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re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:00 pm to TidalSurge1
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:00 pm to TidalSurge1
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All of the offers on the first and second page have been updated.
This post was edited on 2/26/18 at 2:04 pm
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Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:01 pm to TideSaint
WR Mycah Pittman very high on Alabama after visit
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Mycah Pittman took an important visit this past weekend. And he landed another huge offer to consider as his recruitment stays busy.
The four-star receiver from Calabasas, Calif., was at Alabama and before he left Tuscaloosa, Pittman had another offer on the board.
It’s definitely an important one.
“What stood out about the ‘Bama trip is how much they welcomed me and made feel right at home,” Pittman said.
“Coach (Nick) Saban was telling me all my specialties, saying I’m the best in the country at (run-after-catch), he said I was physical, had great hands and he said he wanted to give me an opportunity to play at Alabama and he would love to have me on board.”
Things went well at Alabama and now the Crimson Tide have shot up the charts for Pittman, who finished with 60 receptions for 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns in his junior season.
So where does Alabama stand in Pittman’s recruitment exactly?
“High,” Pittman said. “Very high.”
Two other programs that are being paid particular attention are Florida and Ohio State.
Pittman’s father, Michael, played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so the four-star receiver has been fond of the Gators his entire life. The Buckeyes have been recruiting Pittman diligently for a long time and the Calabasas standout is highly interested.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:02 pm to TideSaint
Alabama, Ohio State battling for elite DE Ani Izuchkwu
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Pretty much since the beginning of Rivals250 defensive end Ani Izuchukwu’s recruitment, a pair of college football’s most dominant programs, Ohio State and Alabama, have been mainstays. Not much as changed there, as the two programs are still battling for Izuchukwu’s attention, but now they have been joined by a third school at the top of his list.
“My top three is Alabama, Ohio State and Mississippi State,” Izuchukwu said recently. “I have to put my focus on the schools that are serious. Ohio State, they are serious. Alabama, they are seasons. And Mississippi State has really let me know how bad they want me since the new coaches came in.”
Izuchukwu visited Alabama earlier this month and it’s clear the Tide are pushing for his commitment, with defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi leading the charge.
“Coach Tosh came to see me and then I went down there to visit again,” Izuchukwu said. “He’s a great dude. He’s not that type of person who is just going to hype you up. He’s the kind of guy that’s going to show his character and let you know what type of person he is. He tells it like he is. But he’s really cool and when you talk to him he understands what his players need.”
Like most people who watched the National Championship Game, Izuchukwu said he came away very impressed with the number of true freshmen who saw important playing time in the Tide’s win over Georgia.
“I was surprised there were a lot of freshmen who played for Alabama this year and that shows that any player that goes to Alabama, if you work hard you’re definitely going to play,” Izuchukwu said. “It’s not all about seniors or something like that. If you work at it and you know what you’re doing Alabama is going to play you.”
The Buckeyes are also making Izuchukwu feel wanted, with head coach Urban Meyer taking a personal role in his recruitment.
“They are really serious about me and I like them, too,” Izuchukwu said of the Buckeyes. “The coaches are always keeping in touch with me. And I talk to everyone. The head coach, everybody and they’re all telling me how much they want me there. I want to go to a place where I feel like the coaching staff can help develop me and they have said they have a plan for how they can make me better.”
One of the reasons the Buckeyes moved near the top of Izuchukwu’s list was because a visit late last summer, when he got to work with the coaches in a camp environment.
“I went up there over the summer and camped and I got to work with them on the field and really see how they coach and what they are all about,” Izuchukwu said. “We were in the middle of one-on-ones and Urban Meyer came to see me and he pulled me out to talk to me. Since then we have been building a relationship and keeping in touch and I like that he is taking an interest in me.”
Mississippi State has turned up the heat on Izuchukwu since the new staff arrived in Starkville the Bulldogs have jumped over South Carolina for a spot in his top three.
“I like them, too,” he said. “They keep in touch and they keep telling me how bad they want me down there. They are kind of new to me but I’m going to keep building a relationship and go from there.”
Izuchukwu said he’s still not sure of his decision timetable and it will all depend on how things shake out over the next month.
“I could make a commitment soon or I could wait until the season,” he said. “I just know when I feel like it’s the right place for me I will make that call. If I feel comfortable with the coaches and everything I will commit.”
