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re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:36 pm to TideSaint
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:36 pm to TideSaint
Rudy Griffin interview with Stephen M. Smith of TDAlabamamag (video)
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*Segment on Tyson starts at 7:20 mark*
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Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:39 pm to TideSaint
Alabama Offers DJ James
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DJ James has finally received an offer from Alabama.
He told Touchdown Alabama Magazine what the offer meant to him.
“It felt Great,” James said. “I’ve been waiting on this one.”
Nick Saban informed James of his offer and what stood out to him about the 2019 recruit.
“He offered me as an athlete,” James added. “He said he loves my instincts, ball skills and feet.”
James is a 3-Star CB, according to most recruiting outlets. He is currently committed to Mississippi State.
It is easy to see why Saban considers this kid to be an athlete. He is extremely fast and versatile. His knowledge of the game is also top notch.
Saban’s observations of this kid were spot on. He jumps routes like he is inside the other team’s huddle and his ability to judge the ball in the air is outstanding. These are all skills that can translate to the next level.
The Crimson Tide’s 2019 recruiting class has 16 commits at the moment and the Tide’s coaching staff will work very hard to get James to flip to Alabama and keep him inside of the state.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:39 pm to TideSaint
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Harris originally planned to give a commitment prior to his senior season, but now has a new timeline in mind. Louisiana’s No. 5-ranked prospect plans to make four official visits and make a decision during the early signing period in December.
Harris has already penciled in official visits to Texas A&M on Sept. 8 and to Alabama on Oct. 12. He is slated to schedule officials to LSU and Auburn as well, and will not make any other official visits to schools outside his top four.
Harris delaying his decision until December is a very good thing for us. If we miss on Dean or To'oto'o, he might be next in line for an ILB spot.
This post was edited on 6/28/18 at 1:41 pm
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:40 pm to TideSaint
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:42 pm to TideSaint
Alabama Offers Josaih Hayes After Great Camp Performance
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Josaih Hayes had an impressive showing at Alabama’s OL/DL camp on Saturday and received an offer from Alabama as a result.
“I’m thankful,” Hayes said. “It feels good to know I have an offer from the college football national champions.”
Hayes was invited into Nick Saban’s office after the camp and Saban informed him of his offer. Hayes really loved getting the chance to talk one on one with Saban.
“It was an honor,” Hayes added. “I was excited to actually sit down across from him as he offered me.”
Hayes is a 4-Star defensive end in the 2020 recruiting class. He is a product of Horn Lake High School in Horn Lake, Mississippi, which is the same high school of Alabama target and the No.1 LB in the 2019 recruiting class, Nakobe Dean. Hayes didn’t get to see too much of Alabama’s campus due to time restraint but it is expected that the Tide will get him back on campus. However, he was impressed with the Tide’s facilities.
“My coaches and I like the way their facilities are set up,” Hayes said.
The Mississippi-native is a monster inside of the trenches. He stands at 6-feet-3-inches and weighs in at 280 pounds. He also knows how to use his size to plug up holes and run through blockers.
Alabama has only three commits in their 2020 recruiting class. I expect Hayes will be one of Alabama’s top targets in this class.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:44 pm to TideSaint
Quick Could Go Down as Most Influential Alabama football player of Saban Era.
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During the 2008 recruiting cycle, Julio Jones was a 5-Star recruit and was ranked as the No.1 wide receiver in the nation. His commitment to the Tide put coal in a train that has not stopped steamrolling down the tracks. The Tide’s 2008 class also included Heisman winner Mark Ingram, Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw, Dont’a Hightower, Brad Smelley, Terrance Cody, Robert Lester and Barrett Jones. This class was Saban’s first and finish at No. 1. The success this class had on the field left a prolonged impact on Alabama. Jones’ ability to be influential as the leader of that class and those teams made him an Alabama legend.
However, there’s now a new conductor in town.
One that is working effortlessly to make sure the Saban train stays on course. He is non-other than Alabama 5-Star offensive tackle commit, Pierce Quick. He told Touchdown Alabama Magazine exactly what his goal was.
“My goal is to build the best class Saban has ever had,” Quick said.
Quick committed to Alabama on April 22 and his decision has not wavered a bit. Instead, he has shut his recruitment down and put on his recruiting hat to ensure Alabama lands some of the top recruits in the 2019 recruiting class.
