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

quote:

---

Kevin Harris gets past Jason Rodriguez to flush QB out of pocket

---

quote:

---

Eric Gray And Trey Sanders with a few one-handers on air

---

quote:

---

Assuming that we lose the entire starting Dline, who do we think starts next year.

---

quote:

---

Byron Young was supposed to take an official visit to LSU in the fall. But something came up.

“Since we made it to the state championship game, I wasn’t able to go to it,” the four-star defensive lineman out of Mississippi said Monday as he arrived in San Antonio for the 2019 All-American Bowl.

Not a bad reason to skip an official visit. But Young explained that missing that visit was part of the reason he opted not to send in his letter of intent to Alabama, the program he’d been committed to since July, during the early signing period.

“(I’m) just taking every official visit that I have, making sure that I’m making a 100 percent right decision for myself,” he said.

Young’s already taken official visits to Alabama and Florida and said he plans to use his other three visits although he doesn’t have any of them set up yet.

“I know probably for sure I’ll take one to LSU because I had one planned during the season,” he said.

Young said the Tigers have been his favorite school for as long as he could remember.

“I ended up committing to Alabama because I feel like that was the best decision for me,” he said. “But I think just that fact that that’s where I’ve always wanted to go, since I was little, keeps them(LSU) in it.”

Young said that LSU coach Ed Orgeron and his staff have been recruiting him heavily as well.

“(They’re) just telling me that they feel like I could come in and make a meaningful impact and eventually be a really big time player in that system,” he said.

Ole Miss, Mississppi State and “maybe” Oregon are in the running to land the others.

The in-state programs were two of the first to offer the West Jones product and he said he had a good relationship with them.

Oregon is in the mix as it’s a place he’s always wanted to go.

“It’s been a dream of mine to go somewhere like that,” Young said. “And they told me that if me and Kayvon (Thibodeaux)… if they get both of us we could do some damage up there.”

The Ducks inked the nation’s top overall defensive lineman in California’s Kayvon Thibodeaux during the early signing period.

All this talk of visits doesn’t mean that Young isn’t still planning to play at Alabama.

“I feel like I have a really good chance to go into Alabama, since they are losing so many defensive linemen, to play and win, at the same time, at the highest level,” he said.

Young still fondly recalls the feeling the prompted him to commit to the Crimson Tide in the first place.

“I actually committed on July 4 and I almost committed probably about two weeks before then,” he said. “Because that’s when I had that feeling that that’s were I wanted to be. That’s the coaches I wanted to play for for four years and the school I wanted to represent.

“Not signing in December was just making 100 percent sure that that’s the right decision for me.”

---

quote:

---

Give departing Ohio State coach Urban Meyer an assist for Alabama landing defensive back Jordan Battle.

Battle committed to Ohio State in June 2018 and stayed firm throughout his senior season at powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.). Then, Meyer confirmed his retirement from the program on Dec. 4, the same day Alabama coach Nick Saban and two assistant coaches made an in-home visit to the 4-star defensive back from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

About two weeks later -- on the first day of college football’s early signing period, Dec. 19 -- Battle flipped to Alabama and signed with the Crimson Tide.

"The big decision between those two schools was the coaching change, of course," Battle said at the Under Armour All-Star Game check-in, later clarifying he likely would have signed with Ohio State had Meyer stayed.

Battle is ranked as the nation’s No. 77 overall prospect and No. 6 safety, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is one of 23 players who signed in December with Alabama.

The 54-year-old Meyer endured a three-game suspension to start the 2018 season after a report he misrepresented when he knew of domestic abuse allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith. That sparked speculation Meyer would step down, but he said in an Oct. 29 news conference that he planned to return to Ohio State and coach the team in 2019.

But something clearly changed. Meyer -- 82-9 at in seven seasons at Ohio State, including winning the 2014 national title -- coaches his final game today when the Buckeyes meet Washington in the Rose Bowl, with kickoff set for 4 p.m.

Battle, a 6-foot-1, 187-pound safety who is rated a 4-star prospect, visited Alabama during the weekend of the Mississippi State game.

“I really liked it,” he said of his visit. “Everybody up there was great people. Coach Saban, of course, great people. Coach (Karl) Scott, the DB coach, was around me the whole time, and I was around Pat (Surtain), who I know real well.”

Battle never made a visit to Ohio State after Meyer's announcement and Ohio State's decision elevate Ryan Day to head coach.

How did Surtain -- a freshman from Fort Lauderdale who earned a starting cornerback spot this season -- influence his decision?

"Coming in, he wasn't a starter right away," Battle said. "He played a little bit against Louisville. The second game, you could see it building, the playing time going up and then by the fifth game of the season, he's starting and he's still starting now. Seeing him gradually increase his ability to play football and learn the scheme of Alabama's defense -- which is probably one of the hardest defenses to learn … seeing him be able to adapt to that and improve and watch him play was just a great thing."

Battle said Alabama coaches compared him to Minkah Fitzpatrick, a 2015 signee who earned a starting spot as a freshman, became a two-time All-American, won the Chuck Bednarik and Jim Thorpe awards in 2017, and was No. 11 overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in last year’s NFL draft.

Battle termed the comparison to one of Alabama's all-time great defensive backs "tough" and "hard."

"It motivates me," Battle said. "It makes me want to work much more harder than I already have. Knowing Minkah and watching Minkah play, that's tough comparison to live up to.

“I’ve seen him a play a lot,” Battled added, saying he attend “a couple” of Dolphins games this season. “He’s just a great player. His play recognition, his agility, his speed, his acceleration, coverage skills, everything is just great about him. That’s why he’s in the NFL right now.”

---

quote:

---

We needed it to be DL heavy. Our depth has gone down dramatically in the last two years

---