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

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That’s exactly what I said in their board and got banned with the quickness.

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Along the main drag in the seat of Tangipahoa Parish, a police car siren bursts and a caravan of school buses carrying the Amite High Warriors whiz past a squat red building where Vincent Sanders is holding court.

Wielding a pair of clippers inside the dingy hut that houses his barbershop, Sanders pays no attention to the procession outside as the sun’s orange glow filters through the dust-caked blinds on this Friday evening. Peering at the television across a room with cracked linoleum tiles and chipped wood counters, he continues his impassioned defense of his role in the recruiting battle between Alabama and LSU being waged on this very turf. Roughly 60 miles from where they will play in Baton Rouge this Saturday, the two SEC powers are locked in a struggle here over a pair of the nation’s top prospects — Ishmael Sopsher, the No. 1 defensive tackle in the country, and Devonta Lee, a four-star receiver. The two players, along with Crimson Tide wideout DeVonta Smith, have raised the profile of this rural outpost that just now is gaining recognition for being the talent-rich football hotbed it’s been for generations.

“That’s the thing that is beautiful,” says Amite’s defensive coordinator Chris Gordon. “It’s a small community. But the eyes are on it.”

For college coaches around the country, it’s become impossible to ignore even though it’s quite easy to bypass. Amite City sits alongside Interstate 55 not far from the Mississippi border in a tiny swath of Southeast Louisiana. It’s far enough from Baton Rouge and New Orleans to be considered out of the way, and with a shade more than 4,000 residents no one would ever confuse it with a city, which is probably why the locals simply call it Ay-meet. This is a place where the grown men are referred to by their childhood nicknames, families are intertwined, gossip gets around quickly and the whole truth seems within grasp but often remains an arm’s length away.

To understand how insular the community is, the current head football coach, Zephaniah Powell, admits he saw himself as an “outsider” when he was hired three years ago even though he grew up 45 minutes up the road in Mississippi. Such is life in the hometown of the Louisiana governor, John Bel Edwards, where the folks these days are more apt to crow about Smith — the local product and national championship game hero who cradled the 41-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa that beat Georgia in overtime.

After that famous catch, Amite paraded Smith through the streets and celebrated the rising star raised in the shadow of Butler’s Memorial Park in a hardscrabble neighborhood where decaying homes rest on cinderblocks and rusted-out cars are parked on grassy plots near doublewides. Still remembered as the spindly kid who once wowed as a receiver, defensive back and return specialist at Amite, Smith is now lionized in his own backyard. After all, he realized the dream that every boy in Amite begins to harbor when they start playing pee-wee football with the Braves at the age of five. Almost overnight, the young man known as Tay became a symbol of hope.

“Because they see, ‘Wow, if I can excel or succeed in whatever I am doing I can possibly find my way out of Amite as well,’” says Powell.

The man who has made it his mission to open Amite’s exit door for Smith and other top prospects is Sanders, a nebulous character with a lineman’s build who has morphed into something akin to a human Rorschach test. To some, he is a mentor, father figure and advocate who generates exposure for the area’s young talents through his organization, BEAST 1 Athletics. To others — especially anonymous souls lurking on message boards and Twitter — he’s a power broker, scout, promoter and middleman who favors Alabama over LSU and claims to have the contact info for the “top 50 coaches in the nation.” What can’t be denied is that Sanders, known as “Big Fella,” is the link between Amite’s past and present in a town where relationships are everything and bonds formed decades ago are as meaningful as ever today.

In the late 1980s, Sanders, 47, walked the halls of Amite High Magnet with Sopsher’s father, Rodney Sr. They also sat in classes and lumbered out to the football field alongside Sam Pettito, who works for Nick Saban as Alabama’s director of personnel operations. Rodney calls Pettito a “good friend.” And, as Sanders explains, it was Pettito who told him six years ago he could help put Amite on the map by shepherding the Warriors’ best players across the region to summer football camps held by the nation’s biggest programs. So Sanders loaded up his vehicle and began taking weekend excursions with teenagers, spiriting them to Arkansas, Georgia, Florida State, Florida, Tennessee, Miami, Alabama and LSU.

Another stop was at Clemson — where Amite’s first ballyhooed recruit, Michael Carr, had enrolled back in 1988.

The year before, as a high school senior, the sensational Carr guided the Warriors to the 3A state championship game at New Orleans’ Superdome, accounting for 35 touchdowns along the way and being named to the Parade Magazine All-America team. At a time when the world seemed bigger than it is now and unquestionably more disconnected, Carr was larger than life to a community that worshipped the football team.

“Mike was a phenom,” Sanders says, shaking his head.

One of Carr’s starry-eyed fans was his brother-in-law, Alan Ricard, a member of the 1994 state championship team who forged a nine-year NFL career as a fullback and is now an assistant coach at Louisiana-Monroe. Beyond the high school field where Carr would dazzle on Friday nights in the fall, Ricard and kids of all ages played pickup games behind the stands in the faint glow of the stadium lights. It’s here where friendships were formed and toughness was instilled.

