fifth all-time in Alabama school history with 46 touchdowns. He isn’t halfway through his sophomore season and hasn’t played for all 60 minutes in four of the team’s five games this season.
Florida State and Georgia still appear to be the favorites to land Fields. With the Seminoles, the path to early playing time is there with freshman James Blackman being a much inferior passer to Fields and Deondre Francois missing this season after tearing his patella tendon in the Alabama game earlier this season. At Georgia, the Bulldogs are selling him on being the team’s only dual-threat quarterback on the roster where he would have specific packages. His sister is also committed to play softball for Georgia, and his mother has posted at least one pro-Georgia message on Facebook about wanting her son to attend that school.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:50 am to TideSaint
quote:
Two other quarterbacks in town
Fields wasn’t the only elite quarterback in Tuscaloosa over the weekend as Ohio State commit Emory Jones and Kentucky commit Jarren Williams were also in town.
Both prospects are likelier options at quarterback than Fields. Both Jones and Williams took unofficial visits to Tuscaloosa, so it’s very possible they return later this fall for an official visit. Jones has visited Tuscaloosa three times this year, while Williams made his first trip to Alabama since re-committing to Kentucky after de-committing from the Wildcats for a few weeks.
Williams has said that he’s locked in with Kentucky, but he has maintained communication with Alabama. Jones is still the team’s likeliest addition at quarterback with the amount of trips he’s made to Alabama with one more likely still coming. Jones has said that he’s going to continue to take recruiting trips despite Ohio State’s wishes that he doesn’t. Jones continues to say he’s 100 percent locked in with the Buckeyes, but the interest in Alabama is very real, otherwise he wouldn’t make numerous trips to Tuscaloosa on his own dime.
I thought it was interesting that Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne had an extended conversation with both Williams and Jones before the game. Byrne was shaking hands with all of the recruits and then talking to major targets for a few minutes.
James Foster, a 3-star quarterback committed to Missouri, was expected to visit last weekend, but he didn’t visit.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:51 am to TideSaint
quote:
Other big-time recruits in Tuscaloosa
There was a lot of star power roaming the sideline before kickoff. Here’s who I saw:
Alabama cornerback commit Jalyn Armour-Davis
Alabama linebacker commit Jordan Davis
Alabama 2019 offensive tackle commit Pierce Quick
Michigan 4-star offensive guard commit Emil Ekiyor — staying through Monday for his official visit
4-star running back Harold Joiner
4-star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle
JUCO CB Saivion Smith
Florida wide receiver commit Jacob Copeland
4-star linebacker Adam Anderson
4-star defensive tackle Coynis Miller
4-star wide receiver Seth Williams
2019 4-star wide receiver Devonta Lee
2019 4-star quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa
2019 4-star linebacker King Mwikuta
2019 4-star offensive tackle Amari Kight
2019 Florida State offensive tackle commit Wanya Morris
2019 4-star safety Jaylen McCollough
2019 4-star running back Ronald Thompkins
5-star Jack linebacker Brenton Cox, 4-star cornerback Nadab Joseph, 4-star safety Kelvin Joseph and 4-star defensive tackle Bobby Brown didn’t make it to Tuscaloosa last weekend. All four major targets were expected to visit. LSU commits Tyrion Davis and Kardell Thomas also didn’t make the trip.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:52 am to JJ27
quote:
Did you see the Seattle game this week? There was a comment that stuck with me. "You put a 20 jersey on a guy and the defense will put a linebacker on him no matter what." I laughed and thought about Slade at Bama. Hope the commentator was right.
I only watched the Saints game on Sunday, but the guy is right. I think Slade could be an extremely valuable weapon in Daboll's offense.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 9:55 am to TideSaint
Steve Wiltfong CB'd Saivion Smith to Alabama. Here's his reasoning:
quote:
In addition to what Tim and Hank have been reporting, I talked to another SEC coach today that thought Alabama led and that his father especially wants his son to play in Tuscaloosa.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:05 am to TideSaint
That seems like the spectrum I'd expect QB recruiting wise for 2018.
They want Emory Jones if they can get him or get Jarren Williams if they want him.
They want Emory Jones if they can get him or get Jarren Williams if they want him.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:05 am to TideSaint
Yeah, I think we gotta land Smith... we are pretty much setup to lose our top 6 DB's after this season.
As mentioned before, Averett and Wallace are seniors at CB, but Tony Brown and Hootie are also seniors, and then Minkah and Ronnie are sure-fire early entry Draft candidates.
We absolutely need bodies in the secondary, and getting a game ready guy (provided he can keep his nose clean) is a must.
As mentioned before, Averett and Wallace are seniors at CB, but Tony Brown and Hootie are also seniors, and then Minkah and Ronnie are sure-fire early entry Draft candidates.
We absolutely need bodies in the secondary, and getting a game ready guy (provided he can keep his nose clean) is a must.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:07 am to ApeDeuce
quote:I can't understand how we can't get these kids to see this and buy in. We are losing the entire starting secondary
As mentioned before, Averett and Wallace are seniors at CB, but Tony Brown and Hootie are also seniors, and then Minkah and Ronnie are sure-fire early entry Draft candidates.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:12 am to MontyFranklyn
I'm hoping for that unlikely chance Ronnie Harrison sticks around, stop a little bleeding.
Also hope we keep seeing Bama have these opportunities to sub in guys like Shy Carter in the 2nd half of games.
Also hope we keep seeing Bama have these opportunities to sub in guys like Shy Carter in the 2nd half of games.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:14 am to MagillaGuerilla
Yes. These blowouts are a blessing in so many ways. We are getting alot of younger guys real time reps with vets on the field being able to coach and teach them. Should pay dividends next season.
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:16 am to MontyFranklyn
quote:
With the first opportunity for colleges to sign high school prospects rapidly approaching (Dec. 19), most of the schools in the SEC already have their quarterback commit in the 2018 class. But with a big fish like five-star quarterback Justin Fields still out there, other programs are holding out hope they can reel him in. Today we rank the SEC schools based on the strength of their quarterback recruiting in 2018 and look at where the schools without a quarterback commit are likely to turn by the time Signing Day rolls around.
LINK
Posted on 10/3/17 at 10:17 am to TideSaint
quote:
11. Alabama
Commitment: N/A
Top target: Emory Jones
The situation: Alabama is searching hard for its quarterback of the 2018 class and it has yet to land one. It had numerous targets on campus over the weekend, including Justin Fields (official visit), Emory Jones (Ohio State commit) and Jarren Williams
(Kentucky commit). Fields is drawing the most attention, but keep an eye on Jones; he seems to be the top target for the Crimson Tide.
It's hard to believe 3 teams in the SEC have worse QB recruiting situations than us.
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