re: 2013 Alabama Football Recruiting Thread - DH Decommited from UGA

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Longtime Alabama linebacker commit Reuben Foster was back in Tuscaloosa this past weekend and for the first time since his transfer to Auburn High School . The 6-foot-1, 246-pound five-star prospect’s number of visits to Alabama is in the double digits, so while he didn’t see or hear anything new, the visit allowed him the chance to grow even more comfortable at Bama.
“It was the same old, same old. The coaches really don’t need to tell me that much more because I already know what they expect,” said Foster. “They’ll be like, ‘We don’t need to tell you what we want or need. You know the deal and we want you.’ They just let me go in and check out the facilities and have fun until I get there. They know what to expect from me by now.”
Foster was able to hang out with several current Crimson Tide players and has reached the high level of comfort to where he already feels a part of the team.
“The relationship I have with the football players is great. They treat me like I’m one of them- and I am one of them. I’m younger, but they treat me like I’m already on the team. They treat me like a little brother. Nico (Johnson), Trey Depriest, Brent (Calloway), Lamichael Fanning, all of them. I love them all. O.J. (Howard) was there, too.”
The blue-chipper is still adjusting to the transfer, but sees the experience as a positive.
“I’m going to get used to it no matter what and I’m going to try my best, too. It just feels weird that people I grew up with aren’t there anymore. It’s just a little weird meeting new friends, trying on the new clothes, and having the coaches pick them out. It’s good though and it’s okay because when I get to college, it’s going to be the same way.”
Despite transferring less than one hour away, Foster has had to adjust to life in a new time zone, which is fine by him.
“The extra hour is great. I’m from Alabama (originally) and moved to Georgia and noticed that hour makes a difference back then. So when I go over to Georgia now and come back to Alabama, that extra hour is great. It gets dark earlier in Alabama, but that’s okay.”
Several programs, including Alabama, have already stopped by AHS this spring to check on Foster and his teammates. Any other visits appear to be on hold for Yellowhammer State’s top prospect with spring practice and finishing the school year being his most pressing priorities.
“We go on the field tomorrow (Thursday). Ole Miss, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, and some more coaches that I can’t remember have been by so far. There’s been a lot of them. I don’t have any other plans. I’m just trying to focus on my school and then go to some colleges this summer.”
Foster has a franchise grade of 102 from 247Sports and is ranked as the no. 2 class of 2013 prospect in the nation. He recently earned an invitation to Nike’s The Opening which will be held at Nike’s headquarters in Oregon this summer.

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Alabama has offered him at like three different positions

