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

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Spain Park coach Shawn Raney has been impressed with film study of Thompson quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, the triggerman for Friday’s opponent.

“The quarterback is an unbelievable player,” Raney said. “He can make every throw. … He can make all the throws – deep, shallow, wide. HE’s one of the best high school quarterbacks I’ve seen in a long time.”

Thompson coach Mark Freeman’s game-planning, meanwhile, left him equally impressed with Spain Park senior quarterback Braxton Barker, the son of Alabama national championship quarterback Jay Barker.

“I enjoy working with quarterbacks, and you can see a big improvement and difference in him in the last year,” Freeman said. “He really reminds me of watching his dad.”

Tagovailoa and Thompson average 44.8 points per game, ranking third in Class 7A, and Spain Park isn’t far behind at 35.5 points per game, ranking seventh in 7A. The two teams meet tonight at Spain Park, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

The teams’ offensive prowess and the stellar play of the two quarterbacks prompted both coaches to emphasize defense entering Friday’s showdown between the two schools.

Spain Park’s losses to Mountain Brook and Hoover – by a combined four points – means the Jags are fighting for their playoff lives.

For Thompson, the Warriors are trying to continue the program’s best start since going 14-0 and winning the AHSAA Class 3A title in 1982.

“We’ve got to have our best game to win,” Freeman said, “and we know that.”

Added Raney, “You’ve got to play a complete team game.”

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Florida surprises Trey Sanders

IMG Academy running back Noah Cain, a 5-star recruit, came to Florida last weekend for the purpose of checking out the Gators football program as a potential option.

Cain’s teammate, fellow 2019 RB Trey Sanders, did not have the same agenda. He is already committed to Alabama and seems happy with that decision.

“I was supposed to come up just to watch the game with my friends,” Sanders said when asked what brought him Florida. “It’s a big-time rivalry. It was a good time coming up just to watch it.

“But to see how the offense is now, it’s unbelievable. It changes a lot in my mind. … They lost by a PAT, but it was still a great defensive game in my opinion.”

The Tigers won 17-16, but Sanders still took away positives from Florida’s offensive performance — particularly the play of Malik Davis, who eclipsed 90 yards rushing for his fourth straight game.

“No. 20, I know he’s a freshman but he was really running the ball hard,” Sanders said. “That’s what I like about this team. They run the ball a lot, which I want to do in college.”

Sanders is ranked the nation’s No. 3 running back and No. 25 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite. The Alabama pledge said he communicates with Florida director of player personnel Drew Hughes and assistant director of recruiting Ryan Smith.

“They said they want me here bad. They want me here next year. It could happen, it could not,” Sanders said. “It’s still even with everybody. Everybody is still in my recruitment.

“My commitment is still strong to ‘Bama, but the Gators moved pretty high. After the way the running back performed and the way they ran the ball, I like them a lot.”

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What to make of Coynis Miller’s decision

With roughly 24 hours until Coynis Miller’s decision, nothing has changed in my mind.

I expect Miller to choose Auburn over Alabama and Florida.

I filled in my most recent thoughts in the weekend insider, which came on the heels of a quick Miller report after his high school game last Thursday. It was in that report that Miller admitted the destination of his final game visit would be crucial in his decision.

He’s called Florida his leader since he visited for a camp, but that’s his only trip there. Miller said Alabama leveled up with Auburn last weekend while wearing Crimson Tide gloves for his game.

But the relationships at Auburn and Garner, the Tigers’ defensive line coach, will be the key.

Expect full coverage on Miller’s decision Saturday.

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Early Alabama-Mississippi all-star invitees

The full rosters for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game will be announced in full on Friday.

Several of the invitees have already made their nominations known. The all-star game sent out game invites and jerseys throughout this week to the top performers in the state of Alabama who will represent the state in the games. Many are of interest to Auburn.

In the 2016 game, 3-star WR Noah Igbinoghene, 4-star ATH Malcolm Askew, 3-star safety Jordyn Peters, 4-star LB KJ Britt and 3-star DT Alec Jackson represented the Tigers in the game.

Check out the commits and targets who have already announced their invitation. Commits are marked by asterisks.

3-star ATH Josh Marsh*
4-star DT Coynis Miller
3-star WR Shedrick Jackson*
3-star LB La’Dedric Jackson
4-star OL Tank Jenkins
3-star CB JaKorey Hawkins
4-star WR Justyn Ross
3-star TE Michael Parker
3-star CB CD Daniels

There will be more to come when full rosters are released. Martin, for one, seems like a lock. I’d also anticipate seeing guys such as Fox, Seth Williams, Jalyn Armour-Davis, Harold Joiner and many others who could pop up on the Tigers’ radar in coming months.

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Harold Joiner to return to LSU

One notable unofficial visitor is Joiner, rated as the No. 5 running back in the Class of 2018. This was supposed to be an official visit set back in August, but will mark his first return trip to Baton Rouge since the spring when he collected his LSU offer.

This weekend was supposed to be an official visit for Joiner. However, the blue-chip tailback told SEC Country that he will instead make his this an unofficial visit and save his official visit to LSU for last, another promising sign in the Tigers’ favor.

This spring, LSU immediately vaulted to the top of the list for the 4-star athlete, then began to trend downward after securing commitments from Tae Provens, Chris Curry and A.J. Carter at the end of June. After Carter flipped back to UCLA, LSU running backs coach Tommie Robinson cleared the air with Joiner, which put the Tigers again in a strong position.

