OFFSEASON CHAMPS, TOO
Alabama has compiled the nation’s No. 1 football recruiting class in seven of the past eight years. Here are the years and some of the stars:› 2008: RB Mark Ingram, WR Julio Jones, OL Barrett Jones, LB Dont’a Hightower, LB Courtney Upshaw› 2009: QB AJ McCarron, RB Trent Richardson, RB Eddie Lacy, OL D.J. Fluker, DB Dre Kirkpatrick› 2011: OL Cyrus Kouandjio, OL Ryan Kelly, DL D.J. Pettway, LB Trey DePriest, DB HaHa Clinton-Dix› 2012: RB T.J. Yeldon, WR Amari Cooper, PK Adam Griffith, LB Reggie Ragland, DB Cyrus Jones› 2013: RB Derrick Henry, TE O.J. Howard, DL A’Shawn Robinson, DL Jonathan Allen, LB Reuben Foster› 2014: OL Cam Robinson, P JK Scott, DL Da’Shawn Hand, LB Rashaan Evans, DB Marlon Humphrey› 2015: RB Damien Harris, WR Calvin Ridley, DL Daron Payne, DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB Ronnie Harrison
On the heels of its fourth national championship in the past seven seasons, Alabama is in jeopardy of losing its unprecedented stranglehood on recruiting.
Not that the Crimson Tide are planning to drop football. In fact, coach Nick Saban and the 2015 national champs are being celebrated with a parade today in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama has finished with the nation's No. 1 recruiting class for five consecutive years, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings that also take into account ratings from ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com. The Crimson Tide also had Rivals.com's top-rated classes in 2008 and '09, giving Alabama a No. 1 crop in seven of the past eight cycles.
Entering this weekend, however, Alabama's recruiting rankings were No. 7 (Scout.com), No. 9 (247Sports.com), No. 10 (ESPN) and No. 11 (Rivals.com).
"It's certainly possible that they could still have the top class given the guys they still have out there that they can get," longtime recruiting analyst J.C. Shurburtt said. "It's just a question of whether they will be able to close the deal on 80 to 90 percent of those highly rated guys, and it also depends on who everyone else gets. Does Ohio State close with some guys? Will LSU get two or three more highly rated guys?
"My guess is that they will get their share but that other schools will get their share as well and that Alabama will finish somewhere between third and fifth. It will still be an outstanding recruiting class. It just won't be the No. 1 class like we've seen for the last five cycles."
The last time Alabama did not land the nation's No. 1 recruiting haul was in 2010, when the Crimson Tide finished fifth in the 247Sports.com composite rankings behind Florida, Texas, Southern California and Oklahoma. Alabama's 2010 class included cornerback Dee Milliner, linebacker C.J. Mosley, tailback-turned-quarterback Blake Sims, fullback Jalston Fowler and kicker Cade Foster, with those signees getting to experience national titles in 2011 and '12.
Alabama's 2016 recruiting class to this point is headlined by a pair of five-star offensive tackles: Charles Baldwin of Brooklyn, N.Y., a junior college standout, and Jonah Williams of Folsom, Calif. Running back B.J. Emmons of Morganton, N.C., is another top-50 national prospect who has committed to the Tide, and their class would certainly vault in the rankings by adding two in-state linebackers, Ben Davis of Gordo and Lyndell Wilson of Montgomery.
Davis is the son of former Alabama linebacker Wayne Davis, the leading tackler in program history, and is rated the top linebacker in the nation by 247Sports.com. Wilson is the nation's No. 2 outside linebacker.
"For Alabama to finish No. 1, they have to close with Ben Davis and Lyndell Wilson, and they are in good shape to get those guys," Shurburtt said. "They have an all-star cast coming in this weekend with Nigel Warrior and Terrell Hall and Mecole Hardman, but a lot of these guys are out of state and will be tough pulls at the end of the day."
Hall, the No. 6 weakside defensive end from Washington, D.C., could be Alabama's best hope of those three.
Hardman, from Elberton, Ga., is the nation's No. 1 athlete prospect and reportedly favoring Georgia. Warrior, the No. 4 safety prospect from the Atlanta suburb of Suwanee, is the son of former Tennessee defensive back Dale Carter and is expected to fall in line with the recent legacy commitments to the Volunteers.
Of course, recruiting rankings do not take into account current players who elect to return for their senior seasons instead of entering the NFL draft.
Tight end O.J. Howard, defensive end Jonathan Allen, linebackers Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams, and safety Eddie Jackson recently opted for a final go-around with the Tide, making this year's signing class smaller than it could have been.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.