re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

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Alabama’s commits are letting Ruggs know they want him to join

PHENIX CITY, Ala. — Henry Ruggs may be the fastest wide receiver in the country.

Ruggs, a 4-star prospect from Robert E. Lee High School (Montgomery, Ala.), accounted for 269 total yards and 3 touchdowns on Friday night. What’s more impressive about those stats is that a lot of that yardage came when Central High School’s defense knew the ball was coming his way.

It’s no wonder why Alabama views Ruggs as one of the most explosive recruits in the country and why he remains a top priority for the Tide.

The 6-foot, 175-pound prospect still has Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State and Penn State in his top 5, and he said those are the only schools he’s focusing on at this point. Those five schools are likely going to get his five official visits.

Alabama may have a slight advantage in one area — relationships with other commitments. Four-star linebacker commit Markail Benton and 4-star quarterback commit Mac Jones are spearheading the recruitment of Ruggs to Alabama.

“The Alabama recruits are coming at me the hardest,” Ruggs told SEC Country. “I talk to those guys more than anyone. I talk to Markail a lot because I’m close to him and Mac (Jones). He tells me that ‘Bama is home.”

Ruggs was originally going to make his commitment on Aug. 1, but he decided to push back his decision to an unscheduled date because he was not 100 percent ready to announce one, he said.

Now, a decision is likely going to come in December or January. If he had made his commitment back in August, it looked like Alabama was the slam dunk choice. Things are less clear now, but the Tide are still being considered very heavily.

“I’m not saying they are a leader or anything like that or toward the bottom, but they are definitely in the mix,” Ruggs said. “Outside of football, everybody just sticks together as a family there. I like that a lot.

“It’s a brotherhood there, and it’s great knowing that the school is right down the road from home, so I’m not too far away from family.”

Alabama, Florida and Florida State are the schools recruiting him the hardest at the moment. An interesting omission is Auburn, who was thought of as the school which seemed to get some momentum over the past several months.

Though the Tigers are not recruiting him the hardest, he’s still interested in Auburn.

“That’s another in-state school that’s right down the road,” Ruggs said. “Just like Alabama, they have a very homely environment. It’s like 45 minutes way from home, so it’s an easy drive. I have a former teammate at Auburn (Daniel Thomas), and he kind of runs me through everything that’s going on there.”

Alabama is drilling its need for wide receivers in his head. The Tide only signed two wide receivers in the Class of 2016, and they are looking to sign four this year. Alabama is hoping Ruggs is one of those receivers along with 4-star commitments Jerry Jeudy and Tyrell Shavers, along with uncommitted 4-star prospect Devonta Smith.

“They are just telling me that they aren’t that deep at the receiver position,” Ruggs said. “They don’t have many receivers on scholarship. They need another receiver to come in and make plays for them.”

After speaking with Ruggs on Friday night, I still believe Alabama should be considered the team to beat when it comes time for his commitment. Not only is he closest to the Tide’s commitments, but the majority of his family members are Alabama fans.

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