LSU’s biggest competition remains Alabama, which has hosted Joiner a handful of times over the past few weeks. Still, Joiner has maintained that LSU is out in front. He is expected to give a commitment shortly after his senior season.

SEC Country’s Alabama reporter Chris Kirschner does not believe Joiner is currently a take for the Crimson Tide, but the longer he elects to make a decision certainly benefits the in-state power. Conversely, Joiner is a take for the Tigers, where they are courting him to play running back. LSU also earns the check in terms of backfield depth, with Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams both expected to be heading to the NFL after the 2017 season.

“Alabama is still evaluating Joiner, but he can’t commit to the Tide right now,” Kirschner said. “There’s still some talk inside the program about his future position and whether or not he’d be a good fit at running back. There are some who rave about his athleticism and think he could be elite on defense, and there are some who think he can excel on offense. It’s possible Alabama only has three running backs return next season if both Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris leave for the draft after this season, so it’s important the Tide sign at least one running back this cycle.”

Alabama is still working to flip 5-star Georgia commit Zamir White and 4-star Auburn commit Asa Martin behind the scenes. It has also done some homework on Curry. However, this is shaping up to be an Alabama-LSU battle until decision day arrives.

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LSU's top uncommitted targets

- Terrace Marshall Jr., 5-star WR (Bossier City, La.): A new-look top 5 hasn’t hurt LSU’s chances with the nation’s top wide receiver. LSU, Texas A&M and Texas kept their spots, while Alabama and Florida State joined the fray. The 5-star receiver will officially visit all of his top schools over the next month, including LSU on Nov. 25. Marshall is high on his relationship with the LSU coaching staff, but said it will come down to how the Tigers’ offense looks. A decision will come Dec. 22.

- Patrick Surtain Jr., 5-star CB (Plantation, Fla.): The nation’s No. 1 cornerback released a final six of LSU, Florida State, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Florida. Surtain’s most recent visit to LSU with his parents came in July. They toured the campus and got an up-close look at the academic offerings. Surtain also spent quality time with LSU players, most notably Donte Jackson and Kevin Toliver II. Surtain has named LSU as his leading school, but a commitment won’t come until National Signing Day in February. He is the top defensive target on LSU’s board.

- Kelvin Joseph, 4-star DB (Baton Rouge, La.): Joseph de-committed from LSU on Oct. 2, which came out of left field. The 4-star Baton Rouge prospect wanted to take all five of his official visits, but some schools were reluctant to allow him on campus while still committed to LSU. Joseph reopened his recruitment, but maintains the Tigers as his top team. He’ll visit Florida State, Clemson, Alabama and LSU before a February decision. Expect Joseph to return to the Tigers’ 2018 class.

- Nadab Joseph, 4-star DB (Miami, Fla.): Joseph also de-committed from LSU. He reopened his recruitment in June amid a strong push from Alabama, Georgia and Florida State, among others. The long-time LSU commit is down to LSU and Alabama, with official visits scheduled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the LSU game on Nov. 4 and to Baton Rouge for Nov. 25 when the Tigers host Texas A&M. Expect Joseph to make a decision soon after those official stops with Alabama as the slight favorite at the moment.

- Justin Watkins, 4-star ATH (Clermont, Fla.): Watkins, another one-time LSU commitment, is bracing for a decision sometime in the next two months. LSU is one of two finalists along with the Crimson Tide. The versatile 4-star athlete is now being courted at a slot receiver in the Tigers’ offense. In what could be a crazy twist, Watkins — who since de-committing from LSU has been committed to both Florida State and Texas — could likely wind up in Baton Rouge.

- Harold Joiner, 4-star RB (Birmingham, Ala.): After jumping out to an early lead and then being excluded from Joiner’s top 6, LSU again finds itself in a strong position to land his commitment. The 4-star tailback cooled on the Tigers after they procured commitments from three running backs at the end of June, but Tommie Robinson has worked hard to repair the relationship and put LSU in a strong position to add Joiner this fall. Joiner will save his final official visit for LSU. Alabama has made a strong push for the in-state tailback after missing on Asa Martin and Zamir White, but LSU remains the favorite.

- Andres Fox, 3-star EDGE (Mobile, Ala.): LSU cracked Fox’s top 4 schools in July before he conceded that Auburn and Alabama were a notch above the Tigers. Fox made visits to Auburn and Alabama in July and also squeezed in stops to Stanford and LSU. But he opted to delay announcing his commitment, which originally was scheduled for before his senior season. Fox has a private leader and is currently silently committed. It could very well be LSU, Auburn, Alabama or even Stanford, as the 3-star pass rusher is refusing to show his hand. He’ll make it public on National Signing Day.

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Alabama commits

Jordan Davis, 4-star Jack

Davis is one of Alabama’s most vocal commitments on social media. He’s locked in with the Crimson Tide.

Stephon Wynn Jr., 4-star DE

Wynn is taking an official visit to Tuscaloosa this weekend. It’s his first visit to Alabama since his commitment back in July. He recently told SEC Country that the only school that could make him change his commitment is Georgia.

Slade Bolden, 3-star athlete

Bolden took an official visit to Tuscaloosa for the Ole Miss game, so this visit will be an unofficial trip. Bolden is locked in with his commitment and isn’t planning on taking additional visits elsewhere.

Pierce Quick, 2019 4-star offensive tackle

Quick is arguably the best recruiter Alabama has outside of the coaching staff. He’s in the ears of every major recruit that the Crimson Tide want.

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