Fans get to witness Quick at work first hand on their Twitter feed as they scroll up and down. There might be an occasional “you know what to do” or “Go ahead and make that move bro” sprinkled here and there. What fans don’t get to see is Quick’s personal communication with recruits when he attends camps or via text messages. Those are the ones that have made Quick one of the top recruiters in the 2019 recruiting class.
Alabama now has a total of 16 commits in their 2019 recruiting class, which is currently ranked as the No.1 class in the nation. It would be preposterous to think Quick didn’t have anything to do with that.
He started in-house and made sure to lock down his teammates that have Alabama offers and with the help of his effort, Alabama has been able to grab verbal commitments from 2019 4-Star QB, Paul Tyson and 2020 4-Star WR, Dazalin Worsham. He has now turned his attention to Malachi Moore, who received an offer from Alabama on Monday and you could bet he is going to try to recruit his teammates, Eric Carter and Armoni Goodwin, who could both be well on their way to receiving offers from Alabama.
The Tide hopes he can help persuade 5-Star center, Clay Webb, to come to Tuscaloosa as well as any other recruit he comes in contact with.
Every recruiting class that Saban has brought in has at least won one national championship. This class hopes their fate is the same as their fearless leader, Pierce Quick, leads the way. If history serves them right, Quick could go down as the most influential player in Alabama football history. It should be no surprise if Quick is one-day coaching D1 football after his playing days are over.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:46 pm to TideSaint
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“My goal is to build the best class Saban has ever had,” Quick said.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:47 pm to TideSaint
'Dead period?' 'Quiet period?' Explaining the NCAA's football recruiting calendar
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From June 25 to July 24, college football recruiting will be in a "Dead Period," one of four classifications of the NCAA's recruiting calendar. Read on to learn more about these terms.
Let's try to clarify, beginning with the various NCAA "periods."
As you'll see, these rules are inefficient. They make it tough for college coaches to evaluate prospects. The following things are limited by the NCAA at various times of the year: prospects visiting a college campus (officially or unofficially), coaches visiting a prospect's school, coaches visiting a prospect's home, written communication, and electronic communication.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:47 pm to TideSaint
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Contact period
The most wide-open time. During this time, coaches can visit with prospects and families regardless of location. In-person contact is permitted once per week. Note that a coach cannot visit a school multiple times in one week if it has more than one prospect. Electronic and written communications are also permitted.
This is when tales of coaches praising Mama's cooking are born, during in-home visits.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:47 pm to TideSaint
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Evaluation period
Considerably more restrictive than the contact period in one key way: off campus face-to-face contact is not permitted. That means no home visits. Coaches can still visit a prospect's school. Visits to schools are ostensibly for the purpose of evaluation. Prospects can visit colleges and receive written and electronic communication. Many scholarship offers go out in this period.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:47 pm to TideSaint
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Quiet period
The quiet period tightens things a bit more, preventing any off-campus contact or viewing. Visits to the college's campus and written or electronic communications are still permitted.
Coaches often try to have prospects visit campus unofficially during this time in the spring and early summer, so that they can become familiar with campus.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:48 pm to TideSaint
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Dead period
The dead period is the most restrictive. No in-person contact is allowed, even if a prospect makes a visit to the college campus. Written and electronic communications are still permitted.
And yet, prospects still do decide to commit to schools in late December and early January, often because they've considered all their options, taken all their visits, and are ready to pull the trigger.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:49 pm to TideSaint
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The Crimson Tide’s 2019 recruiting class has 16 commits at the moment and the Tide’s coaching staff will work very hard to get DJ James to flip to Alabama and keep him inside of the state. Touchdown Alabama Magazine will keep you updated on his recruitment.
Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
Maybe Justin Smith should pump the breaks on some of these kinds of remarks he makes.
This post was edited on 6/28/18 at 1:52 pm
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:51 pm to TideSaint
The No. 3 running back in the 2019 recruiting class is the No. 4 prep baseball prospect in the same year
Perhaps this is why our interest in Ealy has waned.
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The No. 3 running back in the country (per the 247Sports Composite), Jerrion Ealy, is committed to Ole Miss in the 2019 recruiting class.
But his recent ranking by Perfect Game shows he’s in line for quite the payday when he graduates next summer, and may have a costly decision to make.
