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re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition
Posted on 5/17/18 at 2:55 pm to TidalSurge1
Posted on 5/17/18 at 2:55 pm to TidalSurge1
LINK ]The latest with four-star DB Nick Cross (Rivals)
quote:
Four-star defensive back Nick Cross is heading into an important stretch of his recruitment. The Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha star has already taken an official visit to Florida, but Alabama and Florida State will get their opportunities next month. Cross took a few minutes to break down all three schools and what else is coming up.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 3:04 pm
1
Posted on 5/17/18 at 2:55 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
IN HIS OWN WORDS...
"I'm taking an official visit to Alabama on June 8th and Florida State on June 22nd," Cross said. "Alabama said they are going to recruit me as hard as they can so they can get me down there. We set up the official visit and that’s a step in the right direction.
"They’re a top of the line program right now and it’s always been a dream of mine to go down there and visit. Coach Locksley and I talk on a regular basis but he talks to the people around me more than I talk to him. I talk more with coach Scott and the defensive coordinator than anybody else.
"I’ve always liked Florida State growing up and watching them," he said. "They’ve had some great defensive backs come out of there. I like the new coaching staff. They are warm and welcoming so I can’t wait to get down there and see what it’s all about.
"Florida is a great environment and they have great academics," said Cross. "I feel at home with the coaching staff and I feel like they can take me to great places. I have a good feel with them and the players.
"My best coaching relationship is with coach Aazaar from Maryland but outside of that it’s probably coach Sal at Florida," he said. "He recruits this area and he’s been here a few times. Things are good between me and him.
"Auburn is a good program," Cross said. "The SEC West is always competitive and they’re always competing. They always have that chance of knocking off Alabama. I think I’ll take a visit down there in June if I have the opportunity.
"I might try to take official visit to Auburn and the last one might be to LSU or Penn State," he said. "I want to commit before the season."
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 3:19 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 2:55 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:>>> Highlights - hudl
RIVALS' REACTION...
Everybody is chasing Florida here but the Gators don't have an insurmountable lead. Things could change for Cross depending on how his visits to Alabama, Florida State, and potentially Auburn, LSU or Penn State. Coaches from Auburn, Florida, and Florida State were at Cross' practice on Tuesday and all of them had their eyes (and video cameras) trained on Cross for the entire practice.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 3:14 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 3:39 pm to TidalSurge1
When is alfano supposed to announce?
Posted on 5/17/18 at 3:54 pm to narddogg81
Tomorrow, not sure of the time
Posted on 5/17/18 at 4:12 pm to narddogg81
quote:
When is alfano supposed to announce?
Friday 2:00 pm CT
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 4:26 pm to TidalSurge1
How are we feeling on him?
Posted on 5/17/18 at 4:27 pm to TidalSurge1
LINK ]West Spotlight: Five prospects with booming recruitments (Rivals)
>>> 4* TE Ethan Rae 6-5/240 (CA) hudl
quote:
The spring evaluation period sees college coaches racking up frequent flier miles and top prospects racking up scholarship offers. For several prospects in the West, the spring period has been a springboard for their recruitments. Here are five spring sensations from the region.
Ethan Rae missed his junior season with a knee injury, but the four-star tight end is back in a big way and spring football has been huge, as numerous offers have come in the last few weeks. In May alone, the Orange (Calif.) Lutheran standout has landed offers from TCU, Ohio State, UCLA and Michigan State.
On Tuesday night, Alabama became the newest school to offer him. In late April, Vanderbilt offered. One of the top tight ends nationally, Rae has great size and great hands and it’s probable most of these offers would have come during his junior season if he was not sidelined because of injury.
>>> 4* TE Ethan Rae 6-5/240 (CA) hudl
Posted on 5/17/18 at 4:30 pm to Vols&Shaft83
Utk is a player in this recruitment. But again, uunless he gets cold feet with the depth chart, this one is already over.
Posted on 5/17/18 at 4:33 pm to Sebastian
quote:
How are we feeling on him?
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 4:38 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 5:21 pm to TidalSurge1
Locksley will be at IMG Academy tonight.
Golding attending McKinnley Jackson's spring game Thursday night in Pascagoula, MS
Karl Scott is at the Grayson-Stephenson spring game. Kevin Harris, Javier Morton playing.
Pannunzio is at the Norland-Miami Palmetto spring game evaluating several prospects.
Golding attending McKinnley Jackson's spring game Thursday night in Pascagoula, MS
Karl Scott is at the Grayson-Stephenson spring game. Kevin Harris, Javier Morton playing.
Pannunzio is at the Norland-Miami Palmetto spring game evaluating several prospects.