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:12 pm to TideSaint
Cordale Flott's Bama offer no surprise to Saraland coach Jeff Kelly
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Saraland coach Jeff Kelly hasn't been surprised by 2019 cornerback Cordale Flott's rapidly rising recruiting profile.
"I've been telling people for a while now that he can play," Kelly said.
Colleges are clearly starting to figure that out.
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Flott received an offer from defending national champion Alabama over the weekend, the latest in a line of recent scholarship opportunities.
Kelly said Auburn and Florida State also have heavy interest in Flott and could offer soon.
"Cordale is exactly what a lot of guys want in a cornerback," Kelly said. "He's 6-foot-1, can run, has tremendous length and he's physical. If you look at his tape, he mixes it up well at the line of scrimmage. He's also a good tackler. Those things are a recipe for generating a lot of interest from big-time college programs."
Flott's numerous other offers include Ole Miss, Purdue, Central Florida, Memphis, Southern Miss, Troy, UL at Lafayette, UAB and South Alabama. Flott made 54 tackles for the Spartans a year ago, broke up 20 passes and also intercepted a pair.
Interestingly, the 247 composite rankings don't list him among the top 2019 prospects in the state. Expect that to change in the near future. Kelly said he isn't clear on why colleges and recruiting rankings were delayed in seeing Flott's potential.
"Cordale had a great year last year and as a sophomore," Kelly said. "Sometimes as a cornerback, you get that reputation and you don't get that many opportunities. Teams just go the other way. So that is a position where stat lines can be a little misleading.
"I think for Cordale it's just been a matter of him getting out there and being evaluated and coaches doing their due diligence. He's also changed physically a lot in the last two years. He's grown a good a good bit, and that has made a difference."
Kelly said Flott was excited by the Alabama offer and has handled his recruitment well. He's seen the process from a distance with his cousin (Velus Jones, USC) and brother (Wydale Flott, Southern Miss).
"He gets it," Kelly said. "He's a gracious kid. He's tremendously thankful for the opportunities he is receiving, but he's also focused on being the best student he can be and the best player he can be as a senior. It's been an interesting process. Every kid's recruitment is a little different. If you had asked Cordale a month ago whether he expected an offer from Alabama - I'm not even sure that was in his thought process."
Kelly said it's too early to tell when Flott might commit or where he might be leaning.
"I still think there are a lot of opportunities to come for him," Kelly said.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:17 pm to TideSaint
Alabama’s QB plans in 2019 class start with 2 prospects connected to Crimson Tide
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Alabama wrapped up its 2018 recruiting class with 19 signees, which was the seventh-ranked class in the country and second-best in the SEC, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Full attention now turns to the 2019 class. Over the course of the next two weeks, SEC Country will look at each position group on offense and defense for the Class of 2019. Here, we start with quarterbacks.
Current depth chart: Tua Tagovailoa (sophomore), Jalen Hurts (junior), Mac Jones (redshirt freshman).
Potential departures before or after 2018 season: Hurts.
How many commits at position: 0.
How many more Alabama plans to take: 2.
Main targets: 4-star quarterbacks Taulia Tagovailoa, Paul Tyson
Importance of more blue-chip additions (1-10): 10
The breakdown: Alabama didn’t have the luxury of having a couple of elite quarterback prospects within its state borders in the 2018 class, but that changes in the 2019 class.
The Crimson Tide didn’t sign a quarterback in the last recruiting cycle, which wasn’t too surprising when you look at the current depth chart at the position. The team is currently recruiting East Carolina grad transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew, who visited Tuscaloosa this past weekend. Minshew would count against the 2018 class if he did sign with the Tide.
That brings us to the team’s top 2019 targets in Taulia Tagovailoa, a 4-star prospect from Thompson High School (Alabaster, Ala.) and Paul Tyson, a 4-star prospect from Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, Ala.).
Taulia is Tua’s little brother, while Tyson is the great-grandson of Bear Bryant. The expectations both players will have from the fan base, and possibly themselves, if they do choose Alabama will be quite enormous, and it does allow the possibility of one or both quarterbacks choosing other schools.
In Taulia’s case, he didn’t attend the same high school as his brother when the family lived in Hawaii. That was so Taulia could have the possibility to start elsewhere while Tua started for his school.
