Crimson Red Sports

Ok so lots of stuff so I'm gonna go by position and kinda give a rundown but 1st let me preface the whole thing with a preface. What the staff has accomplished with this class has been beyond phenomenal this year especially addressing need and absolutely stockpiling the absolute best D talent in the country while still making sure to keep the in state talent we wanted, an absolutely phenomenal class......that is the only word I can describe it as.

QB - It should tell anyone who thinks Bama still isn't still involved in landing Winston that Saban felt it necessary to introduce the 2 new coaches to him particularly Coach Nuss. The biggest competition we have right now is the MLB draft and the most accurate draft projections have him no higher than the late 2nd rd, most mid 3rd, which likely wouldn't warrant enough money to lure him away. Having the back up and a great talent in his own right is also a good situation with Alec Morris. Both guys will be a part of this class I'm pretty confident, also a quick note on Gunner lol, no doubt that if he was ever allowed back in the fold at Bama, he would've done the exact same thing and bolted for ND, he was very interested after he decommited from Indiana and told the spots were full, and I know he is a 5* but is also considered a project by the staff at best, then add to this the fact that he is absolutely paranoid of any competition (picked Indiana after Winston showed up on campus for a suprise visit that weekend before his 1st announcement), needless to say the staff moved on and his personal shenanigans have cropped up again.

Good stuff. Very interesting about Kiel. I'll be crossing my fingers for getting JW.

RB - When I say Yeldonis an absolute monster, haven't seen a back on campus as good as a freshman on film since Trent, and Lacy and Fowler are good, Yeldon is another level. He is a little bit unique as a strong physical back with the athleticism Julio had and remember that he played WR as well earlier in HS. Kenyan Drake is another very athletic guy with a nice power base, he is one that needs a yr in the S&C program. You guys have seen the media storm surrounding Taylor perpetrated by the AJC, we will see on NSD whether he decides to stay with Bama or bolt for Purdue, his knee was totally blown out and it is at least a yr give or take for recovery and that is the only reason Saban even asked him to greyshirt, it would be an unfair advantage to have him not coming in healthy.

WR - REALLY been doing some serious work with this position. Amari Cooper is the headliner and again staff saw him at camp and offered early and he rewarded with a commitment and has been pushed even by the hometown program and stuck with Bama, his position coach at Northwestern has coached a LOT of WRs, and coached Andre Johnson, and compares Amari very favorably and this yr and at the UA game he has really proven it, he will be a phenomenal playmaker. Chris Black is 1a, a little smaller but top end speed and physicality you don't usually see in a 6' WR. He will also have a shot to contribute early. Eddie Williams has the definite talent and athleticism to be a top flight WR, but he will need a little bit of coaching to get used to the position and he will be able to be a tall physical target and follow in the footsteps of Duron this yr. Casey Gladney OS a great talent as well very big and physical, but his grade situation looks bleak putting it mildly. The true X factor in this group is Cyrus Jones, if you've seen any of his film you would see how good of an athlete he truly is, if you haven't go find some and get excited about his potential on offense similar to Percy Harvin and he will be strictly WR and he is BLAZING fast really excited about him.

OL/TE - Only a few spots here due to depth already but the staff targeted the guys they really liked early, Brandon Hill is a guy already SEC OL size, he is a road grader and pretty physical, will learn a ton of technique he needs. Brandon Greene is another physical tall OT already great technique and great footwork but he is sort of the opposite of Hill, he needs SEC size and a S&C program. Caleb Gulledge is a hometown prospect and a great OG with a mean streak, seriously (and these are huge shoes to fill to say this, but he was a 3*, same size, played both lines, same mentality) but he reminds me of Barrett Jones, he could be that good. Kurt Frietag was the top H back hybrid position the staff targeted as a Smelley replacement. He has really great hands and already a pretty good blocker. Can be a serious contributor next year just like Smelley was able to come in and contribute right away at that same position.