“Everybody loves Amite football,” Ricard says. “That’s what brought us together as a town. I couldn’t wait to get to the high school and put on that purple helmet because that was everybody’s life in Amite. That was like going to NFL. And we idolized Michael.”

As one of Ricard’s old Amite teammates, Jonathan Foster II, puts it, “He was the next savior of Amite. Everybody had their hopes on Michael going to college and doing well.”

But Carr ended up a cautionary tale. He became embroiled in a recruiting scandal, transferred to Texas-El Paso, was busted for drug possession and then receded from the spotlight for good. In spite of that, Carr’s name still rolls off the tongue in this corner of the globe.

And it continues to resonate in Clemson, too.

When Sopsher and his family paid a visit to the ACC power for a summer camp, Carr factored into the Tigers’ sales pitch.

“Man, come up and try to redeem that,” Rodney Sr. remembers hearing.

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Inside Sanders’ barbershop, the decorations are kitschy and random. There are posters of Miami, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Texas’ 2018 schedule. There is also an Atlanta Falcons license plate wedged between painted white brick and mirror, where nearby there is a Georgia Bulldogs logo and a postcard illustrating the sequence in which DeVonta Smith caught the game-winning pass from Jalen Hurts in Alabama’s taut victory over Mississippi State last year. A framed photo of Saban running out onto that field also takes up a section of wall space, where an apron with Crimson Tide logos hangs.

Noticeably absent is anything purple and gold, which is odd because those colors are everywhere else in this town. Yet Sanders is adamant he has nothing against LSU as he fights the perception he is influencing players in the Tangipahoa parish and parts beyond to sign with other programs — namely the enemy, Alabama.

Sanders is the subject of multiple LSU message board threads, emerging as a polarizing figure after two players he mentored — Shyheim Carter of nearby Kentwood and Smith — landed in Tuscaloosa in successive years. Around that time, Amite defensive back Josh Perry was also ticketed for Alabama, but he reneged on his commitment at the eleventh hour and signed with Memphis in February 2016. Since then Sanders has extended his network of aspiring football talents beyond Amite to places like Thomasville, Ga. and Williamston, S.C. — piggybacking on the exposure he received in an article published on the now-defunct website, SEC Country, that touted his connections.

“I don’t tell these kids where to go to school,” he says. “They’ll sit here and say, ‘Oh, he wants them to go to Alabama.’ Dude, where do I live? If that was the case, I would just move to Alabama. I live here. Man, it’s like with LSU — I would love my kids be in-state because that makes it easier on the family. But it’s your job to sell your school to these kids.”

Ed Orgeron, the Tigers’ head coach, had made that his mission as he’s tried to lure Louisiana’s best prospects to the flagship university. Last week, he made a pitstop in Amite and told reporters, “That’s an area we have to capture.”

Sanders though seems skeptical about the Tigers’ commitment to that pursuit. He wonders aloud if LSU is too late in making this town a priority, that it assumes loyalty based on the proximity of Baton Rouge to the fertile grounds around here. He claims LSU has ignored his recommendations in the past and notes the Tigers have yet to offer Branch, the 2020 defensive back who has benefited from the intense interest Sopsher and Lee have attracted. Back in the spring, representatives from schools in each Power Five conference lined the practice fields, according to Powell. They were there to find the next amazing athlete who could elevate their programs in the years to come.

“They’re asking, ‘Coach, who else do you have?’” Powell says.

Now that the word is out about Amite, the expectations are the town will continue to churn out top prospects and the remarkable cycle of football talent will continue to whirl.

Sanders, who has done his part to make Amite a destination on the windy recruiting trail, is confident it will. In this age of the Internet, the youth here have a firmer understanding of the world beyond and a wariness of the pitfalls that ensnared Carr so many years ago. But they are just as hungry as he was to make it.

“These kids — they want something,” he says. “They’re poor. They are trying to get out.”

But Sanders isn’t. He’s smack dab in the heart of Amite, inside that squat red building along Oak Street, where the pulse of a football town beats as loud as ever on a Friday night when the Warriors win again and the battle between Alabama and LSU continues to rage.

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Alabama and LSU are set to clash in the game of the year Saturday evening (7 p.m. CT, CBS) in a matchup that will likely decide the SEC West. It’ll be LSU’s swarming defense against a Tide offense led by Heisman favorite Tua Tagovailoa.

As kickoff encroaches, there’s an interesting side story to this affair: LSU is trying to poach Alabama quarterback commitment Taulia Tagovailoa, Tua’s brother, from the Crimson Tide.

The No. 6 pro-style QB in the 2019 class per the 247Sports Composite, Taulia committed to the Tide in April. However, the Tigers have been in pursuit of Taulia ever since. And our 247Sports experts indicate the battle between the two SEC powers is getting interesting, with Tennessee also in the mix.

