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Of the 20 players Alabama signed in its 2018 recruiting class, five of the high school prospects are already on campus and taking classes as early enrollees.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Of the 20 players Alabama signed in its 2018 recruiting class, five of the high school prospects are already on campus and taking classes as early enrollees.
But that number is down, exponentially, from the Crimson Tideās 2017 class, which featured an unprecedented 16 midyear enrollees. Is there a reason for the significant drop-off?
According to head coach Nick Saban, not really.
āSixteen was probably a little bit of an anomaly,ā Saban said Wednesday. āMost of the time weāve had between seven and nine, has been a pretty average for midyear enrollees. But we donāt make a judgement or a decision on a player based on whether heās a midyear enrollee or not. You recruit the guys you feel meet the criteria for what you want in positions. Sometimes those guys are mid-year guys, sometimes theyāre not. Last year there were a lot of guys that we were recruiting that were. This year not as many.
āGuyās gotta have all the academic qualifications when heās a midyear guy. There are some schools that wonāt even allow guys to graduate at midyear, aight so this is not something that we say, āThatās OK because this guy is a midyear guy, we want to recruit him, so we can get more midyear guys.ā That's not something that we really do. Itās a circumstance that we donāt really totally control. We donāt really talk guys into being midyear guys.
āThere are advantages if guys want to do it in terms of their college development, because theyāre going to be here in a time where they have more time to adjust socially, academically as well as to learn what to do in a football standpoint, because they can go through spring practice and an offseason program and all that. So, I donāt know how to answer that question because its not part of the evaluation process.ā
Alabamaās early enrollees are defensive end Stephon Wynn, cornerback Saivion Smith, all purpose back Slade Bolden, punter Skyler DeLong and Jarez Parks, a Top100 defensive end in the 2017 recruiting cycle that elected to grayshirt instead of sign elsewhere.
Smith and Parks practiced with the Crimson Tide during its preparation for the College Football Playoff, while the remaining trio started classes at Alabama after the national title game. Smith, a former LSU defensive back that transferred from Baton Rouge and spent last season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, brings valuable experience to Tuscaloosa.
āI think anytime you get a guy thatās played in major college football games before, probably knows a little more about what it takes, probably has a little more maturity, I think thatās always probably a positive for a guy in terms of his readiness to come in and play,ā Saban said during the early signing period. āWeāre excited heās here and excited to have the opportunity to work with him even in this time, which is a little more difficult now that weāre working on an opponent, but heās still out there getting reps and weāre still trying to coach him and teach him what he needs to know to make a contribution.ā
The early signees werenāt made available for interviews this year because of the early signing period, but Saban described Wynn as āa really good playerā and āa big power guyā as he stated his desire to add another defensive lineman before the 2018 season.
Conversely, Saban said Alabama addressed a lot of its needs in its 20-player class, and many of the midyear enrollees helped with that. Smith was one of five defensive backs that signed with the Tide either in December or earlier this week, filling a major need for potential starters as well as depth providers with a total of six members of the secondary leaving UA.
The head coach was also sure to mention the need for a punter with 4-year starter JK Scottout of eligibility. DeLong, the nationās No. 4 punter per the 247Sports Composite, checks that box.
At last monthās Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., Scott provided some high praise for his predecessor.
āSkylerās a very talented punter,ā Scott said. āIāve only seen him punt in person actually one time, but what I saw, heās a very talented kid and he should have a good career there. Iām going to actually be hanging around him a little bit this spring because Iāll be in Tuscaloosa, and heās already there.ā
Much like the rest of their classmates, the five early enrollees fill needs for Alabama, and all five will start competing for spots on the field next month when spring practice begins for the Tide.
Are Alabama Crimson Tide Football's 2018 early enrollee numbers down? Nick Saban explains
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Of the 20 players Alabama signed in its 2018 recruiting class, five of the high school prospects are already on campus and taking classes as early enrollees.
But that number is down, exponentially, from the Crimson Tideās 2017 class, which featured an unprecedented 16 midyear enrollees. Is there a reason for the significant drop-off?
According to head coach Nick Saban, not really.
āSixteen was probably a little bit of an anomaly,ā Saban said Wednesday. āMost of the time weāve had between seven and nine, has been a pretty average for midyear enrollees. But we donāt make a judgement or a decision on a player based on whether heās a midyear enrollee or not. You recruit the guys you feel meet the criteria for what you want in positions. Sometimes those guys are mid-year guys, sometimes theyāre not. Last year there were a lot of guys that we were recruiting that were. This year not as many.
āGuyās gotta have all the academic qualifications when heās a midyear guy. There are some schools that wonāt even allow guys to graduate at midyear, aight so this is not something that we say, āThatās OK because this guy is a midyear guy, we want to recruit him, so we can get more midyear guys.ā That's not something that we really do. Itās a circumstance that we donāt really totally control. We donāt really talk guys into being midyear guys.
āThere are advantages if guys want to do it in terms of their college development, because theyāre going to be here in a time where they have more time to adjust socially, academically as well as to learn what to do in a football standpoint, because they can go through spring practice and an offseason program and all that. So, I donāt know how to answer that question because its not part of the evaluation process.ā
Alabamaās early enrollees are defensive end Stephon Wynn, cornerback Saivion Smith, all purpose back Slade Bolden, punter Skyler DeLong and Jarez Parks, a Top100 defensive end in the 2017 recruiting cycle that elected to grayshirt instead of sign elsewhere.
Smith and Parks practiced with the Crimson Tide during its preparation for the College Football Playoff, while the remaining trio started classes at Alabama after the national title game. Smith, a former LSU defensive back that transferred from Baton Rouge and spent last season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, brings valuable experience to Tuscaloosa.
āI think anytime you get a guy thatās played in major college football games before, probably knows a little more about what it takes, probably has a little more maturity, I think thatās always probably a positive for a guy in terms of his readiness to come in and play,ā Saban said during the early signing period. āWeāre excited heās here and excited to have the opportunity to work with him even in this time, which is a little more difficult now that weāre working on an opponent, but heās still out there getting reps and weāre still trying to coach him and teach him what he needs to know to make a contribution.ā
The early signees werenāt made available for interviews this year because of the early signing period, but Saban described Wynn as āa really good playerā and āa big power guyā as he stated his desire to add another defensive lineman before the 2018 season.
Conversely, Saban said Alabama addressed a lot of its needs in its 20-player class, and many of the midyear enrollees helped with that. Smith was one of five defensive backs that signed with the Tide either in December or earlier this week, filling a major need for potential starters as well as depth providers with a total of six members of the secondary leaving UA.
The head coach was also sure to mention the need for a punter with 4-year starter JK Scottout of eligibility. DeLong, the nationās No. 4 punter per the 247Sports Composite, checks that box.
At last monthās Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., Scott provided some high praise for his predecessor.
āSkylerās a very talented punter,ā Scott said. āIāve only seen him punt in person actually one time, but what I saw, heās a very talented kid and he should have a good career there. Iām going to actually be hanging around him a little bit this spring because Iāll be in Tuscaloosa, and heās already there.ā
Much like the rest of their classmates, the five early enrollees fill needs for Alabama, and all five will start competing for spots on the field next month when spring practice begins for the Tide.
