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re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:18 pm to TideSaint
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:18 pm to TideSaint
quote:
The most important targets coming to town
Brenton Cox, 5-star DE (committed to Ohio State)
The biggest name coming to town is the nation’s No. 2 defensive end. Cox committed to Ohio State in July and hasn’t visited Tuscaloosa since making his decision. He’s a major target for Alabama, so if he follows through with his trip, it will be something to watch. Of note, this is an unofficial visit, so he could return later this fall for an official visit.
Luke Ford, 4-star TE
Ford told SEC Country earlier this week that Alabama, Georgia and Michigan are all tied at the top of his list. The Tide were the lone team on top all summer until his comments this week. This visit will be a major opportunity for Alabama to separate itself once again.
Saivion Smith, 4-star JUCO CB
Smith is one of Alabama’s top cornerback targets in the 2018 class. The former LSU corner was in Tuscaloosa for the Ole Miss game. This will be Smith’s third trip to Alabama since transferring to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. I fully expect Smith to pick Alabama when he makes his commitment.
Seth Williams, 4-star WR
Williams is one of the team’s top wide receiver targets. Auburn is considered the team to beat right now, but Williams, who lives right outside of Tuscaloosa and attends Paul W. Bryant High School, grew up an Alabama fan. The Tide are trying to make up some ground.
Asa Martin, 4-star RB (committed to Auburn)
Martin committed to Auburn over Alabama in late August. This will be his first trip to Tuscaloosa since choosing the Tigers. Alabama would love to flip him away from Auburn.
Tyreke Smith, 4-star DE (official visit)
We haven’t talked much about Smith, but he is a priority defensive line target. I don’t recall him ever visiting Tuscaloosa, so this will be a good opportunity for Alabama to make a big impression on the nation’s No. 4 defensive end who is taking his second of five official visits. Ohio State and Penn State are considered the favorites for Smith.
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Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:19 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Other notable targets who are visiting
Jaycee Horn, 4-star CB (committed to Tennessee)
Jeffery Johnson, 3-star DT
Deontai Williams, 3-star JUCO S (committed to Florida)
Cameron Taylor, 3-star ATH (committed to Missouri)
Tobe Umerah, 3-star OLB (committed to Stanford)
Lyn-J Dixon, 4-star RB (committed to Tennessee)
George Pickens, 4-star WR (committed to Auburn)
Kenyatta Watson, 2019 4-star CB (committed to Florida State)
King Mwikuta, 2019 4-star LB
Ja’Len Sims, 2019 4-star LB
Jayson Jones, 2020 4-star WR
Kevin Swint, 2020 4-star LB
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:22 pm to TideSaint
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Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
STORYLINE
Alabama has the No. 31 recruiting class nationally. The Crimson Tide are No. 10 in the SEC in front of only Vanderbilt, Missouri, Arkansas and Ole Miss.
No team ranked ahead of Alabama has fewer commits without a five-star pledge - USC has 11 pledges with one five-star in LB Palaie Gaoteote and Clemson also has 11 with two five-stars in DE Xavier Thomas and QB Trevor Lawrence, the top-rated prospect in the entire class. Alabama has 11 commits and no five-stars.
So is this reason for concern in Tuscaloosa?
Probably not. Fourteen of 27 current five-star prospects remain uncommitted and some are serious about the Crimson Tide. Alabama has also shown an ability to flip any committed recruit it basically wants and a number of four-star prospects are also high on the program for various reasons.
The early signing period could be tricky since prospects are getting locked on schools earlier and could be off the board completely in late December, but does anybody really think Alabama’s staff has not worked through those scenarios?
And it’s not like top recruits don’t want to play for a coach and a program that routinely pumps out NFL first-round draft picks.
The Crimson Tide are abnormally low in both the SEC and national team recruiting rankings. Finishing first again does seem like a stretch. But should Alabama be concerned about its slow start to this class or will things pan out like they normally do, with the Crimson Tide close to the top of the team recruiting rankings when all is said and done?
FIRST TAKE: ANDREW BONE, BAMAINSIDER.COM
“There is a little bit of a surprise to most fans regarding the numbers in Alabama's class. Alabama, on the other hand, seems less concerned. Most of Alabama's top targets remain uncommitted. Several expect to wait until after the season to make their college choice. Alabama also expects to have a smaller class in 2018. Alabama will have things rolling at some point in the next few months. Fans are ready to see the dominoes start falling, but there isn't an ounce of worry from Alabama's point of view.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“Nothing to worry about. They are getting hurt a little bit by the success Kirby Smart has had at Georgia, but not enough to be concerned about. Their 3.82 average star ranking still puts them in the top handful of teams in the country, so if you extrapolate that over the expected 22 to 25 commitments they could get, Alabama will likely finish in the top five. There’s nothing to worry about. They’re not pushing the panic button. They’re going to approach the early signing period smartly and they’re going to close on a lot of guys then, but also in the second signing period leading to Signing Day. We all know even if they whiff on their top targets they can flip kids at will.
