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

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But man Rivals did not like the camp season for any Bama commits

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Nobody was quite sure how this would turn out.

Moving a few thousand miles east from Hawaii to Alabaster, Alabama could be unsettling for a high school junior. Add in the pressure of high school football with the Tagovailoa last name as a kicker, there was a lot at stake for Thompson High School's new quarterback last season.

For all concerned, it turned out quite well.

Taulia Tagovailoa, younger brother of the Alabama quarterback, saw his individual stock rise as he led his new high school team to unprecedented success. An undefeated regular season and a No. 2 state ranking came with a wild upset win at powerhouse Hoover.

Now, entering his senior season at Thompson, the Alabama commit is the No. 8 player in the AL.com A-List ranking of the state's top high school prospects. That's coming off a season that included 3,823 passing yards with 35 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

Thompson coach Mark Freeman remembers meeting Taulia Tagovailoa for the first time.

"I saw him and I thought, you know, this guy isn't the tallest guy I've ever seen," Freeman said. "He's kind of quiet and reserved. I knew he was kinda thinking 'I'm a long way from where I'm from.' This is all new I don't know this guy."

In retrospect, the quarterback remembers being a little nervous making the move from Hawaii to Shelby County. It was Freeman who helped put him at ease being an "easy-to-like kind of guy," Tagovailoa said.

There was a new offensive mindset to learn upon arriving at Thompson. Freeman described the style Tagovailoa played in Hawaii as a modern run-and-shoot. There were a lot of quick drops, three steps and the ball was away. Everything moved fast.

His quarterback estimated he threw the ball 90 percent of the time.

"We have to run the football over here," Freeman said.

Thompson obviously throws it more than it runs but there's a little more balance to the playbook. Tagovailoa understands.

"Every week we're going to see an SEC defense," he said, "and you have to establish the run against a defense like that."

As wins and yardage piled up last season, attention grew. He was already well known considering the wide admiration the Alabama fan base has for older brother Tua, but there was more to the plan.

Freeman said younger brother is perhaps a little quieter than the Alabama sophomore who was the hero of last season's national title game. Taulia Tagovailoa still likes to cut up with his teammates and is "not a loner by any means," Freeman said.

"I think he has an inner drive about being his own person and proving his worth also as well as his brother," Freeman said. "He's very proud and loves his brother and they're very proud of Tua. But I think Lia wants a chance to be his own person also."

The attention and notoriety aren't lost on the Thompson senior. In public, Taulia Tagovailoa said he doesn't mind being recognized in public. He'll take selfies and chat for a minute.

That just comes with playing football in this state.

The pressure is fine with him too.

"For sure," Tagovailoa said. "We know that as an individual and as a team, we know there's a target on our backs. I think the pressure is great because it forces me to be good and want to get better."

The moment Freeman points to as his quarterback's defining moment came on a grand stage. Playing Hoover on live TV in a packed Hoover Met, Thompson held a lead late in the third quarter. Then Chase Brown intercepted a Tagovailoa pass and ran it 64 yards to push the Bucs ahead 25-24.

"After that, he was nearly flawless," Freeman said. "We went back on the field and went on a 99-yard drive and put the game away."

Tagovailoa and Thompson converted four third downs while leading the Warriors on the game-winning drive. He actually did it twice since a 98-yard touchdown was called back for having a lineman downfield. Ultimately, it was a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mo Edwards with 4:53 left that lifted Thompson to a 32-25 win. Tagovailoa was 16 for 31 passing with 231 yards that night.

"When I threw that Pick 6, no one on the sideline said, 'Oh, we're done' or that we were losing the game," Tagovailoa said. "They all told me 'Bro, let's go. There's still a lot of time.' That, as a quarterback, it brings comfort to my heart that even when I mess up, guys have faith in me, especially in a big game like that. It was easier for me when they did things like that for me."

Hoover went on to end Thompson's undefeated season 31-12 in the Class 7A semifinals en route to another state championship. The Bucs and Warriors meet again Week 3 on the road.

Tagovailoa's attention will be undivided that Friday and all fall. After making his commitment to Alabama back on A-Day, the quarterback said he's not thinking at all about the process right now.

"I'm letting my parents handle that," he said. "My whole focus right now is on my football team."

On the field, Tagovailoa hopes to sharpen his decision making. It's the little things like knowing where the first down marker is and when it's smarter to just throw it away, Tagovailoa said.

