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

quote:

---

THREE PROGRAMS THAT SHOULD BE EXCITED

---

quote:

---

ALABAMA

It’s good to be king and the defending national champs are just that. Alabama currently holds the nation’s No. 1 class, so no team will benefit more from the Early Signing Period. Add in the fact that the Tide are still alive for five-star prospects Nkobe Dean, Trey Sanders and Evan Neal along with four-stars Jordan Battle and Noa Pola-Gates, and it seems the class could receive yet another boost before the week is over.

Tide commits Daxton Hill, Christian Harris, Keilan Robinson, Christian Williams and Bryce Young aren’t expected to sign in the early period, but the bulk of Bama’s impressive haul will sign letters of intent this week.

---

quote:

---

ALL SKILL AT THE TOP IN FLORIDA

If you want athletes with speed, go spend some time in the Sunshine State. Florida may not be known for producing elite quarterbacks on a regular basis, but it does have a reputation for producing top-notch athletes. The 2020 class keeps that trend alive.

You have to get down to No. 8 in the Florida state rankings before you find a prospect that puts his hand in the dirt. Cornerback Fred Davis is the lone five-star in the state at this time, so he is leading the way. Then you have a couple of wide receivers, running backs and defensive backs on the list.

Out of the top 15 prospects in Florida, there is only one linebacker (Derek Wingo) and one defensive end (Samuel Anaele). All the rest are defensive backs, running backs and wide receivers.

There is always a lot of speed in Florida, and in this class, there may be more of that at the top than usual.

---

quote:

---

EVANS LEADS THE WAY IN TEXAS

The state of Texas has not produced many five-star running backs in recent years, but it has a special prospect inside its borders in 2020.

Zachary Evans of North Shore in Houston is not only a five-star, but the No. 2 prospect in the country. He was in the top prospect discussion this update. He is different.

Evans has a long list of offers from programs like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M and many others. Simply put — Evans can go where he wants.

As a running back, Evans checks every box, and he will be tough to knock off at the top by any other prospect in the Lone Star State this cycle. Evans has the size, speed, power, hands, vision and everything that colleges covet at that position.

---

quote:

---

SPECIAL GROUP IN CALIFORNIA

There is no other way to describe the 2020 class in California other than saying it is loaded.

The No. 1 2020 prospect in the state and the country is quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Linebacker Justin Flowe checks in at No. 3 in the country and second in California. Elias Ricks, a 6-foot-3 cornerback is in at No. 4 in the country, third in California. Running back Kendall Milton comes in at No 12 nationally, while wide receiver Johnny Wilson is still a five-star at No. 22.

This is some of the best talent at the top that California has produced in a long time. In the updated Rivals100, nearly a fifth of the listed prospects (18) are from the state of California.

Digging a little deeper, when looking at the Rivals250, there are 27 prospects from the state. The depth of the state is nothing new, but the talent at the top looks to be on a different level. California has three of the top four prospects in the country, and another who is being talked about as a possible top-10 prospect.

This will be a fun group to track over the next year.

---

quote:

---

ALABAMA WILL LEAD THE NATION AGAIN

History is on the side of the Crimson Tide as they have won eight of the last 11 recruiting titles and they hold the top spot in the 2019 rankings as well. To almost no one’s surprise, Alabama has jumped out to the No. 1 position already in the 2020 rankings with 11 commits, nine of them four-star prospects.

Two of the top three players in the state - four-star defensive tackle Jayson Jones and four-star cornerback Malachi Moore - are already committed to the Crimson Tide. The top-ranked player in the state, four-star quarterback Kristian Story, is high on Alabama as well. There are plenty of five-star players who are already serious about playing in Tuscaloosa and others will emerge throughout the cycle.

Jostling will happen and some teams will be working toward that No. 1 spot but Alabama is already there, has a firm grip in the rankings and could be tough to beat. Again.

