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

quote:

---

Signees

Jalyn Armour-Davis, 4-star cornerback, St. Paul’s Episcopal (Mobile, Ala.)

Emil Ekiyor, 4-star center, Cathedral (Indianapolis) — Ekiyor won’t play in the game as he sits out with an injury

Josh Jobe, 4-star cornerback, Cheshire (Conn.) Academy

Skyler Delong, 3-star punter, Nation Ford (Fort Mill, S.C.)

---

quote:

---

Kelvin Joseph, 4-star safety, Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.)

Joseph almost flipped from LSU to Alabama last year, but he decided to hold off on making that move. He has since de-committed from the Tigers, but it looks like he’ll end up in LSU’s class. Alabama is trying to get him back on campus before he makes his final decision.

---

quote:

---

JJ Peterson, 4-star linebacker, Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.)

Peterson has been a major Alabama target for more than a year, but there may not have been a recruit more affected by Jeremy Pruitt leaving the Tide for Tennessee. Peterson’s coach at Colquitt County is Rush Propst, who hired Pruitt on his staff at Hoover High School.

---

quote:

---

Patrick Surtain Jr., 5-star cornerback, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)

Surtain has listed LSU as his leader for more than a year, but for some reason he hasn’t committed to the Tigers. I still think LSU is the team to beat, but maybe Alabama can make a late run at him next month.

---

quote:

---

LSU has been the unquestioned leader for Patrick Surtain Jr. for almost 18 months. The 5-star cornerback has never been shy when discussing his affinity for the program or for defensive backs coach Corey Raymond.

The question now is whether that longtime lead will culminate in a commitment on Feb. 7.

Nobody has a better grasp on Surtain’s decision than Pat Surtain Sr., the younger Surtain’s father and the state championship-winning football coach at American Heritage (Fla.) High School. A New Orleans native who was lightly recruited by LSU coming out of Edna Karr (La.) High School, the elder Surtain can see why his son, the nation’s top-ranked cornerback, is high on the Tigers.

“Nothing is official yet, but I know why LSU is on the top,” Surtain Sr. told SEC Country. “He’s been liking that school for a long time now. Not that other teams aren’t in the mix, but right now, LSU is in the lead.

“The success that Corey has had with his defensive backs, they put a bunch of guys in the NFL and that’s his ultimate goal. When we went down for LSU-Alabama [in November 2016], the environment was second to none. There’s nothing like it. He liked that environment. It’s big-time college football. … It’s about the right fit and about him being comfortable. You can go to the league from any school, but he needs the right relationship with the coaches and getting a feel with the academic side.”

The relationships are paramount to Surtain’s National Signing Day decision and he has openly discussed his longtime bond with Raymond. LSU’s defensive backs coach has been courting the 5-star Florida native for years and hosted for a slew of unofficial visits. In January, he’ll host Surtain for his official visit ahead of his final decision.

Raymond has not only recruited the U.S. Army All-American, but he forged a critical bond with his mother and father. All three are natives of Louisiana and all three have often discussed why LSU would be a good landing spot for Surtain Jr.

“It’s hands-on,” Surtain Sr. said of his bond with Raymond. “Corey has been on the highest level of football and knows what it takes. I remember sitting in the meeting rooms, seeing how he communicated with players and how the players respected him. He gets it across. He’s a smart guy and relays the defense.

“He can teach him [Surtain Jr.] things when I’m not there and I’ll be satisfied. He’s a good dude off the field, and most importantly, the players respect him. That goes a long way with him [Surtain Jr.].”

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Surtain has been vocal about the Tigers’ lead, despite keeping schools such as Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Florida State in the fold. Surtain’s admiration for Raymond is documented, but his longtime fandom of the LSU football program often goes under the radar.

Surtain was born and raised in South Florida, but his father hails from New Orleans and his mother, Michelle Surtain, has family in Baton Rouge and Donaldsonville, La. That has led to plenty of familiarity with the Tigers in his lifetime.

“For him to have a recollection of LSU at an early age, that’s the team that stood out to him,” Surtain Sr. recalled. “We never pushed LSU down his throat. Their style of play, their crowd, their players stuck out to him … Having family there is important. He has to go somewhere he feels comfortable, whether it’s LSU or Florida State or the other schools he’s thinking about. I don’t know whether he has that sense or feeling with the other schools yet, but going to LSU, when he went he hung out with the fellas and had some comfortability there. Who knows the next time? He’s going to take his time to make sure he makes the right decision.”

Surtain Jr. is bracing for a critical stretch in his long-winding recruitment. After competing in the Army All-American Bowl in January, he’ll begin to take his official visits. LSU, of course, will get a weekend with the nation’s No. 5-ranked prospect.

Surtain Sr. has taken a step back to let his son wrestle with the decision. So has his mother. However, having extended family in Louisiana is not something to look past. It’s not the sole factor, but it could play a role in that highly sought-after level of comfortability.

“It does help that we have family there,” Surtain Sr. explained. “My side of the family is in Baton Rouge. My wife’s is in Gonzales, about 15 minutes away, and then more of my family in New Orleans. It’s pretty close. … Pat can’t put all his eggs into one basket; he has to go where he feels comfortable. We’re not pushing him to this place or that place because we have family there.

“LSU has been his leader for a long time, and if he goes there, I’ll be happy for him. It’s a big-time program. This is all about him and he has to be selfish in this decision. He can’t do it for me or for mom or his family in Louisiana; he has to do it for himself.”

---

quote:

---

ETA: I know Tennessee will have to stop recruiting Peterson if Probst is hired to an off the field role on Pruitt's staff, but what would happen in this scenario:

Peterson signs with UT in February. Then, a week later Rush Probst is hired in an off the field role on Pruitt's staff.

Thoughts?

---

quote:

---

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with early predictions on the rest of the uncommitted prospects in the Rivals100, a look at the SEC’s Early Signing Period and a new rule the NCAA needs to consider.

---

quote:

---

You would think, but what would the consequences be? The kid would already be signed. Secondary violation?

---

quote:

---

In football, during a two-year period before a prospective student-athlete's anticipated enrollment and a two-year period after the prospective student-athlete's actual enrollment, an institution shall not employ (or enter into a contract for future employment with) an individual associated with the prospective student-athlete in any athletics department noncoaching staff position or in a strength and conditioning staff position.

This definition includes, but is not limited to, parents, legal guardians, handlers, personal trainers and coaches. An individual who meets this definition retains such status during the enrollment of the prospective student-athlete at the institution.

---