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

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Alabama will look to make it seven in a row against LSU this weekend in a highly-anticipated matchup between SEC West foes. Both programs often cross paths on the recruiting trail across the Southeast. The Crimson Tide signed a number of top prospects out of the Bayou State in the 2017 class, and you can bet Nick Sabanand staff are once again poised to win some heated battles this go-around for some of the nation's top talent.

Here, BamaOnLine takes a look at five recruiting battles between the Tide and Tigers in the 2018 cycle. 

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Nadab Joseph, CB, Miami (Fla.) Norland

Joseph also recently backed off a commitment to LSU. The four-star cornerback from South Florida picked up an offer from Alabama in June on a visit for camp and then returned in July. The Tide looks to be the favorite with Joseph expected back on campus this weekend for his official visit. Keep an eye on this one. 

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Andres Fox, DE/LB, Mobile (Ala.) Christian

Fox, too, has seen twists and turns throughout his recruitment. At last check Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Stanford look to be the main contenders. The three-star JACK linebacker target grew up an Alabama fan. If the Tide pushes for him it's hard to imagine him committing elsewhere. Both Alabama and LSU are represented on the Crystal Ball. 

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We are closing in on the early signing period in December, and Coach Nick Saban & Co. have plenty to do to help close out a top-10 recruiting class and address several positions of need.

Every month, SEC Country will outline the three biggest items the Alabama coaching staff needs to accomplish on the recruiting trail in order to make that a reality. Here was the to-do list for October. At the end of the month, we revisit those crucial tasks to see if Alabama checked off any boxes.

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2. Land a key piece to the front 7

Alabama didn’t meet this goal and is approaching the danger zone.

The Tide missed out on getting commitments from Coynis Miller, who chose Auburn over Alabama, and Bobby Brown, who chose Texas A&M over Alabama. What’s not good for the Tide is that this is a down year for interior defensive linemen. Alabama needs several interior linemen in this class as depth isn’t deep heading into next season.

It’s unclear which prospects are going to emerge moving forward.

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Why a rival’s WR plan should help Auburn recruiting

I wrote extensively two weeks ago about Auburn’s plan at wide receiver going forward.

With Kyle Davis’ dismissal, the Tigers were out a big-bodied receiver. Fear not, there are three left in the 2018 class — Justyn Ross, Seth Williams and Tommy Bush — who have interest in Auburn, and that sentiment has been reciprocated by the coaching staff.

But with all three, especially Ross and Williams, the insecurity of in-state recruiting battles with Alabama creeps in. Ross, Williams and Bush have been linked to both Auburn and Alabama.

Ross is in for an Auburn, Alabama and Clemson battle down the stretch, though it’s actually the out-of-state school favored. Williams has been a mystery. The Tuscaloosa native hasn’t visited Auburn this season despite the Tigers feeling like their the likely candidates to land him. Bush is trying to figure out which schools want him as much as he wants them.

In all three cases, Alabama and Auburn are major factors. But the Crimson Tide could end up doing the Tigers wide receiver recruiting favors as the cycle closes down.

So far, Alabama has one wide receiver committed — Shaun Shivers’ high school teammate Xavier Williams. If you count athlete Slade Bolden, that’s two. In Alabama recruiting reporter Chris Kirschner’s mock recruiting classes, he has Alabama taking two or three wide receivers. Even if you leave Bolden as an athlete, it doesn’t look like there will be much room left at wide receiver.

Jaylen Waddle is set to visit Alabama this weekend, and the Crystal Ball trends show the Crimson Tide look like a heavy favorite. With Jim McElwain’s departure from Florida, a Jacob Copeland flip from Florida to Alabama seems likely. There are others such as Joshua Moore who are also high on the Crimson Tide.

But Waddle, Copeland, Bolden, Moore and others fit a similar build. None of them are the 6-foot-4 or taller type like Ross, Williams and Bush. Whether or not that’s a preference by Alabama or its new offensive staff is unknown, but it looks like they’re keying in more on the smaller, quick-twitch wide receivers than the big-bodied guys.

Auburn already has two of the quicker-twitch type players committed with Shedrick Jackson and Matthew Hill (though they’re both around 6-2). But for the rest of the class, aside from 4-star WR Anthony Schwartz, Auburn is only in the market for the tall, physical type of receiver. With Ross and Williams especially, it’s a boost for the Tigers that their in-state recruiting rival appears to be mostly in the market for the different style.

With Ross, I’ve been told Alabama and Auburn both believe he’s a Clemson lean at this time. Auburn feels it can pull it off down the stretch with a strong finish to the season. The Alabama receiver trend has to signal positive news for Auburn with Williams. As for Bush, Auburn’s best shot will be to score an official visit, which may be more likely to Auburn than Alabama if the Crimson Tide add Waddle or Copeland soon.

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