| FTBL Countdown to Signing Day ~ 2016

[TerryP]

Alabama's 2016 Signing Class
* Enrolled
The following links are to the 247 Composite Ranking Profiles

1. Raekwon Davis, Defensive Tackle
2. Kendell Jones, Defensive Tackle
3. Quinnen Williams, Defensive Tackle
4. Charles Baldwin, Offensive Tackle *
5. Deonte Brown, Offensive Guard
6. Chris Owens, Offensive Guard *
7. Jonah Williams, Offensive Tackle *
8. Jalen Hurts, Dual-Threat Quarterback *
9. B.J. Emmons, Running Back
10. Shawn Jennings, Safety *
11. Joshua Perry, Safety
12. Miller Forristall, Tight End *
13. Brendan Scales, Tight End
14. Kendell Jones, Defensive Tackle
15. Tyler Simmons, Wide Receiver
16. T.J. Simmons, Wide Receiver *
17. Nigel Knott, Cornerback

Current Class Rankings as of 1/31 AM:

247 Sports #5

ESPN # 10

Rivals # 13

Scout # 9

 

[rick4bama]

Davis I think will be a great plus to defense. I watch the Bama and Miss All-Stars game and the very first play. He int. the pass and ran it back for a TD. His Dad is the all time tackler leaders here at Bama not bad either. I really not sure about the others.

 

[TerryP]

I really not sure about the others.

The big names that are still out there ... no one is sure where they are going sans one, maybe two (and there's still a chance of changes.)

A story to follow:

If you guys recall, the year Bama signed Tony Brown LSU was supposed to pick up a combination of five players who were among the highest rated in the nation at their positions. Brown to Bama put it at four, then A&M snagged Speedy Noil and it was down to three ...

This year, Bama is in good position to put one of the best linebacker classes I've ever seen—so let's say over the last quarter of a century. It's a combination of four I'm watching ... Davis, as Rickey mentioned earlier, is part of that group.

 

[bradenob]

Interesting Terry..... According to 247sports we are after the 1 and 4 MLBs - Davis and Dontavius Jackson (also interesting- #s 2 and 3 are committed to Clemson). #1 OLB is Jaurez - tough pull from ucla but we ARE trending, supposedly. Lyndell Mack Wilson is # 2 and has trolled everyone during the process. Most likely we get two, ot three, but with Saban you never know!!!

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

I stopped closely following recruiting about 3 years ago.

One, because I had to get out of coaching for my kids, and thusly wasn't coaching the camp circuit any more.

And B), because Saban's got this. After pulling top 2 or 3 recruiting classes every year since 08, it's become less of a worry about who we're getting, and just plug and play.

Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk

 

[TerryP]

I stopped closely following recruiting about 3 years ago.
...
After pulling top 2 or 3 recruiting classes every year since 08, it's become less of a worry about who we're getting, and just plug and play.

The difference I've experienced was where I was on the first Wednesday of February. '08 and '09 I was paying pretty close attention and over these past few years just casually—mostly because the classes were sewn up.

This class has just been entertaining. Seeing so many disagree with each other—often within the same site—on where kids are going to end up has been funny. Seeing some of these recruiting experts get trolled; hilarious.

Seeing the staff shuffle this year has been fascinating. One can literally see cases of them switching directions due to players returning, what guys offer what skills, etc.

 

[BlackPawnMartyr]

Wednesday is going to be a tough day at work.

 

[PurlJam]

He was hurt on this play in the playoffs this past season and never came back in the game. He had nagging injury issues for most of the season. IMO, a grayshirt would have been the best option for him to play at Alabama. BTW... the kid highlighted in the video is sophomore Kolbi Fuqua 6'4" 190 lb. wr/db..... for future reference maybe.

 

[Rolltide24]

Why would we mention greyshirt when we only have 17 guys committed to this class? The last couple years haven't really landed any big surprises on signing day, at least that I can remember. Surely we don't land 7+ surprises this year?

 

[PurlJam]

I stopped closely following recruiting about 3 years ago.

One, because I had to get out of coaching for my kids, and thusly wasn't coaching the camp circuit any more.

