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Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
Alabama's 2019 recruiting class is in better shape than the 2018 version was a year ago.
Frankly, Alabama's recruiting situation had more than a few baffled this time last year.
Riding a streak of seven straight No. 1 classes, the Crimson Tide had just four commitments by mid-June 2017. It didn't crack the top 50 of the rankings until the fifth pledge arrived in late June to push Nick Saban's bunch to No. 47.
A year later, it's safe to say the anomaly didn't become a trend.
Alabama stands atop all three major recruiting rankings released by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.
Instead of the four commits from a year ago, the Tide is sitting on 16 after four-star defensive end Justin Eboigbe went public Monday.
Though early in the process, Alabama holds healthy leads in the ranking for recruits.
The 247Sports composite awards Alabama 271.76 points -- well ahead of No. 2 Texas A&M at 246.39 and No. 3 Oklahoma at 230.02. The Tide has 14 players with four-star ratings while the Aggies have six. Jimbo Fisher has 10 commits with three-star ratings and two five stars. Pierce Quick of Hewitt-Trussville remains Alabama's only five-star as the offensive tackle ranks 30th overall.
Over at Rivals, top-ranked Alabama has 2,043 points compared to Texas A&M's 1,863 and Oklahoma's 1,684.
Last year's recruiting champ, Georgia, is No. 6 on 247Sports and No. 5 at Rivals.
Alabama picked up some momentum after the slow summer of 2017 but never truly threatened to extend its streak of No. 1 classes to eight. It finished No. 6 in the 247Sports composite and No. 7 at Rivals. The two five-star cornerstones -- Eyabi Anoma and Patrick Surtain Jr. -- committed and signed on the two National Signing Days.
There's still a long way to go until the Dec. 19 early signing day. All of the 2019 rankings are based solely on commitments that are written in pencil rather than ink. It's still more comfortable sitting atop the mid-June rankings as opposed to No. 47.
A look at the 2019 recruiting rankings as they stand today:
247Sports
1. Alabama 271.76
2. Texas A&M 246.39
3. Oklahoma 230.02
4. Notre Dame 221.73
5. Clemson 219.12
Full rankings
Rivals
1. Alabama 2,043
2. Texas A&M 1,863
3. Oklahoma 1,684
4. Clemson 1,515
5. Georgia 1,494
Full rankings
Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
Where Alabama's 2019 recruiting class stands a year after a strange summer
Frankly, Alabama's recruiting situation had more than a few baffled this time last year.
Riding a streak of seven straight No. 1 classes, the Crimson Tide had just four commitments by mid-June 2017. It didn't crack the top 50 of the rankings until the fifth pledge arrived in late June to push Nick Saban's bunch to No. 47.
A year later, it's safe to say the anomaly didn't become a trend.
Alabama stands atop all three major recruiting rankings released by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.
Instead of the four commits from a year ago, the Tide is sitting on 16 after four-star defensive end Justin Eboigbe went public Monday.
Though early in the process, Alabama holds healthy leads in the ranking for recruits.
The 247Sports composite awards Alabama 271.76 points -- well ahead of No. 2 Texas A&M at 246.39 and No. 3 Oklahoma at 230.02. The Tide has 14 players with four-star ratings while the Aggies have six. Jimbo Fisher has 10 commits with three-star ratings and two five stars. Pierce Quick of Hewitt-Trussville remains Alabama's only five-star as the offensive tackle ranks 30th overall.
Over at Rivals, top-ranked Alabama has 2,043 points compared to Texas A&M's 1,863 and Oklahoma's 1,684.
Last year's recruiting champ, Georgia, is No. 6 on 247Sports and No. 5 at Rivals.
Alabama picked up some momentum after the slow summer of 2017 but never truly threatened to extend its streak of No. 1 classes to eight. It finished No. 6 in the 247Sports composite and No. 7 at Rivals. The two five-star cornerstones -- Eyabi Anoma and Patrick Surtain Jr. -- committed and signed on the two National Signing Days.
There's still a long way to go until the Dec. 19 early signing day. All of the 2019 rankings are based solely on commitments that are written in pencil rather than ink. It's still more comfortable sitting atop the mid-June rankings as opposed to No. 47.
A look at the 2019 recruiting rankings as they stand today:
247Sports
1. Alabama 271.76
2. Texas A&M 246.39
3. Oklahoma 230.02
4. Notre Dame 221.73
5. Clemson 219.12
Full rankings
Rivals
1. Alabama 2,043
2. Texas A&M 1,863
3. Oklahoma 1,684
4. Clemson 1,515
5. Georgia 1,494
Full rankings
Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
Where Alabama's 2019 recruiting class stands a year after a strange summer
