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

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This would have been interesting if you listed Antonio Conner instead of Bell

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Have you watched Bell's film? There is a reason he's a 5* and Connor is a 4*. Both of them are ballers but Bell > Connor IMO

Laremy Tunsil OR Robert Nkemdiche
Dee Liner OR Montravious Adams
Demarcus Walker OR Tim Williams
Derrick Henry OR Matthew Thomas
Brendan Langley OR Tray Matthews
Josh McNeil OR Alvin Kamara
Robert Foster OR Vonn Bell

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This was a MASSIVE ADDITION, could end a 5 star on 247

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That would be AWESOME .... to go along with potentially 6-7 others for this year.

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Have you watched Bell's film? There is a reason he's a 5* and Connor is a 4*. Both of them are ballers but Bell > Connor IMO

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Yeah I've watched his film. I've also watched Antonio Conner play complete games, in person, and he is far and away a better player than Bell. Conner was the best player, as a sophomore, on the the team that won the high school national championship. That team had 7-8 seniors on it that signed with Division 1 schools, including Nicholas Brassell who was a top 40 prospect.

Conner is extremely underrated by 24/7, even though he is their #3 safety, Bell is #2.

Scout has him as a 5 star safety (#2) and they have him ranked above Bell (#3).

Rivals has Conner as the #5 safety and Bell as the #13 safety.

ESPN has Conner as the #2 safety and Bell as the #5 safety.

MaxPreps has Conner as the #24 player overall in the country. Bell isn't even in their Top 100.

So, basically: Conner > Bell

Fox Sports Next has a quick breakdown on the newest recruit to join the Alabama football team, Dulles defensive back Maurice Smith from Sugar Land, Texas. He should be a nice addition to the Tide program. Why you ask? Check out this premium feature and find out…

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Maurice Smith
Cornerback (Fox Sports Next: No. 6 CB nationally)
6-1, 175
Sugar Land (TX) Dulles HS
Committed to Alabama
Chosen over Texas, LSU, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Arkansas

Run Down: Many factors went into this decision, but one thing that Smith was able to do was to check out all of his options. His family allowed him to travel across the country and see a number of programs for unofficial visits and junior days. Not long after the US Army All-American Combine, Smith’s recruitment took off and programs were offering him by the day, in batches. In the end he had 30-plus. Looking back at it all, there were a few offers that caught his attention a little more than the others. LSU, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and of course Alabama were the schools on the list, and ultimately made the final cut. All of the schools saw him on campus, but a trip to Tuscaloosa, AL for the football camp was eye-opening and Smith got to see firsthand how the coaches interact with him and their various coaching styles. That was the deciding factor and Smith said that he knew that Alabama was where he belonged.

What this means for Alabama: One of the best coach and recruiters in the country, Nick Saban has always been able to pull in top talent to play for his team. With Smith, this fit is nearly perfect. Smith has an aggressive nature to his game which fits like a glove in the way that Alabama plays ball on defense. On top of that, this is just one Texan headed that way, which will continue to feed that pipeline that Saban and the Tide coaching staff have had for a few years. Plus, the area from which Smith hails is deep in talent as the Sugar Land/Missouri City/Fresno (Greater Southwest Houston) area has over 10 high schools, all of which have a number of Division I players on the rosters. Annually recruiting this area, along with landing a number of key players, will produce consistent positive results.

By the Numbers: 63 tackles, 3 INTs. Offensive – 13 TDs.

In Smith’s Words: “I like systems and processes that I can focus on the things I need to. I knew this would be one of the biggest decisions in my life, and at 16 it seemed almost too big, and a lot of pressure. But someone told me that I would know when it was right. It just felt right, with no pressure, or expectation, it is just right for me. Roll Tide.”

Scout’s Take on Smith: He (Smith) is what a college coach wants in a defensive back: strong upper body, good feet and hips and great speed out of the back pedal. His physical style of play at the line is what separates him from the top secondary players in the country. As seen on the video, he has good hands and can break away from a defense with one cut as an offensive threat.

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Conner is better than Bell. I like both, but Conner is better

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I don't think you can go wrong with either.

With Cravens off the board (not that we were getting him from USCw).... they're the top 2 safeties on our board i believe

The University of Alabama concluded their first summer camp session on Wednesday with several prospects from across the country competing or visiting Tuscaloosa. Andrew Bone spotlights the highlights from the first camp of the summer season.

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Laremy Tunsil, five-star and the nation's top offensive lineman from Columbia High School in Lake City, Fla., spent a few days in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is among Tunsil’s top five schools which also includes Florida, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma.

"When you go to some schools, one or two things usually stand out to you, but at Alabama, everything stood out to me," Tunsil reported to FoxSportsNext. "I really liked the coaches, all the tradition they have there, and the way the tutors help the players there. It was a little different there because everything stood out to me."