“They’re Alabama and they’ll get whoever they want. This seems to be an odd year for them to be so relaxed. This seems to be an odd year for them to be ranked lower than I think they’ve ever been under Nick Saban during the football season. That early signing period could mess up a lot of things, but I guarantee you they have a plan in place, I guarantee you we’ll see some kids in December who were supposed to sign with schools that don’t and I guarantee you the reason for that will be Alabama.”
LINK
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:25 pm to TideSaint
4-star OL Jerome Carvin recaps Vols official, previews upcoming trips
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The Latest: Class of 2018 four-star Cordova, Tenn. offensive lineman Jerome Carvin is a little more than two months away from signing his letter-of-intent and with that deadline looming he's going to be busy traveling throughout SEC country to get a closer look at the programs still involved in his recruitment. Earlier this month he took his official visit to Knoxville for the Vols game against Georgia and in the coming weeks he will visit Mississippi State (Oct. 13, official), Alabama (Oct. 21, official), Texas A&M (Oct. 28, unofficial), LSU (Nov. 11, unofficial) and Arkansas (Dec. 2, official). Rivals.com stopped in to see Carvin recently to get the latest on his place and get an idea of why the finalists are still in the mix to land his commitment.
In His Words: "I'm just trying to take all of my officials and really get an idea of where I want to go. I'm going to be enrolling early so I'm going to be making a decision early that's why I'm taking all of my visits now."
On his official visit to Tennessee: "It was good, despite them losing. The weekend was great. I hung out with Drew Richmond and Trey Smith and they took care of me well. I just had fun. I got a chance to watch film with Coach Wells and Coach Jones was with me the whole time so it was great. It was cool hanging with Drew, he’s from Memphis so we already knew each other, and that was my first time really talking to Trey but we could along great so it was all good. Coach Wells is my main recruiter and he’s coming at me the hardest, he stays on me. He’s energetic and funny so he’s a good guy.”
On his official to Mississippi State this weekend: “Coach Mullen hits me up pretty much every day. We have a good relationship, me, Coach Hevesy and Coach Gibson, we all have a good relationship and that’s what really has them in the picture. It makes me feel special to have the head coach recruiting me like that. But it’s all good I love Coach Mullen, he’s a great coach. It’s about two hours to get to Mississippi State for a visit. I really just want to hang with the players and get a feel for them and how the team is together. The visit is really for my mom, she’s never been down there so I’m trying to see what she can get from it.”
On his official to Alabama (Oct. 21): “I still have a spot there. They’re taking one more guard I think and that’s what they're recruiting me as. Jordan Davis is my boy so he’s always on me hard trying to get me to go there with him to Alabama. I talk to Coach Pannunzio, too, he’s our area recruiter. I mean, it’s Alabama, so you know what that means. The way they have been winning games, it’s expected, it’s Alabama like I said so they’re some dogs down there. I can’t wait to get back for my official.”
On his unofficial to Texas A&M (Oct. 28): “My mom lives in Katy, Texas and they just started recruiting me. So they told me to come to a game. I don’t have an offer from them yet. I’ve been talking to Coach Turner and he told me they are probably going to offer me at the game. My mom wants me to come down and check it out but she’s comfortable with me going anywhere."
On his unofficial to LSU (Nov. 11): “I talked to Coach Orgeron last week and he told me that if I come there for a visit they will probably offer me. They are one of the only SEC schools that hasn’t offered me.”
On his official to Arkansas (Dec. 2): “It’s really Coach Beliema and Coach Anderson, he’s a really good coach. Both of them are really good coaches and they’re recruiting me hard. They came to school a couple of times and I have a really good relationship with them. They’re just saying that they could use me to help them turn things around. They have put a lot offensive linemen in the NFL and they’re real big on that and how they treat offensive linemen and that’s sticking out to me.”
On a potential fifth official visit: "I'm trying to get the last one. We'll see. I will have some time in December before I have to decide but that's still up in the air."
Rivals Reaction: If all things were equal Carvin might already be in the fold at Alabama but the Tide are still involved with several offensive linemen and only have a few spots to fill. The door seemed open for Tennessee to keep Carvin close to home and the Vols might still be the favorite, depending on how the rest of the year goes. But Carvin has been a regular at Mississippi State in recent months and his mother traveling from Texas to make this weekend's visit has to be a good sign for the Bulldogs. Only time will tell but it looks like Carvin will be entertaining suitors all the way up until his December decision.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:27 pm to TideSaint
The Georgia board is pretty confident they will land Adam Anderson next week.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:29 pm to TideSaint
Georgia getting everybody
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:31 pm to TideSaint
quote:
One of the best rivalries in Southern California the last few years will heat up this weekend when St. John Bosco, the defending state champions, host Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Maxpreps.