I’ve had several conversations with the family over the past year that would suggest that Taulia automatically following his brother to Alabama is not the slam dunk that fans may think it is. Yes, the family moved to Alabama, but, no, it doesn’t guarantee Taulia’s already sealed with the Tide. This recruitment is open.
I do think Alabama has a better chance at signing Tyson as of now. He has been to games at Bryant-Denny his entire life. His great-grandfather’s statue is right outside of the stadium that is partly named after him. He also has a teammate in 5-star tackle Pierce Quick who’s committed to the Tide.
Tyson has taken visits elsewhere but I think the family’s history is going to be too much for him to go anywhere other than Alabama.
So, why hasn’t either one committed already? Well, Alabama normally waits to take a quarterback until the summer. The Tide usually brings in numerous quarterbacks to one of their first summer camp sessions in June where they put the signal-callers through various drills and test their knowledge on the whiteboard by drawing up plays and dissecting schemes. We’ll see if that’s what Alabama does this year in a unique situation with Tagovailoa and Tyson on the board.
What if Alabama misses on one or both prospects? Alabama has offered verbal scholarships to the following 4-star prospects: Oklahoma commit Spencer Rattler, Grant Gunnell, Sam Howell, Wisconsin commit Graham Mertz, Jayden Daniels, Michael Johnson Jr. and 3-star prospects Jacob Conover, Colorado commit Ty Evans, Lance LeGendre, Jalon Jones, Garrett Schrader and John Rhys Plumlee.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:18 pm to TideSaint
Top performers, LSU recruiting notes from The Opening regional camp Houston
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KATY, Texas — The Opening made its way through the Houston metro area this weekend, luring top talent from Texas as well as a handful from neighboring Louisiana.
The deep group of talent battled inclimate weather with four advancing to The Finals in June. That included 5-star wide receiver Arjei Henderson, 4-star tight end Austin Stogner and 4-star cornerbacks Bobby Wolfe and Marcus Banks. All hail from the Houston area.
Here were some of the other top performers, as well as some critical recruiting updates on where they stand with LSU.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:19 pm to TideSaint
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Kenyon Green, 5-star OL
The one-time LSU verbal has shed weight and looks to have grown a few inches. More importantly, Green played with a nasty streak at right tackle and was the top-performing offensive lineman up until an injury early on in the afternoon.
Green indicated that Alabama, Texas A&M and Oklahoma are courting him the hardest for now, but LSU and Texas remain squarely in the picture. Both programs have new offensive line coaches, and James Cregg for LSU, is making a serious impression on the 5-star lineman. He is in line to make a return to Baton Rouge at some point this spring.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:19 pm to TideSaint
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Arjei Henderson, 5-star WR
Henderson was arguably the top-performing prospect in Houston on Sunday, grabbing the attention of all in attendance every rep he took. A top-50 prospect nationally, the 5-star wide receiver showed that he could make plays from multiple positions. He is a crisp, fluid route-runner with outstanding hands and is smooth throughout his routes. He made athletic plays for the football and made it look easy. It’s no wonder he punched his ticket to The Finals.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:25 pm to TideSaint
Elite Texas, Oklahoma CB target Chris Steele sets commitment date
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One of the top talents in the nation knows when he’ll bring his recruitment to a close.
Chris Steele, a 5-star cornerback out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, intends to spend the coming months officially visiting some of his top options, and then after a summer of reflection, will announce his commitment on Sept. 27, per a report from Greg Biggins of 247Sports.
“Now that I can take all my official trips in the spring, I can still make an early commitment so I’ll be able to focus on Bosco football,” Steele told 247Sports. “September 27th is when I’ll be making a decision and I just have one more trip date to set right now.”
To this point, Steele has four official visits planned, as he’s slated to tour Louisville on April 6, Oklahoma on April 14, LSU on April 21 and Florida on Sept. 8. A host of other prominent programs are in the running for Steele’s final official visit, such as Alabama, USC, Texas and Michigan, although he’s unsure which campus he’ll see just yet.
“I’m not really sure who that last visit will be, I have a lot of schools I’m looking at,” Steele said. “I just talked with the Texas coaches and they really want me to visit. Alabama, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and a few others do as well so I’m not sure what I’m doing right now.”