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron watched Taulia play Friday evening during the team’s bye week, even bumping into Tua on the sideline. LSU hopes to make Taulia its second QB take in the 2019 class, adding a little Tagovailoa magic to the roster in the process.

Here’s the latest on Tagovailoa’s recruitment from our Alabama and LSU team experts.

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ALABAMA STILL FEELS GOOD

"Similar to how his older brother approached things, Taulia hasn’t shut the door on his recruitment despite maintaining a firm commitment to Alabama. If you remember back to December of 2016, Tua mulled over visits to LSU and Oregon; however, those trips never transpired prior to him enrolling at the Capstone the following month. With Taulia, the big names to know are LSU and Tennessee, both of which the appeal is likely offering Taulia a more immediate route to playing time, not to mention the fact he wouldn’t have to play in Tua’s shadow. Georgia also threw its hat in the ring last week with an offer of its own. As for visits, Taulia has gone on record saying he plans to take officials to Knoxville and Baton Rouge. It’s not clear whether the visits elsewhere will happen considering Taulia’s playoff schedule, his plans to be at all three of Alabama’s remaining home games in November and potentially the SEC Championship Game, plus the fact that he’s participating in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in mid-December.

"Despite all the continued interest, Taulia often falls back on family when talking about his college decision and whether or not they are comfortable where he is. Alabama is home for the Tagovailoas, not to mention Taulia would get at least one year under his belt with his older brother. It’s hard to imagine Taulia not signing with the Tide on Dec. 19." — Hank South, BamaOnLine

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WHY TAULIA MATTERS

"Taulia is a very sudden quarterback athletically. The pocket movement is really clean, really natural and shows urgency and awareness. That awareness and instinctive play is probably Taulia's best trait. He's extremely accurate, throws on the move effectively and is athletic enough to extend plays and move the chains with his legs. There are physical limitations. He's got an underwhelming body and good, not elite, arm strength. But he's productive and has a feel for the position that you can't teach. He will remind folks of his brother, Tua, but he's a dialed-down version." — Barton Simmons, 247Sports Director of Scouting

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He's got an underwhelming body

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Menlo (Calif.) Atherton linebacker Daniel Heimuli narrowed his top eight down to a top five.

The four-star tweeted a top five of Alabama, Oregon, UCLA, Utah and Washington.

Heimuli took unofficial visits to each school in the spring, visiting UCLA and Washington on multiple occasions, and he's already set up some official visits for the fall with three of them.

Utah will get the first official visit, bringing in Heimuli on November 10th when they host Oregon.

And the Utes have defensive line coach Lewis Powell as his primary recruiter, along with Justin Ena, but Powell is no stranger to Menlo-Atherton, playing for the Bears in the late 1990's before he played for the Utes and the two went to see Heimuli play earlier this month.

"Coach Powell has been recruiting me for a long time and he played at MA so we have that bond because of that," said Heimuli.

Oregon will then get Heimuli up to campus in early December when he visits on December 7th.

Running backs coach Jim Mastro, who grew up in nearby Milpitas (Calif.), is recruiting Heimuli with help from two defensive coaches.

“I talk with Coach (Jim) Leavitt, Coach (Cort) Dennison and Coach (Jim) Mastro the most,” said Heimuli. “They’re recruiting me as an inside guy.”

Washington will get Heimuli the following week and he's expected to visit with his teammate, Washington commit Noa Ngalu.

“Coach (Bob) Gregory, Coach Pete (Chris Petersen), all of them are recruiting me to Washington,” said Heimuli. “And Noa a lot too.”

Alabama and UCLA are both expected to get official visits, but Heimuli hasn't set those in stone yet.

“Tosh is recruiting me for Alabama and I went down there this past summer and it was great,” said Heimuli. “And Coach (Don) Pellum and Coach (Chip) Kelly is recruiting me to UCLA."

Heimuli said he's still targeting December for when he'll sign so a decision will likely come shortly after his official visit to Washington.

A four-star in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings, Heimuli is the No. 14 inside linebacker nationally in the 2019 class and the No. 29 overall player in California.

Heimuli put together a strong junior year, but he plays baseball for MA and he also played travel baseball, so he didn't do any camps or any 7v7 football so we didn't see Heimuli in any action all offseason. His senior film came out, though, and he made an even bigger jump in his game and then seeing him in person earlier this season in a blowout of previously unbeaten Pacifica (Calif.) Terra Nova, you see that jump even more so than you do in film.

He has been selected to play in the 2019 Polynesian Bowl in January in Hawaii.

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Two days after that trip, T-Bob Hebert — the former LSU offensive lineman-turned-radio talking head — sent out a fiery tweet.

“If Shopsher [sic] goes to Bama I will introduce legislation to remove Amite from Louisiana and annex them to Alabama,” Hebert wrote.

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