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

Didn’t Dre Swag start a couple of times as a Freshman?

Didn't Cornwell quit football last year?

Saban: Jaylen Waddle is 'an outstanding, overall receiver' | BamaOnLine

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Nick Saban hesitated. College head coaches and football programs cannot comment on high school recruits that have not signed with their institutions.

So, when Saban was asked about 4-star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on Wednesday evening, National Signing Day 2018, he had to make sure Alabama had already received the Bellaire, Texas, native’s National Letter of Intent.

But when a UA spokesman gave the OK, seconds following Waddle’s paperwork’s arrival in Tuscaloosa, the head coach gushed over the last of five players to fax in his NLI on Wednesday.

“Jaylen is an outstanding, outstanding young man. I mean really a good person,” Saban said. “We had him in a camp last summer, and we’ve recruited him for a long time. He’s got great quickness, like change of direction, run after catch.

“Really an outstanding, overall receiver but would work really well for us in the slot. Has really good run-after-catch, speed-sweep type of ability. Maybe a little different than some of the guys that we have right now, which is a really good thing.”

Known as an electric playmaker, Waddle scored 35 total touchdowns during his junior season -- 26 receiving, 4 rushing, 3 kickoff return and 2 punt return.

And it wasn’t just Saban that spoke highly of his playmaking ability Wednesday afternoon. Two of the Tide’s newest assistant coaches did the same.

Josh Gattis @Coach_Gattis
Boom.......speed kills! It takes a different Breed to play at Bama! #RollTide #RTR
3:42 PM - Feb 7, 2018

Jeff Banks @CoachJeffBanks
Juice , speed , make you miss in space! Fired up to add this playmaker. #HOU-BAMA #RTR 3:47 PM - Feb 7, 2018

Waddle was one of five players to sign with Alabama on Wednesday, giving the Crimson Tide 20 signees for the 2018 cycle and the nation’s No. 7 class, per the 247Sports Composite.

A top-40 recruit, Waddle is the No. 5-ranked wide receiver and No. 3 player in Texas. He joins an Alabama wide receiver room that already consists of a trio of soon-to-be sophomores that were key contributors in 2017, especially in the national title game.

The Tide also added 4-star wideout Xavier Williams and 3-star all-purpose back Slade Bolden in its 2018 signing class to go along with its seven returning pass-catchers. Among the 10 wide receivers, though, are few that compare to Waddle -- or each other.

“I think receivers are a little bit like a basketball team,” Saban said. “You’ve got a point guard, you’ve got a shooting guard, you’ve got a power forward. I mean all those different kinds of guys really make a good receiving corps.

“We’re excited about him because great quickness, great change of direction, really, really hard to cover and a great person.”

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For anyone who didn't notice:

Vo11untears fans' optimism sank like a stone after UT whiffed on nearly all of their top targets yesterday.

Never mind

Rivals sucks now, the skid row of recruiting sites

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TUSCALOOSA — With word of Karl Dunbar’s return to the NFL coaching ranks less than 24 hours after Alabama’s second-worst National Signing Day under Nick Saban, it’s clear the 66-year-old Crimson Tide head coach isn’t content with the status quo. Dunbar is the fourth assistant to leave the program this offseason, with three — defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley, offensive corodaintor Brian Daboll and Dunbar — taking similar jobs in the NFL. While it might be difficult to pinpoint why the reigning national champion Tide only signed five players Wednesday, bringing its 2018 signing class to 20, even Saban admitted the staff turnover undoubtedly played a factor. Alabama’s signees included just two five-star prospects and resulted in a national class rank (No. 7 per 247Sports.com) outside the Top 5 for the first time since 2007. It was the fewest five-stars in a single class in Saban’s tenure. "Well, I don't think there's any question that there may be some prospects out there who were being recruited by someone (on last year’s staff) who left, and maybe that was a little bit of an issue with them,” Saban said Wednesday. "But I do think that the coaches that we hired certainly did a great job of going out there and trying to develop relationships with the players that we were recruiting. In some cases maybe it had a (negative) affect, but in other cases I don't think it did.” The Crimson Tide still managed to sign the country’s No. 1 cornerback (Patrick Surtain Jr.) and No. 1 defensive end (Eyabi Anoma), and replenished its defensive depth with a slew of four-star standouts. But Alabama still missed out on at least 11 four- and five-star prospects it was considered a finalist for, including three that entered the week as Alabama commitments. “We’ve won a lot of battles in recruiting, (and) I think continuity helps you win battles in recruiting, relationships help you win battles in recruiting,” Saban said, adding later: “(But) I think in recruiting — especially when you start recruiting guys two years in advance — that when they feel comfortable and develop relationships with people, it certainly can have some effect on how comfortable they feel (when they meet) with the other folks.” And there were quite a few “other folks” to introduce recruits to over the last month. Whoever replaces Dunbar will be the sixth new addition to Saban’s staff this offseason, joining new special teams coordinator Jeff Banks, not-yet-announced quarterbacks coach Dan Enos, receivers coach Josh Gattis, unspecified defensive assistant Pete Golding, and secondary coach Karl Scott. Some have attributed Alabama’s staffing turnover to Saban’s desire to bring in younger, more energetic recruiters. And, by all accounts, he’s done that with Gattis, Golding and Scott are all younger than 35 and Banks in his early 40s. Only Enos, who turns 50 in July, has more than two decades of coaching experience under his belt. “Listen, if I know anything about Nick Saban — and I've been around that program quite a bit — they're going to go out, and they're going to get grinders and workers in player evaluation and recruiting, first and foremost,” ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill said last week. “The coaching part of it will come second. So that's been the approach for them, and that might also be one of the reasons why they went a little bit younger in some areas (with its new additions).” Former Alabama player and current Ole Miss defensive line coach Freddie Roach is already being mentioned as a candidate to replace Dunbar, as well as current Los Angeles Chargers defensive line coach Eric Henderson, who worked under Golding at Texas-San Antonio in 2016. Both are in their mid-30s. The coaching turnover reveals Saban isn’t comfortable sitting on his hands while other programs like Clemson and Georgia pass Alabama. “Recruiting has turned into pretty much a year-round process and it's not just about recruiting this class, but it's next year's class and the class after that,” Saban said. “The recruiting calendar has changed how we recruit. The energy that a lot of folks put into this is certainly appreciated and I'd like to thank everyone for that.”

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Validating what we already knew, the biggest reason for the so called struggle

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With early signing kids have a much better picture of where they fit in everything and are acting accordingly. It also increases the feeding frenzy for the remaining players in Feb. There’s no sure thing anymore even more so than last year.

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Jumping off this, you have to wonder how both coaches AND players react to this.

Players can get "recruited over" after signing if they sign early, and can't do anything about it. This may actually end up with less kids signing early in the future (maybe not)

Coaches can now bring juniors in the spring, which is HUGE for certain programs especially those in not as nice climates in the winter. Minnesota is gorgeous in the summer, and recruits will have an amazing time there. Additionally, the NCAA catching up and allowing this means that Spring Game official visitor lists are going to be things to watch.