DL - Still got the biggest target obviously in this class still right there on the board with Eddie Goldman and I'll say this, rumors are lately having him as an AU lead and they are completely false. A high profile prospect like him that has kept his recruitment close to vest is gonna have wild rumors closer we get to NSD, don't believe them, Bama is still in VERY good shape and his best friend is commited to Bama, Cyrus Jones. The headliner already commited is Darren Lake, he is a rare blend of strength and speed at his 330 lb weight and to me easily the most underrated prospect in this class, he has the potential as does Goldman to be a Dareus type impact on the DL, a lot of bad weight though so he needs a S&C bad, but he is a very fluid tackled and very agile for his size. Darius Philon was a one man wrecking crew at times for Vigor, a bull rush specialist with a nasty streak and a quick 1st step, a little light but man handled most inside OL he faced. He is up to about 285 now, will easily be a DE needs technique work Rumph will provide to become a more complete player. Dakota Ball is another DE, a little heavier but more speed than a bullrush guy, plenty of technique as a DL, still could use the help at the next level though. Alphonse Taylor is a guy I'm really excited about, not only for flipping but also for the prospect of being a NG and the 1st true NG since Cody, it should tell you all you need to know about his talent to know the staff had to choose between him and McCullers (the nations top DT and top JuCo D player) and because of him having the prospect of a longer career in Crimson and his talent level, chose him over McCullers. That says a lot that Rumph feels the 2 are interchangeable. A little story also on him, he originally came in as a Soph to camp playing DL and was one of the best at camp and earned an offer as a DL, but the next year Davidson HS needed a OL, so he switched and got offered by Trickett to FSU to be an OT, at the Miss/AL all star game he was allowed to play DL again and reminded him how much he loved the position so the next week Saban reminded him that he still had an offer to come play NG and he jumped at the chance, he had to beg his parents for a week (simply because of the relationship D Craig and Trickett had built with his parents) and they eventually allowed him to switch. He is perfect for the NG, expect him to contribute fairly early especially considering the loss of Chapman. Rumph has a great group in this class and hopefully it will be headlined by Goldman. I can tell you the staff feels confident, and if anything new comes to light I will inform you guys.

LB - Also serious work done in this group as well. There are 2 bellcows in this group to me, I will start at ILB, Reggie Ragland is an absolute STUD in the middle, a sideline to sideline guy with a nice blend of size, speed, and power, reminds me of the last complete guy we had on the inside, Rolando, that type of playmaker. I will preface my guesses on early impact 1st by saying other than Jack LB every other LB spot is stack with talent so no doubt in my mind Reggie could go to any other program in the SEC or others and start as a TF, he's that big already and that good, but not at Bama. Ryan Anderson at OLB is the bellcow for the OLB position, a phenomenal athlete and.a demon pass rusher, this year his HS coaches at Daphne did the absolute best thing and let him play the OLB some and DE some to hone his skills and they really helped him understand the position he will come in and contribute heavily at, no doubt already a film room junkie working with Kirby can tell that after a week, but he will be an instant impact guy. Another darn good ILB prospect in his own right Denzel Devall is another guy we believe will come in and okay ILB, very athletic, great tackle technique, also a little raw needs technique help but very instict driven right now more used to playing DE. Tyler Hayes is a phenomenal specimen at OLB, another speed demon sideline to sideline just needs S&C to add weight. Dillon Lee is also on campus already. Very instinct driven as well, needs technique work, great leader from what I've seen. Might not be done as well don't be surprised if another guy on the board or Taylor (RB) falls through, expect Kwon Alexander to get an offer and become a part of this class. I really like his film needs weight of course but an athletic pounder who grew up a HUGE Bama fan, hopefully there will be room

Ok guys its late lol got home WAAAY later than I thought I would to post but I will definitely finish up in the morning

This is an area I am glad to see as a possible major upgrade. Thanks for the info.

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This is even more encouraging than the info on the wide receivers update. Outstanding info.


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Great to have you here, Tox.  Good stuff.

Great info, Toxic. I know the coaching staff is drooling over bringing these recruits in. Sounds like it may even be Saban's best recruiting class ever. I, too, am very excited to hear about the potential of the wide receivers. I'm hoping that Winston is paying attention to this also, I imagine Nussmeier was in his ear first thing about this when he met with him. Just a hunch, but I bet AJ is probably pretty excited also.

 #+ For the report.

Thanks for the report!

Great report, Toxic! Keep it coming!

Thanks Tox!  Good stuff.