This post was edited on 5/18/18 at 8:32 am
Posted on 5/17/18 at 6:10 pm to TidalSurge1
LINK ]Top Bama targets being recruited at different positions by numerous schools
Devonta Lee can play on either side of the ball.
Devonta Lee can play on either side of the ball.
quote:
Alabama finished seventh in the 2018 class recruiting rankings, but expect the Crimson Tide to be back on top in 2019. SEC Country’s Chris Kirschner will answer the Recruiting Question of the Day each weekday. You can ask him your questions on Twitter or on Facebook. Find our previous questions and answers here.
Who are some recruits that are being recruited at multiple positions/different positions at different schools?
There are several Alabama targets who are being recruited at different positions than what they are listed as on their recruiting profiles. Those same recruits are also being recruited by other schools at different positions.
Antonio Alfano, 4-star DE, Colonia, NJ
Antonio Alfano, who is set to announce his commitment to either Alabama, Georgia or Penn State on Friday, is being recruited as a defensive end by Alabama. Georgia is recruiting him as a defensive tackle and before he cut his list of schools down to three, schools on the West Coast were recruiting him at tight end and linebacker. That’s how good of an athlete Alfano is and why he’s so coveted by Alabama.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 6:25 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 6:10 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
Devonta Lee, 4-star WR, Amite, LA
Devonta Lee’s recruitment likely will come down to Alabama or LSU, and both schools want him on different sides of the ball. The Crimson Tide like him better on defense as a safety while the Tigers like him at wide receiver. Lee told SEC Country that he doesn’t have a preference on which side of the ball he plays in college.
Christian Harris, 4-star ATH, Baton Rouge, LA
Christian Harris’ recruitment also likely will come down to Alabama or LSU, except this time the Tide like Harris on defense as an inside linebacker and the Tigers like him as an H-back. Harris told SEC Country that he was leaning toward playing defense when he gets to college. Harris is one of the Tide’s top inside linebacker targets in the 2019 class.
Note: I may be wrong, but I think Kirschner is incorrect with his notion that Bama definitely likes Lee more on defense than offense.
ETA: I asked Kirschner about his confidence level that Bama likes Lee better on defense, and he said, "My source would know."
This post was edited on 5/19/18 at 10:25 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 6:10 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
Jaylen McCollough, 4-star S, Powder Springs, GA
There has been some back and forth from the Alabama staff on Jaylen McCollough. There are some questions about McCollough’s speed. He posted a 4.71 40-yard dash at Nike’s The Opening Atlanta regional camp in March, but his instincts and length make up for his lack of top-end speed. Alabama likes him as a safety while South Carolina likes him as a running back and defensive back. He’s down to Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Zion Puckett, 4-star ATH, Griffin, GA
Zion Puckett is wanted by schools from coast to coast on different sides of the ball. Alabama likes him at wide receiver while others, like Auburn, like him at cornerback.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 6:39 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 7:35 pm to TidalSurge1
Here is the good luck weekend post (on a Thursday)
Posted on 5/17/18 at 8:15 pm to Cobrasize
LINK ]Alabama recruiting 360-pound defensive lineman to be Tua Tagovailoa’s singing partner
DT Siaki Ika is a top target for Alabama. SEC Country was told Ika can commit at any time.
DT Siaki Ika is a top target for Alabama. SEC Country was told Ika can commit at any time.
quote:
Welcome to SEC Country’s daily Roll Tide-ings, a rundown of everything happening in Alabama Crimson Tide recruiting with Chris Kirschner. In this edition, we talk the latest with one of Alabama’s defensive line targets.
Siaki Ika is a priority target for Bama
Before East High School squared off against Bingham in Utah’s state championship game last November, Siaki Ika, a 4-star defensive tackle from Salt Lake City, grabbed the microphone. The 6-foot-3, 360-pound lineman didn’t grab it to give a rousing pregame speech. Instead, he sang the national anthem prior to the state championship.
Ika has been singing all of his life. His father’s brother performed in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a group that has won numerous musical awards for decades. Not only can Ika sing, but he can play the ukulele, trumpet and baritone.
Ika has seen Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s videos of him singing. He wouldn’t say if he had a better of voice than Tagovailoa, but Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi has joked with Ika about committing to Alabama, so the two players can start a singing duo. “Tosh tells me that Tua needs a jam partner, and I should be the guy,” Ika said with a laugh.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 9:51 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 8:15 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
Being a singer isn’t the only fun fact about Ika. Siaki, who goes by Apu, was nicknamed that by his parents because they thought he looked like the monkey from Aladdin when he was a baby. Except that’s not the monkey’s name. “My dad doesn’t speak good English, so it came out as Apu instead of Abu,” Ika laughed. “That’s stuck with me since.”
