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

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Alabama will get three-star cornerback Marcus Banks back on campus June 15-17 for an official visit, he announced on Monday evening. BamaOnLine recently reported that the Spring (Texas) Dekaney product would be taking an official visit to Tuscaloosa.

The Crimson Tide offered Banks earlier this year when new special teams and tight ends coach Jeff Banks and head coach Nick Saban stopped off in the Houston suburb.

“Alabama, I love Coach (Jeff) Banks,” Marcus Banks said. “He was the first one to start recruiting me. Me and Coach Banks have a good relationship. Coach (Karl) Scott is going to come out here some time this week because he hasn’t seen me in person yet.”

An interesting note regarding the timing of the visit -- Banks is planning to announce a commitment just two weeks later at The Opening Finals in Frisco, Texas.

Banks last visited the Capstone earlier this year for Junior Day. “Man, it was probably the best visit I’ve been on so far,” Banks told BOL at the time. “The hospitality of it was great. The coaches, they showed real love. I had a talk with Coach (Nick) Saban for about 30 minutes. I had a good feeling with him, my mom did as well. Overall, it was fantastic.”

Alabama currently has two defensive backs committed in its 2019 class in four-star corner Christian Williams and four-star athlete Brandon Turnage, who projects as a safety.

Banks, who is trending to Texas at 88 percent on the 247Sports Crystal Ball, has already taken official visits to Austin and Texas A&M, another top school in his recruitment.

A side note on Banks' recruitment: he goes to school with former Tide tight end commit Malcolm Epps (who ended up signing with Texas). The former four-star UA pledge actually told Banks he should pick the Tide when he received an offer from the program. “We were walking on Thursday (when Banks was offered) after school and he told me he thinks I should go there,” Banks said. “But you know how all that works (it’s still early).”

At 6-feet, 170 pounds, Banks is rated the No. 36 cornerback and the No. 400 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

The Tide's 2019 class currently ranks No. 1 in the nation, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings. Along with Banks, other cornerback targets of UA's include five-star Derek Stingley, four-stars Noa Pola-Gates, Jeffery Carter, Jarrian Jones, and Tyrique Stevenson, among others.

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Ira Henry watched as his Trinity classmates Isaiah Williams, Shammond Cooper and Marcus Washington accrued offers from the most prestigious football programs in the country. But now, it’s Henry’s turn.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive lineman earned offers from Alabama and Michigan the last two days. He now has 23 scholarship offers and likely will add more soon.

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So I just found out I may be spending a little more time in Korea than I initially thought.

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THE STORYLINE

Alabama has proven it can go anywhere to get any prospect, especially with the Crimson Tide’s wild success under coach Nick Saban. But they’ve been particularly successful dipping into the DMV area (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) for top recruits who have panned out and been some of the program’s best players in recent years.

Alabama has proven it can go anywhere to get any prospect, especially with the Crimson Tide’s wild success under coach Nick Saban. But they’ve been particularly successful dipping into the DMV area (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) for top recruits who have panned out and been some of the program’s best players in recent years.

FIRST TAKE: ADAM FRIEDMAN, RIVALS.COM MID-ATLANTIC RECRUITING ANALYST

“Over the years, Alabama has plenty of top players from the DMV and Rivals100 linebacker Shane Lee will likely make another one when he signs in December. The biggest similarity from when this run started with Arie Kouandjio in 2010 to now is that Alabama can consistently develop talented prospects and turn them into NFL prospects.

"Players from this region that end up at Alabama are hyper-focused on how to make that leap and see Alabama’s formula has a good track record. Under Nick Saban, Alabama has always had at least one coach that has strong ties to the DMV. That has certainly helped make players feel comfortable in Tuscaloosa. Right now, that coach is offensive coordinator Mike Locksley and it was a major factor in the recruitment of Lee.” – Friedman

SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR

“They spot recruit very well there. I would say Florida State does as well. There are certain schools that have a very good connection there, a very good feel there, their coaches have good relationships there and Alabama is one of them. When you start bringing successful players in like Florida State did with Eddie Goldman and Ronald Darby and obviously Alabama with Cyrus Jones and Da’Shawn Hand and guys like that, it’s going to be easier to go back there and impress those kids because they’ve seen other kids go ahead of them.” – Farrell

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Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here taking a look at who raids the state of Georgia the most, the top five new head coaches on the recruiting trail and the best 1-2 punches in the 2019 class so far.

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3. Top 1-2 combos in 2019 so far

Alabama – Shane Lee is one of the biggest surprise commitments of the class so far and an elite inside linebacker while offensive lineman Pierce Quick is an elite tackle prospect. Alabama had an off year by its standards in 2018 but the Tide are back in 2019.

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