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Alabama head football coach Nick Saban stopped off in Duncanville, Texas on Monday evening to visit with newly-offered cornerback
Ennis Rakestraw. “It was amazing,” Rakestraw said of hosting Saban and Alabama assistant Jeff Banks. “It was unbelievable.”
“He was just telling me how he liked how I played,” Rakestraw said of his hour-long conversation with Saban. “He likes that I play with a lot of physicality, how everybody in the DFW was speaking highly of me, expectations, the academic environment, the football program, it was just a nice little vibe.”
Rakestraw is one of the hottest names on the recruiting circuit since the Early Signing Period, with a number of Power Five programs working to add him to their class on National Signing Day. The Tide joined the mix early on in January.
Last weekend Rakestraw took an official visit to Missouri. Next weekend (Jan. 31-Feb 2) he’ll be at Georgia for his final trip. That leaves him with a potential mid-week visit. “I think I’m going with Texas,” Rakestraw said of his fifth and final visit, adding no date is set just yet.
This weekend Rakestraw, joined by his mom and stepfather, will make his way out to Tuscaloosa for an official visit. “Just getting around the whole coaching staff and the players,” he said of what he’s looking forward to when he arrives on Friday.
As mentioned above, there’s been no shortage of interest in recent weeks. Later this week alone, Rakestraw is hosting Kansas, Texas, Georgia, and Ole Miss on in-home visits. The Tide staff has been one of the most consistent in terms of communication. “I talk to Coach Banks a lot,” Rakestraw said. “Coach (Karl) Scott, he talked to me today as well.”
What’s different about Alabama’s recruiting pitch compared to the other programs coming after the rising DB? “It’s coming from the headman himself, Coach Saban,” Rakestraw said. “He’s basically telling me I have NFL talent and that I’m a good fit. It’s pretty cool.”
When the Tide offered, Rakestraw said the program was his dream school growing up and that UA had the edge in his recruitment, adding he could opt to make a commitment at any point, not necessarily wait until National Signing Day.