An elite prospect with 42 offers to date, Steele is widely projected to remain out west, as USC owns 86 percent of his current Crystal Ball projections. Texas also holds two projections, but the Longhorns hopes of landing a key defensive back prospect reduces significantly if Tom Herman and his staff can’t earn an official visit.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, will have the opportunity to roll out the crimson and cream carpet when Steele visits for the spring game.
A 6-foot-1, 188-pound prospect, Steele is ranked as the nation’s No. 29 player, No. 3 cornerback and the No. 4 player in California, per the 247Sports Composite.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:27 pm to TideSaint
Expect some intense recruiting battles in Mississippi, which is loaded with top-fight prospects
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The state of Mississippi has a bumper crop of prospects in the 2019 recruiting cycle, which should make for some wild times on the recruiting trail.
Over the past six cycles, the state produced 42 total players who were rated as four- or five-star prospects; that’s an average of seven per year. At this point in the 2019 cycle, there are 13 four- and five-star prospects; that’s on the heels of a 2018 class that had just four.
“It’s the best crop of football prospects we’ve had in Mississippi in a decade. There are several guys in this class with NFL potential,” said Steve Robertson, a recruiting analyst for 247 Sports who covers Mississippi State.
“Mississippi has had very talented classes before, but I cannot recall one as deep as the 2019 group,” said David Johnson, a recruiting analyst for 247 Sports who covers Ole Miss.
Four of the 13 already have committed: two to Mississippi State, one to Ole Miss and one to Alabama. Keeping that talent at “home” could be difficult for Bulldogs coach Joe Moorhead and Rebels coach Matt Luke.
“Ole Miss and State will have to beat out an out-of-state invasion from other SEC programs,” Robertson said.
Johnson said this class potentially could have 30-35 SEC-caliber players. “This state will be the hunting grounds for all of the blue bloods of college football this year,” he said.
The state’s top-ranked player is inside linebacker Nakobe Dean, a five-star recruit from Horn Lake High, about 25 miles south of Memphis. Dean is both a high-level player and a solid student.
“Recently, a Power Five head coach came by the school and Nakobe told the coach he would have to finish the visit after his next class,” Horn Lake coach Brad Boyette said. “That’s the type of kid he is.”
The four who already have made pledges: Running back Jerrion Ealy from Flowood Jackson Prep has committed to Ole Miss, athlete Diwun Black from Forest High and defensive end Charles Moore from Louisville High have pledged to Mississippi State and athlete Brandon Turnage of Oxford Lafayette County has committed to Alabama.
Dean and defensive end Nathan Pickering of Seminary High are Mississippians who currently are among the nation’s top 50 prospects overall. Ealy, Black, Moore and Turnage are among the top 100 overall.
Ole Miss leads in the number of commitments from the state’s top 25 with four; other than Ealy, defensive end Jamond Gordon from Meridian High, wide receiver Jordan Jernigan from Tupelo High and cornerback Jalen Jordan from Lake Cormorant High have pledged to the Rebels. Baylor and Miami are other schools with commitments from top 30 players in the state.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:29 pm to TideSaint
A look at needs, commitments for 2019 recruiting class for Nick Saban, Alabama
Video in link.
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It was business as usual for Alabama on the field in 2017, with the Crimson Tide winning its fifth national title in nine seasons. But the 2018 recruiting class wasn’t up to Alabama standards, as the Tide finished with the No. 7 class.
Alabama has started off the 2019 cycle in a good way; the Tide has four commitments, all from players considered top-150 prospects.
Quarterback, offensive line, linebacker and safety are the biggest positions of need for the Tide in this recruiting cycle.
We’ve already told you about three top targets for Alabama. Here’s a look at the Tide’s four commitments.
Video in link.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:29 pm to TideSaint
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S Brendan Gant
The particulars: Gant (6 feet 2, 185 pounds) is a four-star prospect from Lakeland (Fla.) Kathleen. He committed to Alabama on December 21, 2017.
