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

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When Tommy Brown was offered by Alabama, it was only a matter of time before he committed to the Crimson Tide. Alabama has been Brown’s dream school since he became enamored with watching college football.

His father, Vince, was on the track team at Alabama, too. Tommy wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps when he started to receive attention from colleges. Alabama was 100 percent going to be the school he chose once he was offered.

On Wednesday, Brown signed with Alabama.

Here’s all you need to know about Brown:

247Sports composite ranking: No. 12 offensive tackle, No. 25 prospect in California and No. 174 prospect overall

Hometown: Santa Ana, Calif.

School: Mater Dei

Height: 6-foot-7

Weight: 313 pounds

Offers: 17, including Auburn, California, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oregon, UCLA, Washington State

Commitment: July 21, 2017

Early enrollee: No

Where he fits at Alabama: Tommy Brown had a very good senior season at Mater Dei, one of the top high school football programs in the country. Brown was instrumental in helping protect 2019 5-star quarterback JT Daniels, who was the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Alabama waited until the summer to offer Brown because the staff knew that once it offered, he was going to commit. As it turns out, the staff made a very good decision when it came to offering Brown because he has blossomed into one of the top offensive linemen in the country. Brown has a chance to continue to rise in the rankings as he’ll compete in the Under Armour All-America Game next month, where he’ll face some of the nation’s best defensive linemen.

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Cameron Latu committed to Alabama in August. It wasn’t a surprise. He had been leaning toward the Tide for several months prior to announcing his decision.

The former BYU commit won’t enroll at Alabama until the summer.

Here’s all you need to know about Latu:

247Sports composite ranking: No. 7 weakside defensive end, No. 2 prospect in Utah, No. 121 overall

Hometown: Salt Lake City

School: Olympus

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 236 pounds

Offers: 23, including Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee, USC, UCLA, Utah, Washington

Commitment: Aug. 4, 2017

Early enrollee: No

Where he fits at Alabama: Olympus High School coach Aaron Whitehead said the message he got from college coaches coast-to-coast as to why they wanted Latu at their school focused on the 6-5, 236-pound prospect’s size and versatility.

“They can use him as an outside linebacker, a true defensive end and a defensive end that stands up,” Whitehead told SEC Country. “There’s just so much you can do with him because he’s so athletic. We’re going to take advantage of his athleticism this season.”

Alabama is recruiting him as a Jack linebacker. Latu had 65 tackles, 20 for loss, with 9 sacks for Olympus in his junior season. He also plays tight end and wide receiver for his school. Whitehead said it’s almost impossible for coaches to keep him off the field because he’s so good.

“He’s a guy that can pin his ears back and create havoc for a quarterback,” Whitehead said. “All he does is make plays. He’s a playmaker.

“We’re supposed to be conservative here in this area, and my wife may kick mine if she hears this, but Cam Latu is an arse-kicker. I’m very proud of him and excited for him. This is a great opportunity for a great kid.”

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Alabama poised to land several players during early signing period

The inaugural early signing period begins on Wednesday. Recruits across the country will take advantage of the new three-day window to sign their National Letter of Intent. Alabama currently has 16 commitments, and only two of them aren’t planning on signing early: 4-star linebacker Quay Walker, who is still considering Auburn and Georgia, and 3-star tight end Michael Parker, who is likely going to be a blueshirt or greyshirt.

Alabama is expected to gain several more recruits on Wednesday. Here are my projections on where I think the Tide’s top targets are signing:

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Eyabi Anoma, 5-star DE, Baltimore

Eyabi Anoma’s recruitment has been trending toward Alabama for several months now. There hasn’t been a point from talking to people close to Alabama that the team was concerned on losing out on the nation’s No. 7 overall player, according to the 247Sports composite. Maryland and Michigan are the other teams in the mix here, but after Anoma took an official visit to Tuscaloosa earlier this month, we were told that he gave a strong indication to the staff that he was going to choose Alabama when he signed. With him deciding to sign during the early signing period, I definitely think that benefits the Tide.

Anoma will sign at 2 p.m. ET.

Prediction: Alabama

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Brenton Cox, 5-star DE, Stockbridge, Ga.

Brenton Cox will make his decision between Alabama and Georgia at around 3 p.m. ET. His signing ceremony will air live on ESPNU. Cox de-committed from Ohio State shortly after taking an official visit to Tuscaloosa earlier this month. Since then, he’s visited Georgia twice, including this past weekend for an official visit. Those close to the Bulldogs have supreme confidence in him choosing UGA, but from talking to people close to Alabama, it doesn’t seem like Georgia should have all the confidence in the world. Cox has still kept in contact with the Tide staff and hasn’t given any indication to either program on what he’s going to do. He has visited Athens more than 10 times and Tuscaloosa roughly five. Just because he’s visited Athens so many times doesn’t mean that’s where he’s headed. Derrick Brown, a 5-star defensive tackle in the 2016 class, visited Athens more than 10 times, too, and signed with Auburn. I still think Georgia wins out in the end, though.

Prediction: Georgia

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Dominick Wood-Anderson, 4-star TE, Yuma, Ariz.

Dominick Wood-Anderson has been all over the place with his recruitment, and that’s where we are today. He shockingly committed to Texas earlier this year, has silently committed to at least four programs and told coach Nick Saban the day he selected the Longhorns that he was going to choose the Tide. That hasn’t stopped Alabama from recruiting Wood-Anderson because he’s a special talent. When he de-committed from Texas, all the confidence was with Alabama. Now, this can go several different ways. Nothing with Wood-Anderson would surprise me. I spoke with one SEC assistant coach on Tuesday and he said he believes it’s between Alabama and Texas A&M with Tennessee surging late.

Wood-Anderson will sign at 11 a.m. ET.

Prediction: Alabama

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Something to watch

While Walker isn’t expected to sign with Alabama during the early signing period, I have heard that there’s a chance he signs with a different school.

One source close to the Georgia program told SEC Country that the Bulldogs staff was working hard on pushing through Walker’s application to the school so it can have paperwork ready for him to sign on Wednesday.

I don’t know if this will actually happen, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

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Spoke with Nadab Joseph’s guardian just now. He has seen the reports of Joseph still considering Georgia. To his knowledge, Alabama is the school he’ll be signing with. It’s just a matter of when he’ll actually do that now. They are supposed to talk once Joseph gets home from school.

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