"We just talk about manifesting himself on the future he has," Freeman said. "Be the best he can be and make a name for Taulia Tagovailoa and do your own thing."

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Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

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FIRST TAKE: ANDREW BONE, BAMAINSIDER.COM

“Auburn has quietly put together a very good recruiting class. It’s one of those classes a lot of people are not talking about because of the small number (13). Alabama currently has the top class in the country, but other schools have been right on the Tide’s heels for a while including Oregon, Texas A&M and Georgia.

"Alabama has to continue to add big names to hang onto the top spot. The good news for Alabama is it is still on the short list for guys like Trey Sanders, Darnell Wright, Clay Webb, Ishmael Sopsher, Nakobe Dean and Daxton Hill. Alabama is also very high on the list for guys like Evan Neal and Wandale Robinson.

"Alabama has several spots available after a small class in 2018. This may not be the year Auburn beats Alabama in terms of overall ranking. It will be tough for anyone to beat the Tide this year if they can close with their top remaining targets.”

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SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM

“It’s hard to bet against Alabama and I’ve stopped betting against Alabama a long time ago. With that being said, this could be the best Auburn class in the last five or six years.

“Bo Nix is one of two five-star quarterbacks in this class, George Pickens could push up the list at receiver and be in the conversation for No. 1 at that position and linebacker Owen Pappoe is a five-star now, too. Plus, Auburn only has 13 commits with three five-stars, so its average star ranking is among the best in the country.

“Auburn’s class is very good, but going against Alabama is tough. They have the No. 1 class in the country already and they still have a lot of top targets remaining on the board.”

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That is what is crazy, the commits is one thing but almost all the targets dropped too.

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1. Who did you personally go to bat for in the meetings that you think will make you look smart down the road?

Rob Cassidy (Southeast/Florida): I pushed to make Evan Neal a five-star because of how his body-type projects to the NFL. Neal isn’t a polished lineman just yet. I get that, but he’s dropping his bad weight at a rapid pace and looks like a different prospect than he did a year ago. The bottom line is that massive, 6-foot-7 linemen that move like Neal are rare. He’s the type of player that could become a dominant force once he gets into a college conditioning program.

Mike Farrell (National): I pushed for a lot of five-stars including Trey Palmer, Trejan Bridges and the two quarterbacks, but linebacker Nick Henrich is a guy I stood on the table for and someone I think will make us look smart in the end. I love his instincts, how physical he is on the field and he’s a sure tackler. I think he will diagnose plays well at the next level and be a tackling machine.

Adam Friedman (Mid-Atlantic): I spoke up when it was time to slot Clemson commit Sheridan Jones. A longer cornerback with discipline and toughness, Jones does a great job of anticipating routes and baiting quarterbacks into bad throws. It is because of this that I think he should have a lot of success at Clemson, especially when it comes to creating turnovers.

Adam Gorney (National/West): One player who has five-star potential in the West region is Folsom, Calif., receiver Joseph Ngata, who has some of the best junior season film for any player at his position in the country. The only thing is I haven’t yet seen him in person. That will change early in the season when Folsom comes to play West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade. I’ve seen a lot of the receivers ahead of him in camps or 7on7 events and Ngata might be right up there with the best in the country. The Clemson commit has phenomenal size, strong hands, excellent speed and he has special ability to catch passes with cornerbacks hanging all over him.

Josh Helmholdt (Midwest): I spent most of my time at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge watching the linemen, during which my appreciation for Oklahoma offensive tackle commit Stacey Wilkins grew. I was already a Wilkins fan after seeing him at the Dallas Rivals Camp earlier in the year. He is not close to a finished product, but he has one of the highest potential ceilings of all the offensive linemen in this class. As someone else noted in our meetings, if Oklahoma can turn Orlando Brown Jr. into an All-American, imagine what it will do with Wilkins.

Nick Krueger (Texas): There weren’t a lot of players that I got involved in arguing for or against, but one guy that I wanted to make sure stayed in the Rivals250 is running back Titus Swen. He only has a couple of offers, but I have just seen him be too good in the times that I’ve watched him play for him to be excluded. Physically, he’s built as well and is as explosive as any back in the class but seems to have just kept his head low on the recruiting front and doesn’t have other teammates that attract a lot of programs to take a look at his school.