If you include underclassmen, there could be as many as 50 players on the field who will sign with a Div I program. Here's a look at some of the top college prospects from both programs out of the class of 2018, where they are currently rated and what schools they are looking at.
We'll do another story featuring the elite underclassmen from both programs, which looks even stronger than the current senior classes.
St. John Bosco:
DB- Jaiden Woodbey (pictured above), No 7 safety in the nation, No. 65 player overall- Ohio State commit
Woodbey is a big safety who has improved his physicality this season. He can play close to the line of scrimmage and be a factor in the run game or play as a deep safety and help in the passing game.
DB- Stephan Blaylock, No. 13 safety in the nation, No. 130 player overall- UCLA commit
Blaylock is one of the most instinctual players in the region and is always around the ball. He's a big hitter and a ball hawk in the secondary.
WR- Devon Cooley, No. 8 WR in the West, No. 190 player overall- UCLA commit
Cooley has good size, runs well and has the talent to play on either side of the ball in college.
RB- Demetrious Flowers, No. 3 RB in the West- Arizona State commit
Flowers has a shoulder injury and will miss the rest of the season. When healthy, he's a physical downhill runner who can carry an offense.
QB- Re-al Mitchell, No. 5 dual threat QB in the West- Iowa State commit
Mitchell will be out of action for an undisclosed length of time. It's a blow for the Braves as Mitchell is an explosive dual-threat quarterback who can stress a defense.
DL- Sal Spina, No. 10 DT in the West- Colorado, Michigan State, Stanford, Yale, Penn
Spina is one of the strongest players in the West and can manhandle an opposing guard or center.
LB- Kedron Williams, No. 15 OLB in the state- Washington State commit
Williams is an athletic outside 'backer who runs well and hits like a truck.
OL- Kevin Coblentz, No. 6 OT in the state- Nevada commit
Coblentz plays tackle for the Braves but could move inside and play guard in college. He's one of the state's most technically sound lineman.
OL/DL- Jace Fuamatu, No. 8 OG in the state- Colorado State, Fresno State, San Jose State
One of the few players going both ways for the Braves. Has been very good as a defensive tackle and offensive guard.
Mater Dei:
WR- Amon-Ra St. Brown, No, 1 WR in nation, No. 9 player overall- USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, Stanford, UCLA
One of the nation's most dynamic players. Can stretch the field and score from anywhere on the field and is a dangerous return man as well.
LB- Solomon Tuliaupupu, No. 3 ILB in nation, No. 30 player overall- USC, Oregon, Washington, Ohio State, Alabama
Emotional leader of the Monarch defense. 'Solo' is a prototype inside 'backer who can stuff the run and get after the quarterback.
OL- Tommy Brown, No. 2 OT in West, No. 230 overall- Alabama commit
A three-year starter at left tackle. Has improved his mobility as a pass blocker while maintaining his physicality as a run blocker.
WR- CJ Parks, No. 13 WR in West- UCLA commit
Parks has tremendous hands, runs well after the catch and has the versatility to play in the secondary if needed as well.
WR- Nikko Remigio, No. 14 WR in West- Cal commit
One of the more under-rated players out West. Is an explosive route runner and is having a big senior year.
OL- Chris Murray, No. 3 OG in West- Cal, Notre Dame, Stanford, TCU, Washington, Utah
One of the region's best interior lineman. A natural guard prospect and a true road grader.
OL- Kekaniokoa Gonzalez, No. 2 OC in the state- Boise State commit
One of the elite centers out West, tough, smart and physical.
DL- Samuela Tuihalamaka, No. 12 DT in the West
A versatile lineman who has the size to play inside but the athleticism to move outside and make plays as well.
LB- Jack Genova, three-star LB
Gets overshadowed by his more talked about teammates but Genova is a highly intelligent kid who is always around the ball.
DL- Andrew Faoliu, three star DE- Arizona, Oregon, Utah State
Started on the offensive line a year ago but moved to defensive end this year and has been very productive.
DL- Nathan Logoleo, two-star DE
Undersized defensive end but one of the elite pass rushers out West.
LINK
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:55 pm to TideSaint
Staff visits for tonight:
- Tosh and Locksley will be in Baltimore to see Eyabi Anoma.
- Burns will see TE Glenn Beal in Louisiana.
- Tosh and Locksley will be in Baltimore to see Eyabi Anoma.
