Patrick Surtain
Patrick Surtain Jr., the nation’s No. 1 cornerback in the 2018 class, will have Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Miami hats on the table when he makes his decision on National Signing Day this Wednesday.
Alabama is hoping to add Surtain to 4-star prospects Jalyn Armour-Davis, Josh Jobe and Saivion Smith, who all signed during the early signing period. The Crimson Tide have chipped away at LSU’s lead over the past several months, and it seems like his decision is going to come down to the SEC West schools.
What did Alabama do to close the gap on LSU?
“Nothing much. I just needed to visit them, take the official [visit] and I enjoyed myself there,” Surtain told SEC Country.
LSU led for the majority of his recruitment because Surtain said he felt comfortable with the atmosphere and environment. One of the reasons for that is because Surtain has a lot of family living in Louisiana.
But even with him declaring LSU as his leader for over a year, he never committed to the school. Surtain said the reason for that is because he started to like other schools when he started taking visits. Surtain said he didn’t want to commit early and then have to reopen his process back up.
With a decision coming on Wednesday, Surtain said he still isn’t sure which school he’s going to end up picking. He’s hoping to have that decision made up on Monday night.
“It’s kind of stressful right now, but it’s decision time, so it’ll come,” Surtain said. “I’ve got an idea, but I’ve still got to sit down and make [the decision].”
Alabama will have to replace every single starter in the secondary heading into next season. The Tide also failed to sign a true cornerback in the 2017 class. The opportunity for early playing time is there in Tuscaloosa, but Surtain said what each school’s depth chart looks like is not going to be a factor.
“I’m just really going in to compete,” he said.
The Tide lost defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley to the Oakland Raiders at the end of the season, but Surtain has formed a relationship with new DBs coach Karl Scott already. Surtain said he “sort of got a good relationship with him.”
But it helps Alabama’s chances with Surtain because Nick Saban has a big role in coaching the secondary.
“It’s a great thing when the head coach will most likely be around the DBs,” Surtain said. “He knows a lot about what to expect out of his DBs and he makes them play at a high level.”
Both Alabama and LSU offer lots of similar things to Surtain, but he said the one thing that the Tide have over the Tigers is, “Obviously, one program wins more. That’s probably the biggest [thing].” And he said the one thing LSU offers over Alabama is his ties to his family in Louisiana.
So, in the end, from an outsider’s perspective, it seems like Surtain’s decision is going to come down to comfortability or the possibility at competing for championships.
He broke down the reasons for why he’d choose either school.
On LSU: “Just because of my relationship and my Louisiana ties with my family being there. Me and [defensive backs] Coach [Corey] Raymond, we’ve got a great relationship and I feel like I can ball and have a great influence on Louisiana, too.”
On Alabama: “Just the culture, the winning culture and I feel like I could ball there, as well.”
We’ll know what Surtain decides to do on Wednesday when he’s scheduled to make his decision known during the 10 a.m. ET hour on ESPNU.
Miami DieHards reporter David Wilson contributed to this report.
). And Tyson, doesn't Bama have a moral obligation here? 
(just kidding, not really)