And B), because Saban's got this. After pulling top 2 or 3 recruiting classes every year since 08, it's become less of a worry about who we're getting, and just plug and play.

Sent from my ASUS ZenFone 2E using Tapatalk

You would think after 9 years at the Capstone recruiting, that he's finally figuring out how to do it.

 

[rick4bama]

Thanks for all the input you guys have giving.

 

[TerryP]

Why would we mention greyshirt when we only have 17 guys committed to this class? The last couple years haven't really landed any big surprises on signing day, at least that I can remember. Surely we don't land 7+ surprises this year?

A few of thoughts here:

•This year can't be compared to any other year we've experienced under Saban. I know you guys are getting tired of me banging this drum—hell, it's worn out considering I've been marching to this beat since last sumer—but this year's class is so different than any we've seen. Last summer it was becoming apparent we'd see a lot of kids (the big dogs, if you will) wait until NSD to announce. We've seen that come to fruition.

On top of that, due to several factors, we've seen the staff "discourage" public commitments this season.

There's no discounting the fact the staff is dealing with other external factors like this Ole Miss recruiting machine we've seen built over the last several years.

•After reading through the questions and responses over on TI I get what he was driving at with his earlier post I pasted here: he's stating the staff did mention the 'shirt possibility. Now, what he (RC) heard and what was said? It certainly appears to be two different things. Personally, I tend to believe it was mentioned. It would be a no win situation if they didn't and I can't see such a mistake being made.

•Confusion? That makes perfect sense to me. Tucker was his primary recruiter backed by Kirby. Now, he's in Pruitt's wheelhouse. That change alone could easily lead to miscommunication.

•Bama closing strongly for this class ... all signs, like this story, point to that happening. Earlier in this thread I mentioned a strong linebacker class on thie horizon. Ironic he's slated for an LB position? Coincidence? I don't think so.

•It's easy for people to say "I understand why he's upset." To a degree, I get that. I also remember, clearly, how the staff thought (and were told) Tony Conner was headed to Tuscaloosa only to end up at Ole Miss with what appeared to be a last minute change of heart. As callous as this sounds, it's a two way street.

•UA can't speak on the matter. Cole refuses to speak on the matter. All we have right now is speculation on what happened (though I tend to give Rodney more credit than he's just throwing out idle speculation.)

______________

@Rolltide24 Before Cole's de-commitment, there were 17 commited leaving eight spots: it's at nine now with the possibility of signing a few more than that.

As a guess, they'd like ...

• 4 linebackers
• 2 defensive linemen
• 1 running back
• 1 TE
• 3 defensive backs

That would put the number at 27, 26 if they choose to use the back-counter option, 25 if they grey shirt one player ...

 

[TerryP]

I'm going to leave this here ... let you guys make up your own mind on what kind of environment this fosters.

I do find this ... well, odd.

 

[TerryP]

OH, FWIW,

If you're paying attention to class rankings the only one that changed with Cole is Rivals: dropped one spot. ESPN, 247, and Scout's rankings remain the same.

 

[TerryP]

Update on Wilson:



Lyndell “Mack” Wilson did not go on any college visits this weekend.

The nation’s No. 2 OLB abruptly dropped Florida from consideration prior to a scheduled official visit set for this weekend. According to his mother, the 6-foot-3, 236-pounder instead just played basketball this weekend for his perennially strong Carver-Montgomery (Montgomery, Ala.) High School team.

Sandra Wilson, his mother, said she feels her son is down to Alabama and UGA and that her son was really “undetermined” about that decision at this time.

Yet if there was such a thing as a recruiting point spread, Alabama would be favored by at least two scores. UGA only climbed into the picture with the hiring of Kirby Smart as head coach.

Is that relationship enough to pull Wilson out of state and into the Eastern Time Zone? His mother said there was one key advantage the Crimson Tide has on UGA. They discussed that on the drive back from his official visit in Athens, Ga., earlier this month.

“The comment he gave me was he’s got a good relationship with Kirby but he wants to win,” his mother said. “It is kind of hard to say because I really don’t know what direction he is going in for sure. But that was the comment he made.