The parents of the nation’s No. 11 defensive tackle recently moved back to Tonga, where they grew up. His father is starting a business in his native country, so now Ika lives with his older siblings in Utah.
His parents visited Tuscaloosa with him during a trip to Alabama last month. Ika said his parents loved everything about the school. “The biggest thing I miss with them not being here is not being able to experience this with them,” Ika said. “That’s why the Bama trip was so special. That was the first time they got a taste of all of this.”
That was Ika’s second trip to Tuscaloosa this year, which is significant considering he lives in Utah. He’s going to visit them at least once more this fall when he takes an official visit to Alabama. Ika will use all five of his allotted visits. He only has one set right now and that’s to Southern Cal on June 22.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 9:31 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 8:15 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
Ika, who was named the defensive line MVP last weekend at the Las Vegas Elite 11 camp, said he wants to learn more from the players on his next visit to Tuscaloosa and ask them what they think of the coaches and life outside of football at Alabama.
Utah’s No. 1 prospect said there’s definitely a lot of interest in Alabama on his end, but it’s the same with the other schools he’s into at the moment. He named LSU, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah and Washington as schools he’s strongly considering.
Alabama already has a nose tackle commitment in the 2019 class in 4-star prospect DJ Dale, but SEC Country was told that Ika can commit to the Crimson Tide at any time. He’s a top target and one I would project in this class right now.
“They’re top dogs,” Ika said. “If you go there, the competition is going to be top-notch. As far as developing yourself as a player, in the eyes of a lot of people, that’s the best place to be.”
An open depth chart is going to play a big role in his decision. The only true nose tackle Alabama has on the roster right now is Tevita Musika, who will arrive on campus in June. Musika has two years of eligibility remaining.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 9:44 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 8:15 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
The lack of interior defensive line depth is something that Lupoi has stressed to Ika. “It’s something that he pitches to me the most,” Ika said. “They are very thin with interior guys. They’re losing a lot of guys and have already lost a lot of guys on the interior line. I have an opportunity there. He wants me to come in and play nose or inside shade or outside shade.”
Weight has been a concern for several schools that are pursuing Ika. He said he gained weight this offseason as he recovered from a back injury. He wants to get down to 300 or 310 pounds and has a plan in place to do so.
His school got a new strength and conditioning coach and he put the entire team on a meal plan. Ika’s was adjusted specifically to help him reach his goal of dropping weight. It’s something that Ika is confident will happen.
He likely won’t make a commitment until December, and he’s planning on being an early enrollee at the school of his choice. Alabama is hoping when Ika, who was once committed to BYU, makes his next decision, he’ll choose the Tide.
“They are talking with me a lot,” Ika said. “Tosh tells me that he talks to my high school coach every day. I get on the phone with Tosh at least once a week, so we talk pretty frequently. He’s a great guy outside of all the football talk. I see him as a friend and one of the homies.”
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 9:27 pm
Posted on 5/17/18 at 8:16 pm to TidalSurge1
quote:
Final prediction on Antonio Alfano‘s decision
Another defensive lineman Alabama is hoping to land is Antonio Alfano, a 4-star defensive end from Colonia (N.J.) High School. Alfano will announce his commitment to either Alabama, Georgia or Penn State at 3 p.m. ET Friday.
My prediction, him choosing Alabama, hasn’t changed for more than a month when I spoke to Alfano shortly after his visit to Tuscaloosa, which you can read about here. This recruitment turned quickly after that April visit to Tuscaloosa. It looked like Alfano was leaning toward Penn State before his visit to Alabama and Georgia. But the visit to Alabama blew him away.
Alfano had questions about the depth chart on the defensive line, and he didn’t realize how open it is heading into next season. The coaching staff has stressed the depth chart to him and has reminded him that the Tide failed to sign a true defensive end in the 2018 class. Tevita Musika is strictly a nose guard and Stephon Wynn and Christian Barmore are defensive tackles. Isaiah Buggs and Johnny Dwight will exhaust their eligibility after this season and Raekwon Davis is a likely candidate to declare early for the NFL draft.
In 2019, the Tide will have LaBryan Ray, Quinnen Williams, Phidarian Mathis, Wynn, Barmore and Musika on the defensive line plus whichever recruits they sign this class, so the opportunity to make an early impact is attainable for a Class of 2019 recruit such as Alfano.
Alabama needs lots of help on the defensive line in the 2019 Class and should land one of the best this cycle on Friday when Alfano makes his decision. It needs to be noted that Alfano’s recruitment is expected to end after his decision is made. He told SEC Country that he will only take an official visit to the school where he commits on Friday.
This post was edited on 5/17/18 at 9:24 pm
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