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

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Anoma picks Bama.

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Profile: Eyabi Anoma
Position: Defensive End
High School: Baltimore St. Frances
Height: 6-5
Weight: 230

Recruiting: Anoma made official visits to Alabama, Michigan and Maryland, and he announced his commitment to the the Crimson Tide.

Scouting Report: Speed, burst, length, agility, change of direction, size, length, effort ...there are so many things that make Anoma one of the top prospects in the nation, and is why he is rated the No. 2 weakside defensive end and No. 7 overall prospect in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Having seen Anoma in a camp setting and also watching him play during his senior season at St. Frances, he is a phenomenal player with a huge upside. What is even better is Anoma loves to compete and work to get better. He wants to play against the best not only in games, but in practice.

On the field, he can play outside linebacker or defensive end, and he can do it from play-to-play.

Once we get past the fact he is an athletic marvel and look at the player inside of that, his natural ability and mental approach are tremendous. His ability to fire off the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball and get up the field in a hurry is one-percent elite.

Even when playing fast, he uses his length and his ability to break down and make tackles to get the ball carrier to the ground. If a team wants to run away from Anoma, he possesses the speed to get to the ball carrier with his back side pursuit.

In the pass rushing department, he is flexible and gets extremely low (with a nice should dip) to get around the edge, and then he explodes and has closing ability on the quarterback. When blocked, he is quick with his hands and he can disengage well. Once he does that, his athleticism takes over and he can close quickly on the ball carrier.

As a potential outside linebacker, Anoma can stand up on the edge and get to the quarterback with pure speed. His ability to change direction and move in space means he can drop into coverage, although he will have to gain a better understanding of drop depth since he was not asked to do it much at St. Frances.

Fine-tuning his technique, particularly spin and swim moves, is a must. Increasing his upper body strength is also important so he can deal more with strength of college offensive linemen.

Final Analysis: Keep in mind, this was Anoma's second year of football after making the move from the basketball court, so there is a ton of room for growth and his upside is enormous. He has the type of speed and length to play defensive end or outside linebacker, and although he still has to work a lot of his technique, his physical gifts and his work ethic should allow him to play a significant role as freshman.

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Alabama landed its first five-star recruit of the 2018 class in Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances product Eyabi Anoma.

The nation’s No. 7 overall player in the country, per the 247Sports Composite, chose the Crimson Tide over Maryland and Michigan.

The Tide staff offered Anoma last January and has since prioritized the East Coast native.

“It was crazy,” Anoma told BOL when the Tide offered. “I’m not going to lie to you. You sit here and watch someone coach like Coach (Nick) Saban, basically the best team in the country every year. That’s him talking to me. It gave me this sense of pride. He talks to Reuben Foster, Bo Scarbrough, guys that people look up to. It’s crazy that he has time in his day just to talk to me and tell me about the school.”

Alabama has been the longtime trend for the elite edge rusher. The Crystal Ball read 100 percent UA at the time of his commitment. The five-star prospect has taken four visits to Tuscaloosa this year, including an official visit earlier this month where the Tide only strengthened its standing.

Anoma is commitment number two of the Early Signing Period for wide receivers coach Mike Locksley, joining four-star defensive tackle Christian Barmore. Alabama's class is back to No. 5 in the country with the addition.

At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Anoma is rated the No. 2 weak-side defensive end and the No. 7 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

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Anoma picks Bama.

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Eyabi Anoma

School: St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)

Position: DE

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 230 pounds

Also considered: Florida, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State

247Sports composite ranking: Anoma is a five-star recruit, rated as the No. 7 prospect nationally, the No. 2 weak side defensive end and No. 1 prospect from Maryland.

How he fits into Alabama's plans: The signing day score instantly made Anoma Alabama's top-rated recruit. The next-best on 247Sports composite is No. 64 Quay Walker. The Baltimore product put up huge numbers as a senior with 98 tackles, 22 sacks, four forced fumbles and three recovered, according to the Baltimore Sun. Alabama's had some huge recruiting scores from the Mid-Atlantic region with the likes of Jonathan Allen, the Kouandjio brothers and Cyrus Jones. A freak pass rusher like Anoma could add to that legacy thanks to the recruiting of former Maryland coach and resident Mike Locksley.

Projection for 2018: One look at the pass-rush from the outside shows the need for a powerful force in this recruiting class. Anoma appears to have the raw talent to make an impact early even if he hasn't been playing football very long. It'll be interesting to see how quickly Alabama can develop this prospect and revive some of the pass-rushing reputation that's been missing at times this fall.

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Slade Bolden

School: West Monroe (La.)

Position: RB/WR

Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 198 pounds

Also considered: TCU

247Sports composite ranking: Bolden is a three-star recruit, rated as the No. 480 prospect nationally, the No. 11 all-purpose back and No. 17 prospect from Louisiana.

How he fits into Alabama's plans: A product of the same high school as Cam Robinson figures to be a slot receiver at Alabama. Bolden has the prototypical size to play the inside receiver role currently played by 6-5 Cam Sims, another product of Monroe, La. He was a quarterback last season and plans to enroll early to participate in spring practice.

Projection for 2018: Arriving for those 15 spring practices will give Bolden a head start with a receiver group that'll lose seniors Sims, Robert Foster with Calvin Ridley a good bet for the NFL draft. The Gatorade Louisiana football player of the year rushed for 1,460 yards while passing for 1,622 with 40 combined touchdowns as a senior. His dynamic skill set should help when there's a variety of possibilities for positions with Bolden.

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Stephon Wynn

School: IMG Academy

Position: DE

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 285 pounds

Also considered: Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson

247Sports composite ranking: Wynn is a four-star recruit, rated as the No. 70 prospect nationally, the No. 3 strong side defensive end and No. 15 prospect from South Carolina.

How he fits into Alabama's plans: The Crimson Tide defensive line this season didn't always have the consistency it's shown in recent seasons. It'll also lose senior Da'Shawn Hand while junior Da'Ron Payne is a likely first-round draft pick if he leaves. Whether Wynn plays inside like Payne or outside like Hand, there's a need for powerful defensive linemen to establish the line of scrimmage like has become the calling card of Alabama defenses in the Saban era. The Anderson, S.C. product is the son of a former Clemson tight end who chose against following that legacy. He played at Florida powerhouse IMG Academy this season. According to The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., Alabama sold Wynn on the program by telling him they'd use him like Jonathan Allen.

Projection for 2018: Alabama returns Isaiah Buggs, LaBryan Ray and Raekwon Davis as key players on the defensive line. Quinnen Williams is also in line for a bigger role while Phidarian Mathis will be a redshirt freshman. Depth won't be a huge luxury so Wynn's ability to play immediately will be fairly important for this unit.

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