5-star's mom on UGA vs. Alabama: 'He's got a good relationship with Kirby but he wants to win'

 

[Tidestalker]

Never a good look when a kid commits early on then gets asked to grey shirt just before NSD.

If it's a questionable recruit, just don't take his commitment.

 

[UAgrad93]

Never a good look when a kid commits early on then gets asked to grey shirt just before NSD.

If it's a questionable recruit, just don't take his commitment.

I still think there was talk of a possible greyshirt long before he even committed. I think it was brought up again during his OV as well. It then began to sink in and he got pissed. All speculation but a definite possibility. I have a cousin that feels that BAMA needs to address this publicly. I tried to explain that they can't even if they wanted to by NCAA rules. Too bad my cousin is a damn hard head!! He still thinks they should!

 

[TerryP]

Never a good look when a kid commits early on then gets asked to grey shirt just before NSD.

From what's being reported, he was asked to consider a grey shirt some time ago—2016.

The notion it's just happened now, and he's been told "you're greyshirting," is speculation from some fans and part of the recruiting pitch Cole has been hearing on the recruiting trail.

It certainly doesn't look good at first glance. But, when you've got people so quick to judge and sentence based on little to no knowledge of the situation it's never going to look good: for anyone.

I have to use the ol' logic test here. As meticulous as Saban is on ALL aspects of what happens within the program, does it make any sense to do something like this? Literally, not tell a kid there's a possibility of a grey shirt? It doesn't make sense. And, normally when things dont make sense ... it's due to something being missed / misconstrued.

It's funny to me that Scales knows this is a possibility but Cole didn't?

 

[Tidestalker]

From what's being reported, he was asked to consider a grey shirt some time ago—2016..

The notion it's just happened now, and he's been told "you're greyshirting," is speculation from some fans and part of the recruiting pitch Cole has been hearing on the recruiting trail.

It certainly doesn't look good at first glance. But, when you've got people so quick to judge and sentence based on little to no knowledge of the situation it's never going to look good: for anyone.

I have to use the ol' logic test here. As meticulous as Saban is on ALL aspects of what happens within the program, does it make any sense to do something like this? Literally, not tell a kid there's a possibility of a grey shirt? It doesn't make sense. And, normally when things dont make sense ... it's due to something being missed / misconstrued.

It's funny to me that Scales knows this is a possibility but Cole didn't?

Same thing happened with Philon. OJ Smith was told about this time in his cycle that he should "consider a grey shirt". He told the staff no and considered other schools, and UA came through with a legit spot.

Bottom line... To me it doesn't matter when the grey shirt talk comes up if it doesn't come up in his ORIGINAL COMMITMENT. If when he originally committed there was no grey shirt talk, then that talk is too late whether its the day of, the week before, 3 months before, etc.

It's going back on your word. You offer someone a legit spot in the class then take it back AKA grey shirt, you're misleading the kid. It's as simple as that. Do you disagree with that?

 

[TerryP]

It's going back on your word. You offer someone a legit spot in the class then take it back AKA grey shirt, you're misleading the kid. It's as simple as that. Do you disagree with that?

It's not my word, it's what I've heard. Purely basing this on what makes sense, given the parties involved, I don't see this as being sprung on him at the last minute. There are more than one player in this class it's been discussed with as a possibility.

Miscommunication makes sense considering he's been switched from Kirby and Mel as his primary recruiters to Pruitt. Teams saying he was getting shafted makes sense as well ... it's no different than all the depth chart talk rivals throw out there.

I believe, based on the parties involved, that grey shirting was mentioned as something to keep in mind. I know he was told he was gray shirting, but asked to consider the possibility due to the numbers in the class.

He has not had his spot "taken back." He's been asked to delay a few months. That's not pulling an offer out of the blue (IE: Harbaugh.) His scholarship offer is still good as it's always been.

Consider this: IF he'd decided to flip what would his reason have been? It would have described as "what's best for me." Now, when the entire class is considered and the staff is looking at what's best for the team, where does the difference lie?