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Hurd surprised by early offers
Ryan Callahan
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — Coming off an impressive sophomore season, Jalen Hurd was optimistic that he would start to receive scholarship offers from college football programs in the not-too-distant future.
He just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
The sophomore all-purpose back from Beech High School in suburban Nashville already has racked up a half-dozen verbal offers from major-conference programs, the latest coming from Nebraska on Tuesday and reigning national champion Alabama on Wednesday.
Hurd, who’s expected to be one of the state’s top prospects in the 2014 class, even learned Wednesday from Beech coach Anthony Crabtree that he received an offer from Tennessee a few weeks ago.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Hurd — who, because of miscommunication with Crabtree, previously was under the impression that the Vols had yet to make an offer — also holds offers from Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Cincinnati.
“I really wasn’t expecting much until next year,” he said, “but this is a shock.”
His offer from Alabama didn’t come by surprise — the Crimson Tide had expressed Tuesday their intent to offer — but he said that didn’t take away from the excitement of picking up the offer during a phone conversation with coach Nick Saban.
“Man, a national championship-winning team — amazing. I can’t even describe the feeling I’m feeling right now,” Hurd said Wednesday.
“Hearing Nick Saban on the phone, it’s crazy.”
Although it’s early in the recruiting process, Hurd said Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt “definitely” stand out among the teams that have extended offers to him.
“The main thing, SEC,” he said, explaining his interest in the Crimson Tide, Vols and Commodores. “I mean, it’s kind of close to home — Vanderbilt is really close to home — but schools that are close to home. You can get away, but you’re still there if you really need to come home. That’s always good.”
Hurd, who visited Tennessee on April 6 to attend the Vols’ first spring scrimmage, said he naturally likes each of the in-state schools pursuing him.
“I’ve always been a really big Tennessee fan, ever since I was little,” he said. “And Vanderbilt, great academic program. You’re just set for life, even if football doesn’t work out, so that’s really good.”
He also was impressed with Alabama after attending the Crimson Tide’s spring-ending A-Day game.
“They have a practice field that can make it rain,” Hurd said. “That is insane. Anything with facilities like that, you’ve got my interest.”
While Hurd wasn’t aware of his Tennessee offer until Wednesday, he said his offers from Alabama and Nebraska “have been the most exciting so far” among his six verbal offers.
“Nick Saban — that’s all you’ve got to say, really — and Nebraska, I know that Nebraska is notorious for big running backs, and I’m really excited because I’d like to play running back,” Hurd said. “They sent me a letter, and I was always like, ‘Oh, if they offered me, that would be real exciting because they like big running backs.’ Now, they finally offered me.
“But all the other colleges are great schools, and I’m still excited about them, too.”
That certainly applies to Tennessee.
“Great facilities, I can tell you that,” Hurd said, explaining the highlight of his recent visit to Knoxville. “They’re working their way up to the top.”
But he said he knows it won’t be easy for him to weigh his options and ultimately decide between Tennessee, the team he has grown up watching, and other major programs such as Alabama.
“It’s really hard,” Hurd said. “It’s just going to be determined by what I’m feeling at the time and what’s best for me.”
The positions he’s recruited to play may play a significant role in determining that.
Hurd, who rushed for 1,606 yards and 23 touchdowns as a sophomore and added 31 catches for 437 yards and three touchdowns, said several of the teams that have extended offers to him have expressed a willingness — and, in a few cases, a desire — to use him at running back, where he’s hoping to play at the next level.
At least one or two schools have mentioned playing him at receiver, while at least one team has yet to clearly define his projected spot.
“Mississippi State, I talked to the wide receiver coach, so they’re mostly focused on wide receiver,” he said. “Cincinnati, running back. UT, they’re telling me running back. I’m not too sure where they want me to play, but they’re telling me running back.
“Vanderbilt, running back. Vanderbilt has expressed a lot of interest in me at running back. And Alabama, I just got off the phone with them. They were saying I have good hands.”
Added Crabtree: “(Saban) said they were going to recruit him as an athlete at Alabama.”
Nebraska defensive backs coach Terry Joseph — who left Tennessee earlier this year to join the Huskers — stopped at Beech on Tuesday and told Crabtree that Nebraska coach Bo Pelini may be willing to play Hurd at any of several different positions.
“When Coach Joseph was here (Tuesday), I said, ‘Well, where do y’all think Jalen fits for you?’” Crabtree said.
“So he pulls out his iPad and says, ‘Here, let me read you Coach Pelini’s notes.’ So he says, ‘After watching film, the kid’s big. He can run, has good skills. He can play anywhere he wants to play for us.’”
Although Hurd made it clear he would prefer to be a running back at the next level, he said he’s also “definitely open” to teams recruiting him as an athlete.
Still, he said he “definitely” wants to play on offense.
“I played defense when I was little, but I didn’t really play much defense lately,” Hurd said. “Offense is definitely going to be a preference.”
Location may be a bit of a consideration for him, too, but he said he’s open to attending a school outside the Southeast.
“I went to USC when I was younger, and I’ve really been kind of a USC fan since I was little because my dad lived out there,” Hurd said. “It’s nice to have (SEC offers). But if I had a good opportunity (elsewhere), then I’d definitely take it.”
Hurd said he’s likely to go on a handful of visits this summer, but a trip to Florida to attend one of the Gators’ camps and another visit to Alabama are the only ones he already has decided to take.
He said he “probably will” visit Tennessee and Vanderbilt again in the coming months, too.
“I probably will, just because they’re very close to home,” Hurd said. “UT, I went to a camp last year, when I was a freshman, so I’m not sure if I’m going to go up to their camps this year. But I’m definitely going to visit.
“I know for sure I’m going to Florida, and Alabama, I’m definitely going to go to their camp or visit — one of the two.”
While he said he’s also “not too sure” where he might try to attend games later this year, he said there's at least one SEC showdown he’s hoping to see.
“I’m definitely going to go to the Alabama-UT game,” Hurd said.
Hurd said he’s not looking to decide on a school any time soon, but he wasn’t willing to completely rule out the possibility of making an early commitment if he’s able to identify an ideal fit for him.
“I’m definitely going to wait it out,” he said. “But if I have a strong decision on where i want to go, I might do it after my junior year.”

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Are you talking about Poggi?

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