Many thanks.  These reports are a real asset to this board.

Thanks for the info.  Lokk forward to the rest of your analysis! #+

 #+ Tox. I love this, it makes my mouth water like the coaches I am sure. The only other thing I want is for NSD to get here before these kids start moving around. Thanks so much for your sharing with us. RTR!

Very thorough report, tox. Good job.

awesome reads...thanks for the hard work!

I was a little disappointed with what I saw out of Goldman during the UA AA week.

Great stuff!  Keep it up.
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In the ESPN recruiting report, they dropped his ranking a little. In their analysis they said he has the skills, but maybe not the endurance. I'll dig up the link.

Here's the link.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/

Ok got the finish for you guys

DB - PHENOMENAL haul at this position. It is also much needed since we lose the most at this position, and have missed on a few guys in the past, not this year. The bell cow without a doubt is of course Landon Collins. This is without a doubt the top DB prospect this year and the best I've seen on film at his position since some of the greatest like Ed Reed in HS, Sean Taylor, and he's that good, can't compare his film as a S to Eric Berry since Berry played QB in HS, but that is a pretty good comparison, he is a phenomenal talent and a guy you should expect to see quite a bit next year. Easily one of the most likable signees in this class might be Geno Smith. He was a top priority by Saban and staff simply for his physicality and size, there were a lot more DB's not as big that Saban did not pursue as hard simply because of the type player Saban feels Geno is. He feels like Geno compares very favorable to another guy he whiffed on, Stephon Gilmore at USC, and he was determined to land Geno and made him a priority. Geno is very physical and fast, but needs some technique work, and it seemed like he struggled at the US Army Game, but he had a good week and the WRs were WAAAY bigger than any DB in that game, he would've done much better at the UA game (better coaches as well as shorter WRs). Another plug in guy is JuCo DB Travell Dixon, also on campus, the biggest CB I think Saban has coached, 6'3 215 and still very fast, very good technique, he will start in Dre's place & guys were used to seeing Dre's wiry frame, TD's body type is different, also a lot better catching than I've seen most CB's, gonna be a REALLY good one. A guy I'm excited to see, also on campus Deion Belue, and some people just pass him off as a scholly just for his PR/KR ability, which is a huge asset (LOTS of people including him were mad when he didn't arrive originally 2 years ago for grades because he would've started then as a PR/KR specialist, and yes he's that good) but he is far from a one trick pony. He is a very physical corner, in fact he was the most physical and best tackler among the CB's this past year according to his JuCo staff, so he was moved to S and didn't skip a beat, still had over 100 tackles & 8 INTs I think returned 3 for TD's & returned 5 kicks or punts for TDs, but that number was low for him since he only fielded about 1/3 of the kicks & punts, I think the # I heard was 14, 5 of 14 not bad huh? But he is very similar to Menzie when he came in, a little better in zone reads, faster, more agile & a better tackler, really sticks and upends and follows through tackles, got great technique & if he INTs watch out b/c he's similar to Javy or David Palmer with the ball in his hands. I expect him to play quite a but as well in that money slot as the nickel and dime DB covering slot and blitzing like Javy did. Bottom line is Staff really needed to take a few elite CB's to cover the losses & that was accomplished this year.

K - Bama continues its pursuit of a K, remember both guys this year were young, especially Foster, but that is no excuse when you have chances to win a game & miss 3 or 4 kicks. All indications are with Adam Griffith that he is excellent off a tee, has hit a few game winners & THE state champ game winner, so seems like he can take the pressure. I will know MUCH much more once Griffith gets on campus.

Once again, thanks Toxic. Much to look forward to.  :popcorn2:

Good stuff.

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I have seen K Adam Griffith and he is the real deal.

Man with great reports like this, we can never get enough of Alabama Football. I hope we can count on these kids staying out of trouble. RTR!

Awesome reports Toxik! I also enjoyed your posts back in August about how this was going to be a special team. Looks like you were right on the money. Keep us posted on your thoughts on the last few spots we have open and maybe an update on the guys that were banged up and how they are doing (Lacey, Hart, CJ, etc)

I just saw on the local news where Auburn lost another one. FSU stole WR Ricardo Louis from the barn.