Chad Simmons (Southeast): It wasn't just me, but one I definitely was ready to be aggressive on was George Pickens. I have seen him probably three or four times over the spring and summer, and he clearly made a strong case to be a five-star. He impressed me enough the first time early in the spring to move into the Rivals100 last update, but after seeing him a couple more times, it was clear that he is one of the best playmakers in the country. Woody Wommack is another who liked him a lot, so it wasn't just me. Pickens is a young man who has really proved himself and I see him being a star on the next level.

Woody Wommack (Southeast): This won't come as a surprise to anyone who has read some of the other content that has come out this week, but George Pickens was the player I really went to bat for this time around. I had a chance to spend two days watching him at the IMG 7-on-7 National Championships and I really came away as impressed with him as I have been with any other prospect in this class. Luckily for Auburn fans, the Rivals.com analyst team didn't put up much of a fight on this one and Chad Simmons, who covers the state of Alabama for us, was also in Pickens' corner. That made it an easy decision to move him up to five-star status.

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4. Who was the most difficult to rank?

Rob Cassidy (Southeast/Florida): Georgia commit Rian Davis presents an issue because he’s not a camp all-star, and this ranking cycle is about offseason events. Davis, a broad-shouldered linebacker shines against the run, so actual football games are his strong suit, which is great news if you’re a Georgia fan. He needs to get better in coverage, sure, but I think we made the right move by keeping him in the 100. His senior season should determine his final ranking, as camps aren’t great evaluation opportunities when it comes to players like Davis.

Mike Farrell (National): Wide receiver Maurice Goolsby was tough because he dropped so far in the rankings. He’s not that fast or explosive at this stage, or not to the level we had hoped by now, but he’s huge and could add that speed when he gets to college. He’s one of those guys who could end up being a bust or being a Kelvin Benjamin type.

Adam Friedman (Mid-Atlantic): The biggest questions came up in the top 10 of the Rivals250. There was lively debate about Derek Stingley vs. Theo Wease and where Jadon Haselwood compared with Wease. There were also some questions about what to do with Quavaris Crouch and Bru McCoy. Obviously, the order of these prospects, with the exception of Crouch and McCoy, stayed the same.

Adam Gorney (National/West): Nolan Groulx was fantastic at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas in Atlanta this summer, so dominant at every turn that some elite defensive backs could not stay with him. He’s an excellent route runner and he made difficult catches all day so a significant bump in the rankings was expected. But how high is too high? Groulx ended up moving from outside the Rivals250 to No. 72 overall and he was discussed as possibly going higher. It was difficult though because Groulx, who’s committed to Wake Forest, only had 10 offers and while he had nice stats last season with 75 catches with 1,101 yards, he only scored eight touchdowns. I like Groulx a lot and he has a chance to be phenomenal for the Demon Deacons. But one event does not make a ranking and he was a tough one after seeing him this summer.

Josh Helmholdt (Midwest): We went back and forth on whether to make the bump to 5.9 for Arkansas defensive end commit Collin Clay. At times he shows out to that level, but the consistency is not always there. Clay gets a solid bump up the 250 in this update after showing the strength to battle on the interior and competing well against the country's best offensive linemen at the Five-Star Challenge, but he remains just outside 5.9 territory.

Nick Krueger (Texas): Nelson Ceaser is a guy that has been sliding little by little since his debut high in the rankings heading into his junior season. After he wasn’t seen in-person last fall, he wasn’t the fixture on the camp circuit this offseason that he was last year. From what I know, I believe that he’s still an elite player, but he’s also a recruit that must be seen in person this fall to see how much he’s grown physically and where he’s at in becoming more than just a dangerous edge-rusher.

Chad Simmons (Southeast): Georgia commit JD Bertrand was tough. He was banged up the last time I was set to see him and he is not one that camps, so it has been some time since I have had a chance to evaluate him fully healthy. He is a very good football player, but seeing so many others compete at his position the last six months, and not seeing him healthy has made him tough to rank at this stage. He is one I want to see at some point the first half of the season.

Woody Wommack (Southeast): Evan Neal is a tough one for us because we have to weigh potential versus what we have seen from him so far in his high school career. He spent the offseason trimming down and he looks better than ever so making the move to five-stars based on pure physical upside wasn't that hard. I do think we want to see more from him in games on Friday nights, especially considering the national level schedule IMG Academy will play this fall.

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