Ealy’s a really good football player, but he might be an even better baseball player. He’s committed for both baseball and football to Ole Miss. But there’s a high likelihood he chooses to play pro baseball instead of college anything.
As of now, Ealy has said all the right things and has been adamant about recruiting for football as if he will be on the field for [Matt] Luke next season, but if he goes in the first round of the MLB Draft next season, I find it hard to believe that he makes it to Oxford.
In Perfect Game’s most recent rankings of high school ball players, Ealy’s dropped to fourth. But the point still stands he might very well be drafted by some team right out of high school in the first round. If he’s taken even in the middle of the first round his slotted deal would include an immediate signing bonus of around $5 million.
He’s the latest really good football player to make this decision. Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray was drafted 12th in this year’s Major League Draft, but will play this season out at OU. Four-star WR Jordyn Adams signed with UNC last December, and then bounced when the Angels drafted him 17th. Baseball’s got the guaranteed money and much less risk that college football can’t compete with.
It remains to be seen where Ealy’s heart lies, but if he stays on this projection on the baseball field a pro club is going to dangle a lot of money to keep him out of Oxford.
Perhaps this is why our interest in Ealy has waned.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:52 pm to TideSaint
Devontae Dobbs committed to Michigan State.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 1:58 pm to TideSaint
No. 1 Recruit Kayvon Thibodeaux Large and in Charge of His Destiny (Looooong)
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Kayvon Thibodeaux couldn't help that he sprouted to 6'2" by age 13. He couldn't help that he charged through kids in his Pop Warner All-Star Game that year like they were hollow figurines. An ambulance was called when one boy couldn't get back up.
"He didn't mean to hurt anyone. He was just strong," says his mother, Shawnta Loice. "They couldn't stop him." Until referees did. They were so concerned for the other team's safety that they pulled Thibodeaux out and didn't allow him to re-enter the game.
Thibodeaux, known then as Diesel, weighed 10 pounds when he was born. The toddler would even crawl out of his crib, pour milk into his bottle, sip, then climb back into his crib and sleep, according to his uncle, Isaiah. Thibodeaux grew accustomed to cruel comments as he got older: He's too big! He's old! Just look at him! Parents demanded he provide his birth certificate. Kids would exclude him on the playground. He wasn't a troublemaker, but teachers assumed he was the culprit if something happened in class.
He has a red skateboard signed by Tony Hawk, but never learned how to use it because he thought he was too big to ride.
What made him an outcast as a middle-schooler now has him the nation's No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2019, according to 247Sports. In October, the 6'5", 235-pound senior defensive end is expected to choose between Alabama, USC, Florida State, Oregon and LSU. "His upside is tremendous," says Charles Collins, his coach at Oaks Christian School in Westlake, California. He racked up 20 sacks and 99 tackles in 2017, including 70 solos and 28 tackles for loss to guide his team to a CIF Southern Section Division 2 crown.
Given Thibodeaux's speed, power and athleticism, some claim he's a once-in-a-millennium talent. Those closer to him are a little more measured with their analysis but still see his immense potential. "It'll be another 20 years until another Kayvon comes around," says Antonio Patterson, his mentor and former youth coach. "His intensity is like no other. He never takes plays off."
Yet in his daily life, he is still treated as the odd man out. He has grown accustomed to the stares and whispers that follow him and cast him as a threatening figure. "I walk into a room, and people are automatically intimidated by me," Thibodeaux says.
He transferred to Oaks Christian from Dorsey High his sophomore year for better academic opportunities. But the posh, predominantly white school was unlike anything he had experienced.
"He's like, 'I'm a big kid. I'm a big, black kid in a really white neighborhood,'" says Jordan Jones, a close friend at Oaks. "'I have spiky hair. I'm 6'5", but I'm not some kind of monster. I'm not some crazy guy. I hit people on the football field, but I'm literally just a normal person.'"
While people focus on his size, they miss his depth. He has a 3.8 GPA and is a bookworm who aspires to become a lawyer after the NFL. His brain moves as quickly as his first step. One minute he's discussing the politics of John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me, and the other he's reciting lines from J. Cole's "Love Yourz." He's a trash talker on the field and a sweetheart off it. A mama's boy, a class clown and a member of his school's chess club.
He rarely watches the NFL or college football. He couldn't tell you what channel ESPN is. He jokes he might do the worm on draft day should Commissioner Roger Goodell call his name. He dreams of transforming the South Central neighborhood he grew up in and now lives apart from.