Alvin Kamara, four-star running back from Norcross High School in Ga., is one of the top overall athletes in the country. Alabama has been on his short list for several months. He lists the Tide and UGA as the top two schools with a decision expected by the end of the summer.

Three prospects from the state of Georgia picked up offers which included Shaun McGee, linebacker from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Antonio Riles, defensive end from Archer High School in Lawrenceville, and Greg Taboada, tight end from Marist School in Atlanta.

McGee was arguably the most impressive performer of the new offered players. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound prospect worked at inside linebacker and drew a lot of praise from other campers. He named Alabama the favorite after the trip, and might jump on the Tide’s commitment board.

Mike Williams, four-star wide receiver from Lake Marion High School in Holly Hill, S.C. collected an offer this week along with James Clark, linebacker from Sebastian River High School in Fla.

The Tide coaching staff will likely make a decision this week as to which quarterback will receive the “official” offer after several competed in camp this week.

The frontrunner heading into camp was Parker McLeod, three-star from Walton High School in Marietta, Ga. McLeod didn’t do anything to hurt his stock at camp and one of the top overall performers.

Brendan Langley, four-star cornerback from Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., camped at Alabama on Monday. He made it clear Alabama is the frontrunner for his signature and a commitment could happen at anytime. Tennessee and South Carolina are also on his short list. UGA is pushing to get back on the list.

The Tide commitments camping included Reuben Foster, five-star linebacker from Auburn High School, O.J. Howard, National 100 tight end from Autauga Academy in Prattville, Ardarius Stewart, National 100 wide receiver from Fultondale High School in Birmingham, Altee Tenpenny, National 100 running back from North Little Rock High School, Ark., Cooper Bateman, National 100 quarterback from Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tyren Jones, four-star running back from Walton High School in Marietta, Ga., Darius Paige, three-star defensive tackle from Washington High School in Pensacola, Fla., and Deon Johnson, three-star wide receiver from Spanish Fort High School.

Howard said he does not expect to take any other visits this summer. Tenpenny told Nick Saban he still plans to take visits, but remains committed to the Tide. Stewart got a lot of work in at wide receiver. He plays quarterback for his high school team. It appears he will start his career in Tuscaloosa at slot receiver.

Jaevon Walton, linebacker from Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Academy, impressed several coaches. Walton’s father, John Copeland, was an All-American defensive end for the Tide. Walton was a starter for Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, La., before transferring this spring to live with his father. The 6-foot, 225-pound prospect worked out at linebacker and running back. He’ll rank as one of the top recruits in the state for the class of 2014.

Kevin Crosby, athlete from Bamberg Ehrhardt High School in S.C., was one of the top overall 2014 prospects at camp. Crosby has 35 offers including Alabama. It's always impressive when players with a lot of offers are still eager to compete. Crosby camped in Tuscaloosa for four days. He worked on the defensive and offensive side of the ball.

Shaun Hamilton, linebacker from Carver High School in Montgomery, has several offers including Auburn, Miami, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Clemson. Alabama was on the outside looking in for the elite prospect, but the Tide is on his list of favorites even though Alabama has yet to offer. He might land an offer before the end of the summer.

Two extremely talented underclassmen from Texas competed in the Tide’s camp which included Tony Brown, 2014 safety from Ozen High School in Beaumont and Rodney Anderson, 2015 running back from Katy High School.

Brown picked up an offer from Alabama. He has added several recent offers including LSU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Nebraska. Brown spent four days in Tuscaloosa. His father joined him this week, and he will return in the future with his mom.
Anderson will enter his sophomore season this fall. The coaching staff will continue to watch his development. He will likely receive an early offer from Alabama along with several other schools throughout the country.

Derrick Henry, five-star running back from Yulee High School in Fla., begins his unofficial visit on Friday in Tuscaloosa. A final decision is possible for the UGA commitment shortly after his weekend visit.

The University of Alabama will host an OL/DL camp next weekend. This is the reason a lot of top linemen were not at the camp this week.

The Tide’s offensive line commitments will participate featuring Grant Hill, four-star from Huntsville High School, Bradley Bozeman, three-star guard from Handley High School in Roanoke, and Andy Dodd, three-star guard from Pepperell High School in Lindale, Ga.

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On top of that, this is just one Texan headed that way, which will continue to feed that pipeline that Saban and the Tide coaching staff have had for a few years. Plus, the area from which Smith hails is deep in talent as the Sugar Land/Missouri City/Fresno (Greater Southwest Houston) area has over 10 high schools, all of which have a number of Division I players on the rosters. Annually recruiting this area, along with landing a number of key players, will produce consistent positive results

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Me likey

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Someone with ESPN access Greg Ostendorf just posted a notebook. Can we haz please?

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I dont see it.. shoot me the link and ill post

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That's a strong arse family statement right there. Well done, Smith family.

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This was exactly what I was going to say. That is one of the most impressive statements I've ever seen released regarding a player's committment to a university.