The skinny: Gant is among the top-five safeties in the country and a top-150 prospect overall. Gant also has offers from Florida, Florida State and Miami, among others, and FSU, especially, should remain in the picture. Alabama signed four prospects from Florida in its 2018 class, including five-star cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. The Crimson Tide would love for its success in Florida to continue with Gant.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:30 pm to TideSaint
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OLB King Mwikuta
The particulars: Mwikuta (6-4, 232 pounds) is a four-star prospect from LaGrange (Ga.) Troup County. He committed to Alabama on December 15, 2017.
The skinny: Alabama has a knack for finding athletic outside linebackers who can get after the quarterback and that is what the Tide has with Mwikuta. He is one of the top-five outside linebackers and a top-100 recruit overall. Mwikuta has offers from the likes of Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and LSU. The biggest threat likely will be Georgia, which has locked down the Peach State of late.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:30 pm to TideSaint
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OT Pierce Quick
The particulars: Quick (6-5, 285 pounds) is a five-star offensive tackle from Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville. He committed to Alabama on April 22, 2017.
The skinny: Quick, who is from the Birmingham suburbs, is one of the top-five offensive tackles in the class and is a to-25 prospect overall. Quick committed to Alabama before his junior year of high school and seems likely to stick with the commitment. But he keeps getting offers despite his commitment. In the past three months, Quick has been offered by Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Quick is one of the top-three in-state prospects in this cycle, and he is a definite Tide priority.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:31 pm to TideSaint
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ATH Brandon Turnage
The particulars: Turnage (6-1, 185 pounds) is a four-star prospect from Oxford (Miss.) Lafayette. He committed to Alabama on December 22, 2017.
The skinny: A skilled wide receiver and cornerback prospect, Turnage – who goes to high school about 3.5 miles from Ole Miss’ campus – is one of the top-10 athletes in the country as well as a top-125 overall talent. Turnage suffered a foot injury in the opening game of his junior year and missed the rest of the season; he now is medically cleared. Turnage was thought to be in-play for both Mississippi State and Ole Miss, so it was a little surprising when he committed to Alabama in December. There is no question the Crimson Tide still face competition from both Mississippi schools as well as other programs around the SEC for Turnage.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 2:42 pm to TideSaint
frick...Urban Meyer bitch arse make me sick.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 3:18 pm to Tide or Die87
Two of the Texas mods and the LSU beat writer for SEC Country all CB'd Marcel Brooks to LSU today.
Posted on 2/26/18 at 3:21 pm to TideSaint
I would only understand that if he was from Louisiana, but why would Marcel want to go there. Uh oh the sky is falling lol
Posted on 2/26/18 at 4:20 pm to TideSaint
Alabama recruiting question of the day: Who may be next to commit?
Christian Harris is one of Bama's top ILB targets.
Christian Harris is one of Bama's top ILB targets.
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Alabama finished 7th in the recruiting rankings in the 2018 class, 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 Facebook. Find our previous questions and answers here.
Who do you think might be the next to commit? -- @PaulBrakefield
This is always a popular question after a big junior day event. Alabama didn’t land any commitments this past weekend, even though it hosted double-digit top targets in Tuscaloosa.
We have to remember is that it’s February and we’re a year away from National Signing Day 2019. Nowadays in recruiting, it seems like it’s rare to have a commitment last for that long.
But, I do know that Alabama gained a lot of momentum with recruits it hosted. One name to keep an eye on is 4-star athlete Christian Harris from University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, La.
Harris spoke with SEC Country on Sunday night and told us Alabama is now his leader. The only reason why he didn’t commit is because his father wasn’t with him on the trip. He gets back to town on Friday. Harris plans on talking with his father about Alabama, and it’s possible a commitment could come soon after that.
Harris is one of the Tide’s top inside linebacker targets in the 2019 class. Inside linebacker is one of the positions the team struck out on in the 2018 class, so getting one of the team’s top targets this early would be huge. Harris said he’s “stuck” on Alabama right now and he’s not sure how another school could overtake the Tide’s lead.
The full story on Harris and another recruit who named Alabama his leader after last weekend visit will post at 8 p.m. ET.
This post was edited on 2/26/18 at 5:32 pm
Posted on 2/26/18 at 4:57 pm to TideSaint
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“Recently, a Power Five head coach came by the school and Nakobe told the coach he would have to finish the visit after his next class,” Horn Lake coach Brad Boyette said. “That’s the type of kid he is.”
I've known Brad for about 28 years. We used to work together. He is an Ole Miss fan.
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