Signing Day 2012
Wednesday, Feb 1 was National Signing Day, and Alabama reaped the rewards from a second national championship in three years by reeling in a tremendous recruiting class. Of the four major recruiting services, Alabama finished first in three of them and second in the other. This class was strong from top to bottom, but was especially strong at defensive back, linebacker, and wide receiver, where we signed multiple almost-certain impact players for each unit. In addition, we signed one of the nation’s top running back prospects, several highly regarded defensive tackles, and arguably the nation’s top kicking prospect. If there was a weakness, it would have to lie in the fact that we fell short on our top QB prospects. You never know; Alec Morris might turn out to be a real diamond in the rough, but it would have been really nice if we could have closed with one of our top two QB prospects. In reality, however, next year is the year where we absolutely, positively have to sign a top QB prospect, so I’m not terribly concerned.
Keeping with my formula of the past season’s recruiting recaps, I’m going to rank my top ten signees. I am only including prep signees, no JUCO transfers. And since we’ve had such horrible luck evaluating kickers lately, Adam Griffith, the nation’s top kicking prospect, is ineligible for this list also. That might be a mistake, because really, a great kicker might have more impact than anyone, but rules are rules. Sorry Adam!
Here we go:
10) Denzel Devall (LB) – Why not start with a controversial pick? I know we have several higher rated players than Denzel, but I have a feeling about him. He seems like a prototypical Sam linebacker to me, and after watching Jerrell Harris take over the national championship game, I know how important a Sam can be. Who knows where Saban will play him, but I think he’ll be a standout linebacker for us.
9) Korren Kirven (DT) – Korren was a pleasant signing day surprise, choosing us over Virginia Tech. Korren has a quick first step, and should fit in nicely as one of our hybrid DE/DT lineman, ala Damien Square. ESPN lists Korren as a National Top 100 player, so I might be under-rating him here, but with a class like this, what are you going to do?
8) Cyrus Jones (ATH) – Yet another tremendous signee from the state of Maryland, Cyrus is one of our 5-star recruits (according to Scout). I have him this low simply because I’m not sure where he’s going to play. He’ll start out at WR, but he could also be a solid DB. Maybe he’ll be the player I expected BJ Scott to be!
7) Chris Black (WR) – I might be way underestimating Chris here. ESPN lists him as the nation’s Number 2 receiver, and yes, he certainly looks the part. He is quick end elusive, and might be the explosive answer that we’ve been wanting at the WR position. I have him ranked this low simply because we have two other WRs that I’m ranking higher, but really, Chris might be the top player in this class when all is said and done.
6) Amari Cooper (WR) – And speaking of wide receivers, I think we’re really going to like Amari. He’s actually almost universally rated lower than Chris Black, but when I watch this guy, I see a pure receiver. He runs crisp routes, has great hands, and is very elusive when he has the ball. He doesn’t have the pure speed that Black has, but I think he’s more developed at this point. Regardless, Black and Cooper were considered the top two pure receivers in the state of Florida, and the fact that we got both speaks volumes about our program.
5) Ryan Anderson (LB/DE) – Yet another controversial pick, I think Ryan is tremendously underrated. Ryan committed very early to us, and at the time, he was not considered a blue chip prospect. However, based on his senior season and his performance in All Star games, he has skyrocketed up the rankings, into the ESPN Top 100. I expect to see him wreaking havoc on opposing QBs soon, and for years to come. This year’s Courtney Upshaw? Maybe….
4) Eddie Williams (ATH) – I can’t believe I have Eddie this low. When he committed to us in August of last year, I thought he would definitely be Number One on my list. I’m only dropping him because I don’t know where he’s going to play. He’s going to start at WR, and he might be dominant there, but I expected him to play safety where he might be the next Mark Barron. Regardless, this kid has too much talent to be kept off the field for long. He’s a can’t-miss prospect.
3) TJ Yeldon (RB) – TJ could be the next in our line of great RBs. He emerged as one of the nation’s top RB prospects behind the strength of a stellar senior season, and quickly became our top target at that position. It’s probably not good to compare RBs like this, but his style reminds me of Eric Dickerson. He is extremely quick (and fast) for his size, and his field vision is among the best I’ve seen. Seriously, this guy might an all-time great at the Capstone.
2) Reggie Ragland (LB) – Yet another in our long string of tremendous inside linebackers, look for Reggie to follow in the footsteps of Demeco, Rolando, Dont’a , CJ, and Nico. He’s a little raw right now, but our system is absolutely perfect for him. Look for him to make an impact on special teams this year, and then move into the Mike (or Will) linebacker spot in 2013.
1) Landon Collins (S) – Normally I’d say that I struggled with my Number One pick, but this year, it was really no contest. Landon is easily the top safety prospect in the nation this year (we got the top one last year too), and we all know how important safeties are in our defensive scheme. Landon is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Cover your ears because you might not like this; he’s more talented than Mark Barron. Barring a catastrophic injury, Landon will be an All-American before he leaves Bama. Notice I didn’t say “maybe.”
Wow, what a class! I can’t believe that a list of top signees doesn’t include Geno Smith (one of the nation’s top CB recruits), Dillon Lee (top LB prospect), Kenyan Drake (RB), Brandon Greene (OL), I could go on and on, but we all know that just because I left someone off this list doesn’t mean anything. Keep in mind that our first and only Heisman winner didn’t make my Top Ten in 2008, so the sky’s the limit for all of these guys.
That’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed this recap as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, feel free to send me any questions of comments. Until next time, Roll Tide!
Kenny
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