---

quote:

---

1. Alabama will stay on top – Georgia took over the Early Signing Period last year and dominated the rest of the field in 2018, but Alabama will remain on top when this year's Early Signing Period ends. The Crimson Tide are involved with enough big names that even if they strike out on a few, they can still add enough star power to their No. 1 class to stay on top.

2. Georgia will keep the highest average star ranking – The Dawgs might only add one or two new signees over the next week or so, but they will remain on top when it comes to quality. They are involved with so many big names – Trey Sanders, Jadon Haselwood, Tyrique Stevenson, Evan Neal to name a few – that they can’t help but keep that 4.06 star average. They could finish back-to-back classes with a per recruit average ranking of four stars or better, which would put Georgia in very exclusive company.

3. Teammates will go separate ways – Like everyone else, I’m trying to figure out where IMG teammates Trey Sanders and Evan Neal will end up. For the longest time I thought they would be a package deal to Alabama, but now I think Sanders ends up at Georgia and Neal ends up at Alabama. Neal is the easier to predict as it would be shocking if he picked anyone but ‘Bama. With Sanders, I wouldn't be stunned at all if he ends up at Georgia or Alabama.

4. There will be a few “secret letters” – There are many prospects like Jadon Haselwood, Bru McCoy, Chris Steele, Quavaris Crouch, Tyrique Stevenson and others that are making their announcements at all-star games in January that could sign “secret” letters during the early signing period. Remember last year, Nik Bonitto signed with Oklahoma but still announced his “commitment” at the Under Armour All-America Game to no one’s surprise. I expect that to happen this year as well, maybe a few times.

5. Someone will change their mind – Last year the big name was tight end Luke Ford who decided he wasn’t going to sign early only to change his mind and sign with Georgia on Friday after seeing what a great class the Bulldogs were putting together. I don’t know who it will be this year, but obviously someone will change their mind and sign later in the week after initially planning on waiting until February.

6. ‘Canes get the best of the state – Miami is involved with quite a few big name targets and if the Hurricanes land a couple, they should be able to surpass Florida State and Florida in the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings. Florida will stand at No. 2 and Florida State will be No. 3 with work to be done between now and the first Wednesday of February.

7. Fewer players will sign early this year – Last year it was rare for a committed player to hold off on taking part in the the Early Signing Period, but this year there seem to be a lot more prospects willing to wait. The majority of committed prospects will still sign early, but I don’t expect it to be in the 80 percent range as it was a year ago. Why? I have zero explanation for it. Maybe it was just the fact that last year was the first Early Signing Period and prospects got caught up in the excitement. This year’s class has the advantage of watching the 2018 class go through the process last year.

8. USC's class will remain ranked embarrassingly low – The Trojans are ranked outside the national top 25 and have an embarrassing (for them) 3.19 star average for their 16 commitments. Usually there are a ton of five-stars just waiting until the end of the process to choose the Trojans but this year that isn’t the case aside from Bru McCoy. This could be one of the worst recruiting years for USC in Rivals.com history.

9. Arkansas remains the shocker of the class – While Arkansas has quite a few commitments that won’t be signing early, the Razorbacks are still in great shape to remain the surprise of the class of 2019. While they likely won’t end up in the top-10 nationally, they should be able to stay in the 11-15 range, which is amazing based on the season they had.

10. DJ Williams will land someplace good – Who the heck is DJ Williams you may ask? He’s a running back prospect out of Sebring, Fla. who is committed to Appalachian State currently but is rumored to be the No. 2 choice for both Georgia and Alabama if they strike out on Trey Sanders. Whether Williams signs early or becomes a big target down the stretch remains to be seen as Sanders isn’t announcing until Wednesday, but remember the name DJ Williams as someone that could end up being better than a lot of the higher-ranked running backs in this class.

---

quote:

---

My SIL just fricking picked it out of a hat like she does her other animals. She has a teacup Chihuahua named Paul and a giant Mastiff named Henry

---