"But everywhere I go, people just want to talk about how big I am," says Thibodeaux, who will compete in the Nike Opening Finals from June 30 to July 3.
It's a painful thing, when everyone thinks they know who you are but few really see you.
This post was edited on 6/28/18 at 1:59 pm
Posted on 6/28/18 at 2:01 pm to TideSaint
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"KT!!!" A blonde-haired girl shouts his name, sticking her head out of a shiny, white car one afternoon in early June in the middle of Oaks' campus. "I was going down the escalator and I saw you and I screamed your name. I was like, 'I am way too loud!'"
He smiles, sitting on a nearby bench. "Ah, you should have screamed it 10 times, I would have looked. I promise. All right."
"You guys have practice?" she asks.
"Yeah. Hit me up on Instagram, though; I'm doing an interview," he says, polite yet to the point and slightly big-time (he does have over 11,000 followers). She persists: "Don't we have each other on Snapchat?"
He shakes his head as she drives off into Oaks Christian's parking lot, one filled with BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. He grew up in South Central L.A., watching people float in and out of jail. He had avoided the gangs that hugged every corner. But his classmates in Westlake Village? They fly to places like Italy just because.
"I've never been the cool guy," Thibodeaux says. "It's fun how the tables have turned. … Now people are calling me like, 'KT, what we doing?'"
Attention chases him as the nation's top prospect, but he is still stereotyped. Thibodeaux says he's been told that he doesn't look like a 4.0 student or a chess player, though he has been an honor-roll student all his life. He was class president in fifth grade. Even before he could read, he'd scan the newspaper, and his little thumbs would be covered in ink from traveling along the pages.
When walking into a store recently near school, he was asked what sport he plays, despite wearing an Oaks Christian polo and not a football polo. He feels compelled to say something intellectual whenever he speaks, anticipating the dumb-jock assumptions people may have of him.
He's realized he can't control what people assume about him. As much as that bothers him, he says he refuses to shrink for others.
"I won't. A lot of dudes like to hush up. I have a friend who's very loud, but he lets people change who he is because he's intimidated of what they're going to think or going to say," he says. "For me? I will be taking a knee every game in high school this season."
"My school, they frown upon it. They don't want us doing it," says Thibodeaux, who says that he probably won't be taking a knee to call attention to racial inequality and police brutality during the national anthem in college.
But right now?
"Quite frankly, [my school] can't stop me from doing it. I won't be stopped. I won't let them tell me that I can't express my rights because I go on the field and I risk my life every time I go. Just to sell a ticket," he says. "College? NFL? They make millions. But I go to sell tickets. For me, I just want to show that nothing will change who I am."
That'll ruffle a few feathers.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 2:03 pm to TideSaint
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Thibodeaux used to drive about 80 miles a day. His 1995 Ford Mustang, that he painted black, would chug along, cackling like a grandfather's bad cough.
On those long treks, from South Central to Westlake Village during his sophomore year, he'd think about who he was and who he wanted to be—who he was meeting and who he was leaving behind.
He'd think about the people back in South Central that say he has changed, that treat him like he already made it, since every BCS coach is on his tail. But they don't understand Thibodeaux is swimming through the in-between—shaky territory where he is so close to his dream he could grab it and so far from it that he fears it could disappear.
"People think I'm this superstar that I'm not," Thibodeaux says. "Nobody's writing me a check. I'm not living in a beach house. I'm regular old me."
Now that he and his mother have moved to Woodland Hills, a middle-class suburb in the San Fernando Valley, his commute to school is 40 miles. Thibodeaux has a white 2016 Kia Soul now, too, joking that his biggest burden in life is filling up his tank on Thursdays: "Four dollars a gallon, man! Come on!"
But there are burdens others don't see.
"I cry. I cry a lot," Thibodeaux says. His friend was shot 13 times in L.A. after being mistaken for somebody else. The boy was unable to finish high school, unable to live the life he deserved, unable to ascend in the way Thibodeaux has a chance to.
This is why Thibodeaux goes the extra mile to reach his goals. He'll often finish his first workout by 6 a.m. and will also work out before practice. "If our workouts were an hour, he'd stay for two more hours after, too," says Justin Patterson, his best friend. Sometimes he can hear his former coaches telling him: Don't be big for nothin'. He jokes that he cannot stomach ending up as the 6'5" guy who didn't make it in football. So he grinds and takes risks on the field.
