The Alabama Crimson Tide landed two promises on Saturday, pushing their efforts total to 18. Rivals100 defensive end Monkell Goodwine from Maryland committed along with the top corner for junior college in the nation Khyree Jackson from East Mississippi. With the two new additions to the Tides are now being considered elite class of 2021, combined with Ohio State recently losing a commitment from defensive end Tunmise Adeleye of Five Stars, includes the Crimson Tide in first place in the national recruiting rankings.
Today, at BamaInsider.com, we provide you with three things we learned about this recruiting class, asking two questions and making one prediction.
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1. Alabama now ranks only Ohio State in the recruiting rankings
After Jackson tackled on Saturday night, Alabama moved up to No. 2 behind Ohio State in the Rivals.com rankings that jumped Florida, which previously lay ahead of the Tide. Sure of stars, Ohio State also tops the country with an average ranking average of 3.89, Alabama, and Georgia are tied in that category with an average view rank average of 3.83.
LSU and Clemson are next in line when it comes to star ratings, with LSU averaging 3.81 and Clemson having a prospect rating of 3.80. It is important to look at the overall ranking, but also to look at the average star rating, because that factor indicates the quality of the investment prospect as opposed to the quantity. For example, Florida is no. 3 in the Rivals.com recruitment rankings with 25 dedicated prospects, but their star rating is just 3.56, Tennessee is currently ranked no. 4 in the Rivals.com recruitment rankings with 24 assigned prospects, but their star rating is just 3.38.
How important is average star listing? Now, to give you an idea, the 2017 Alabama class that first finished in the Rivals.com team rankings had a star rating of 4.1. That class included NFL first-round picks: Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, Jedrick Wills Jr. along with projected NFL rounds of 1st round: Najee Harris, Alex Leatherwood, and Dylan Moses.
Also keep in mind that Rivals.com has not updated their player rankings due to Covid-19, which means that there are some prospects from Alabama and other schools that could move up or down the rankings. So stay tuned …
2. The tide is loaded on defense
11 of the 18 betting prospects are on the defensive side of football. Alabama has been able to land some of the top players in the country, let no new addition Khyree Jackson’s rating of a three-star fool you, he could be a starter in 20 days. Damon Payne, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive tackle and the No. 1 overall player from Michigan is the Tide’s highest rated player on defense followed by new addition Monkell Goodwine. The two defensive prospects are each a member of the Rivals Top 100 list.
3. Tommy Brockermeyer is currently the allotted highest rating
Official approach of Texas Tommy Brockermeyer, who was assigned to Alabama in mid-July, is arguably the overall highest rank in this class. Remember, Rivals.com’s new ranking should drop by the end of this month. Brockermeyer is ranked as no. 10 general player in the nation in no. 3 general player in the Lone Star State. Jacorey Brooks a 6-foot-3, 180-pound receiver from Miami, Florida is the next highest-ranked prospect in Alabama and is currently ranked as the no. 18 general player in the nation and the no. 4 general player from Florida.
1. What are the remaining needs in the class?
Alabama is still looking to add a receiver to the class and with Malcolm Johnson recently starting at Auburn, Tide will continue with Brian Thomas a 4-foot-4, 190-pound four-star from Louisiana and will also continue to stay in touch with Xavier Worthy, a three-star receiver from Fresno, California who recently committed to Michigan. The Crimson Tide will also have to add a tight end and embrace key goals Robbie Outz from Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Jalen Shead a 6-foot-4, 235-pound prospect from Mississippi. Currently, Alabama has four dynamic offensive line commitments, but a perfect class can include one lineman. Five-star Amarius Mims pushed his commitment back to Oct. 14 and Alabama is still in the mix despite a heavy Georgia paycheck.
On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama is likely to add another edge than two and there are many highly coveted prospects still on the board. The No. 1 player in the nation Korey Foreman who has been fired from Clemson has not yet been decided as the No. 4 player in the Rivals 100 JT Tuimoloau from Washington. Tunmise Adeleye a five-star percentage just fired from Ohio State and Alabama is also still actively recruited from Tyreak Sapp, which is a duty in Florida. At the linebacker position, Alabama has four commitments and is still recruiting Xavian Sorey, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound priority target who was recently transferred to the IMG Academy.
In the secondary, the Crimson Tide has four assists and could take as many as six total defensive backs in that class. It no. Alabama 1-player Ga’Quincy McKinstry is still on the board, as is four-star defender Terrion Arnold. Landing both key goals in the strip would be a slam dunk for Nick Saban. Alabama is also high on Sage Ryan of four stars from Louisiana, but Ryan seems to have a strong LSU salary.
2. Will Alabama take a quarterback as a running back?
According to our yard analyst Andrew Bone, Alabama will take a quarterback in this year’s class. Alabama had a promise from four-star pro-style quarterback Drake Maye, but Maye dropped out of Alabama and chose North Carolina back in March. Alabama is still in the mix for four-star Jalen Milroe who is committed to Texas and is also actively recruiting four-star Luke Atlmyer from Starkville, Mississippi who is currently committed to Florida State.
The sleeping prospect at quarterback is Ty Keyes who is also from Mississippi. At 6-foot-1, 182 pounds, Keyes is committed to Tulane, but still very much from the Crimson Tide. In the running position, Alabama is pretty roster heavy, however, Alabama still recruits five-star Camar Wheaton from Texas, Alton McCaskill a three-star also from Texas, and Alabama still recruits Armoni Goodwin, a 5-foot -8, 196 pounds all-purpose four-star from Trussville, Alabama that committed to Auburn.
One prediction
1. Alabama ends with the no. 1 ranking in the nation
Alabama is very close to jumping from Ohio State and if you read between the lines, the Crimson Tide is very close to landing extra marker perspective, combined that with the fact that Rivals.com is soon to update its player rankings, you could see Alabama jump Ohio State sooner rather than later, which is just plain simple, considering that Ohio State had 14 commitments at the end of March 2020 and Alabama had zero in the same time frame.
Add to that the fact that there’s a good chance that both the Big Ten along with the PAC 12 conferences will not have college football this fall, you should keep in mind that a few promises that plan to register early in Ohio State as another Big Ten school as PAC 12 school for the 2021 season recalls their current verbal commitment.
Nick Saban and his staff have done a fantastic job of building the 2021 class in the toughest recruiting season ever, as the Candidate 19 pandemic has proposed that prospects take official visits and of coaches who are key targets visit in their home states, but if there was ever a year where the Alabama football brand speaks for itself, that time is now and you really see the Bama Factor come into play.
Kyle Henderson is the managing editor of BamaInsider.com. Email him via [email protected]
