Alabama is on the verge of one of the greatest “down years” in the annals of college football recruiting.
After finishing with Rivals.com’s No. 1 signing classes in 2008 and again last February, the Crimson Tide entered today’s national signing day with the No. 4 crop of commitments. The top three schools — Florida, Texas and Auburn — were the final on-field obstacles during Alabama’s march to the ’09 national title.
This year’s Tide haul includes seven of the nation’s top 100 players but may not have as many last-minute thrills as its predecessors.
“Last year they waited on Dre Kirkpatrick and Trent Richardson,” Rivals.com analyst Jamie Newberg said. “They knew it was not a big surprise, but there was more of that star impact late for Alabama. I also think in the last couple of years that there was more star power in the state of Alabama and that they got all of those guys. None of them went to Auburn. None of them went elsewhere.
“When you look at the upper-echelon guys from the classes of ’08 and ’09, it was a great year in Alabama those two years.”