"He wills things to happen," says Greg Townsend, Oaks Christian's defensive line coach, a 13-year NFL vet. "He can think of things that he's probably capable of doing, and he will try them. Usually pros take those kind of chances on their bodies, but he's doing it from an early age."
Football needs Thibodeaux, but he does not need football. When Thibodeaux talks, it's almost as if he has a seat in the clouds and watches the city down below, brainstorming how to create new roads not just for himself but also those around him. "He was always aware of what was going on around him," says his father, Angelo Thibodeaux. "I think that helps him make decisions, like, 'Hey, I don't want this life right here. I want more.'"
When he talks about his goals, this 17-year-old sounds like a 10-year NFL vet, someone of this moment and beyond it viewing his life as a movie script he's already written, lines just waiting to be delivered. He aspires to build a free, private school in South Central and be a mentor for young, inner-city kids.
"There's a lot of kids that say they came from nothing and made it. Every rapper came from nothing. Every athlete came from nothing," he says. "But how many came from nothing and became a Fortune 500 [CEO]? How many people own businesses? How many people are able to say he helped not just himself, but this whole community, turn from nothing to something?"
He wants to change the "scams and gimmicks" of recruiting, like how inner-city kids are expected to fork over $60 for a camp when their parents can barely make ends meet.
He sees through college recruiting, too, as coaches tell him he is great or that their program has won this many championships and had that many trophy winners. He is certain that nobody coming into his life at this point is genuine just to be genuine. "[College coaches] throw the lies, they throw all their resume, all this stuff that doesn't matter," he says.
"I'm not insecure about any of my abilities. There's not anybody that I'm scared to compete with," he says. "So if a coach tells me we want you to commit? Listen, I do it on my own time. Because now you're waiting on me. … Right now, I'm in a position where I'm calling the shots, I'm in control of my destiny."
He pauses. "This is probably the only time that I'll really be in control of where I go or what happens next."
Posted on 6/28/18 at 2:12 pm to TideSaint
Teams with the most commits at The Opening Finals
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The Opening Finals will kick off this weekend in a new location — Frisco, Texas — but that doesn’t change the fact this is the biggest recruiting event of the summer.
Over 100 of the nation’s top prospects will flock to Texas for a multi-day camp/competition that will pit the best versus the best in the 2019 recruiting class. The Opening is a proving ground for top talent, and it’s an opportunity for players to rise rapidly in the 247Sports rankings.
What else is the event? A prime recruiting ground.
No, coaches aren’t allowed on hand. But recruits from around the country will be spending time together and building friendships. Those bonds often translate by the time National Signing Day rolls around. Ask most coaches and they’d tell you the best recruiters are the commits themselves.
With that in mind, which programs have the most commits at the Opening? We’ll break that down below. Will these schools be on top come NSD? Maybe. But fact is they’re ahead of the curve in June, which is more important than ever with the accelerated recruiting calendar that comes with the Early Signing Period.
Note that this is a list of commits, not targets. So while a program might have a sizeable lead for a recruit or even a silent commitment, they will not be included on this list.
Posted on 6/28/18 at 2:13 pm to TideSaint
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ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (6)
Commits: Pierce Quick, Christian Williams, Shane Lee, Kevin Harris, DeMarcco Hellams, Taulia Tagovailoa
Class Ranking: No. 1
No surprise here, Alabama’s top-ranked class is well-represented at the Opening. The most notable name is likely Tagovailoa, the brother of current Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The younger Tagovailoa, an Elite 11 finalist, ranks as the nation’s No. 149 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite.
The rest of Alabama’s player reps are either defenders or lineman. Five-star tackle Pierce Quick will be in attendance, as will five other Crimson Tide commits that rank among the nation’s top 101 prospects. Pay special attention to Harris. The linebacker/defensive end hybrid is on five-star watch according to 247Sports Director of Scouting Barton Simmons.
All of the Tide's representatives will compete on Team Hype. Included on that roster is one of Alabama's top targets, Trey Sanders, who is a former Tide commit. But most of the program's other top targets will be on other teams. Expect these six to talk with players like Nakobe Dean, Clay Webb and Ishmael Sopsher.
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