re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition

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Thompson quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa burst onto the Alabama high school football scene in 2017 by leading the Warriors to a 10-0 regular season and the Class 7A, Region 3 championship.

The younger brother of Alabama QB and national-championship game hero Tua Tagovailoa , Taulia completed 264-of-423 passes for 3,823 yards, with 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Warriors finished 12-1 and set a single-season school record with 496 points in 2017, but lost to 31-12 to Hoover in the 7A semifinals.

A rising senior and four-star prospect, he's considered one of the state's top 10 prospects in the Class of 2019 and has offers from Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Oregon, Utah and Hawaii. Taulia recently talked to AL.com about his recruitment and offseason training.

Q: Have you started narrowing your college list?

"No, not yet. I 'm just trying to enjoy it."

Q: How is recruiting going and what's your mood right now as it relates to recruiting?

"I think kind of relaxing. My biggest focus right now is more on my senior year and my training. I have a full offseason with my team, and a real offseason with a training program. I'm trying to focus on that."

Q: Several months have passed since you'd played a game and you have a little time before spring practice begins. What are you trying to focus on right now, because every player is trying to get better at something, so are there specific things you're trying to improve?

"There's a lot of stuff I need to improve on: my running, reading the field, making good decisions, when to throw it away. It's just stuff like that. Me and Coach (Mark) Freeman talk about it a lot. I'm for sure next year that those things are going to be improved on."

Q: Do you have timetable for your commitment?

"I think that's something I have to talk about with my family. I know I'm going to be graduating early."

Q: So, you do plan to graduate in December, which would allow you to enroll in January?

"Yes, sir?

Q: And your brother did that too, right?

"Yes, sir."

Q: How much, if any, have you leaned on your brother as the recruiting process rolls on?

"I talk to him a lot about it. He just tells me to enjoy it and take my visits and stuff, because that's something he didn't do. He said it's be a good experience to experience different teams. He just told me to take it one day at a time."

Q: Did the season-ending loss to Hoover last year send you and your teammates into offseason training with added motivation?

"Yes, sir. I think knowing how we felt after that last game against Hoover, now we know what it feels like to win a bunch of games and now we know what it feels like to lose one. I think personally I take those things to heart. I try to do extra work. I think of the feeling of losing. I feel like not doing it. When I think about the (2018) season, it motivates me, and I'm surrounded by a bunch of guys like Amari (Kight), Shad (Byrd), Will Conner, and those guys are pushing me hard every day."

Q: Do you know what you want to study in college?

"Communications."

Q: Will the quality of the school's communications program make a big difference for you, and if so, how?

"Yes, sir. I'm going to college not for a four-year commitment, but a lifetime commitment. I'm sure whatever school I go to, I want to choose for the people who are there, the coaches, and more so the school. My mom stresses school a lot. No one can take knowledge away from you."

Q: Did you ever play a different position?

"I played center basically my whole life until my seventh-grade year."

Q: Were you playing with your brother or were you playing on different teams?

"Yes, sir, I used to snap the ball to him. That was crazy."

Q: You don't run into a lot of high school quarterbacks who were once an offensive lineman. It seems like that would give you a great appreciation for linemen. Is that the case and does it help you as a quarterback?

"When I was playing center, my uncle was my offensive line coach. He taught me all the fronts and little down calls. Now that I'm playing quarterback, I see those type of things and I have a feel for when a linebacker is going to blitz, when d-linemen are going to twist and things like that. I think a lot of it is working with Coach Freeman. Before I came here, I already had a background from my uncle, or really from both my uncles."

Q: Do you miss playing center?

"Well, I think I have the best center in the state right now. So, no, not really. It's good sitting back there and not taking the hits."

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Nope. We're losing today because we're playing the best team in the country (which is better than their NC team two years ago).

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Bill Norton, a 4-star strong-side DE prospect from Christian Brothers in Memphis, saw no need to drag his recruiting decision out any longer. He chose Sunday evening as his time to commit to UGA. That move from the Tennessee native allows UGA to again take over the top spot in the national 2019 composite recruiting rankings. Norton shared his decison on Twitter.

“I had a lot of thought about it,” Norton said. “We went around to all the schools and saw how I would fit in. I had a good time meeting all the new coaches and seeing places I had not seen and stuff. But at the same time, it was coach Tray (Scott) and coach Kirby (Smart) have known about me and shown love to me even before all the others knew about me. It has been the same ever since.”

Norton admitted he had been holding back on making that commitment for awhile. “It was really a no-brainer,” he said. “The only reason I had been holding back for a little while because I wanted to give every place a chance to see if any other places would be a good fit for me on the field and academically as well.”

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Tennessee took its best shot at  Bill Norton, but it just wasn’t enough.

The Class of 2019 defensive end prospect committed to Georgia via Twitter on Sunday.

The Memphis, Tenn., native was on an unofficial visit to Knoxville this weekend. It would seem he had interest in hearing the new coaching staff out but it obviously wasn’t enough to shake him from the idea of Georiga.

Norton rates as a 4-star prospect and ranks as the No. 11 strongside defensive end in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Norton can’t sign until December, at the earliest. So, there is still time for coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff to change Norton’s mind about the commitment.

Georgia continues to recruit at a high level under coach Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs signed 22 5-and 4-star prospects in the 2018 class, while Tennessee signed only 20 prospects. This would seem to only exacerbate the gap between the two programs. Georiga defeated Tennessee 41-0 in Neyland Stadium last season.

Tennessee has two commitments in the class in offensive guard Jackson Lampley and athlete Te’Cory Couch. Both are 4-star prospects. Couch seems like a likely de-commit because he and the new staff have not talked much at this point.

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Tbh, I'm a little concerned as to whether Saban fully gets that with the ESP and now spring OVs too, the recruiting cycle is accelerated.

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DAVENPORT, Fla. – The first stop on the Elite 11 Regional tour took place Sunday. However, the camp feature more than just quarterbacks, as all positions were represented. While not signal callers stood out, there were plenty of other position players that recorded impressive performances. 247Sports brings you to top overall performers from Sunday's camp below.

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