- Burns will see TE Glenn Beal in Louisiana.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 12:56 pm to TideSaint
BOL has put Saivion Smith on "commit watch."
Again.
Again.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 1:04 pm to TideSaint
Area newspaper put out an article today saying WM changed their offense because they were scoring too fast. Maybe that explains Slade’s lack of carries the last few weeks? 
LINK
Alabama commit Slade Bolden stoked that image about the Rebels exploding their way through this season, throwing the home run ball on the second play from scrimmage in the 2017 campaign right into the breadbasket of senior wide receiver Jairus Henry 64 yards. West Monroe would score its first touchdown of the year two plays later on a 24-yard strike from Bolden to Henry.
“There were times probably early when we played 80 or 90 plays defensively,” Rebels head football coach Jerry Arledge said Monday. “It’s almost like, ‘hey, we’re scoring too dang fast. Slow it down.’ But you still want those points on the board. But that ain’t the smart thing to do in football.
“You want that offense to stay on that field a lot and defensively, you want them on the bench so when the defense does get a chance to get back out there, they’re always fresh and hopefully create turnovers, three-and-outs, those type things.”
LINK
Alabama commit Slade Bolden stoked that image about the Rebels exploding their way through this season, throwing the home run ball on the second play from scrimmage in the 2017 campaign right into the breadbasket of senior wide receiver Jairus Henry 64 yards. West Monroe would score its first touchdown of the year two plays later on a 24-yard strike from Bolden to Henry.
“There were times probably early when we played 80 or 90 plays defensively,” Rebels head football coach Jerry Arledge said Monday. “It’s almost like, ‘hey, we’re scoring too dang fast. Slow it down.’ But you still want those points on the board. But that ain’t the smart thing to do in football.
“You want that offense to stay on that field a lot and defensively, you want them on the bench so when the defense does get a chance to get back out there, they’re always fresh and hopefully create turnovers, three-and-outs, those type things.”
Posted on 10/13/17 at 2:01 pm to JJ27
quote:
Alabama commit Slade Bolden stoked that image about the Rebels exploding their way through this season, throwing the home run ball on the second play from scrimmage in the 2017 campaign right into the breadbasket of senior wide receiver Jairus Henry 64 yards. West Monroe would score its first touchdown of the year two plays later on a 24-yard strike from Bolden to Henry.
quote:
Maybe that explains Slade’s lack of carries the last few weeks?
Posted on 10/13/17 at 2:09 pm to TideSaint
Tide's 5 most important recruiting visitors for Arkansas game
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Brenton Cox, DE, Stockbridge (Ga.) -- Ohio State commit
If Alabama is going to come close to signing its eighth straight No. 1-ranked recruiting class, flipping one of Urban Meyer's top commitments would definitely help. Cox maintains that he's fully committed to Ohio State, but taking a visit elsewhere seemingly shows there's at least some interest in the Crimson Tide left.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 2:10 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Luke Ford, TE, Carterville (Ill.)
The one-time Arkansas commit has Alabama atop his list, and is making his first trip back to Tuscaloosa since June. A commitment from the 6-foot-6, 248-pounder would certainly be welcome, as the Tide is coming up on a month since its last addition to the class in Vernon Jackson.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 2:10 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Saivion Smith, CB, Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. (Miss.)
The former LSU cornerback has climbed to the top of Alabama's want list in a cycle that adding elite cornerbacks is a necessity. This weekend will mark Smith's second time back on campus this season for a game. The Tide is trending for the Florida product.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 2:10 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Tyreke Smith, DE, Cleveland (Ohio) Heights
The Top100 defensive end hasn't been talked about much connected to Alabama, but don't mistake that for lack of interest from the Crimson Tide side. This weekend will mark Smith's first ever time in Tuscaloosa when he takes his official visit. Ohio State and Penn State are the Crystal Ball favorites, but with Smith being a West Coast native, any program is fair game in the pursuit of the elite edge rusher.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 2:11 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Asa Martin, RB, Decatur (Ala.) Austin -- Auburn commit
Alabama was a finalist, and at one time thought to be the trending team, for the four-star back from Decatur. Martin ultimately committed to the Tigers over the Tide, Clemson, and Florida. That hasn't stopped Alabama from continuing to pursue the in-state talent, especially considering the vacancy at the running back position in its 2018 class.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 7:45 pm to TideSaint
Do we have a shot a brenton Cox or is it just wishful recruiting at this point
Posted on 10/13/17 at 8:22 pm to seanpendleton10
I don't trust these Georgia kids that commit to big ten schools early. But flirt with SEC teams come October.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 8:56 pm to CapstoneGrad06
Slade 6 TDS at the half. 4 passing, 2 Rushing.
Posted on 10/13/17 at 9:04 pm to JJ27
Damn
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