[Stoney]

Don't forget the junior world record 200 meters holder from Texas that runs a 4'1-40 and his best friend that runs a 4'2-40. They are spectacular.

[Stoney]

Just wait till the recruits see what Saban does this season everyone will be wanting to come to the Capstone.

[cliffbamafan]

Originally Posted by Stoney

Just wait till the recruits see what Saban does this season everyone will be wanting to come to the Capstone.

They allready do,they could never get the recognition any where else! ROLL TIDE!!!

[Stoney]

100k + crowds seem to have an interesting effect on young recruits.

[Stoney]

How about a list of recruits from outside the state

[Tuck4Bama]

Originally Posted by Stoney

How about a list of recruits from outside the state

Go here for a full list of prospects


Alabama Crimson Tide Football, Basketball, and Recruiting Front Page

[Stoney]

Thanks for the info.

[BamaGal4ever]

Early and often


Thursday, May 10, 2007
By THOMAS MURPHY
Sports Reporter

TUSCALOOSA -- This time last year, Alabama football's commitment list consisted of one name.

Jermaine McKenzie wound up bailing and signing with the University of Miami, so the Tide did not get its first permanent commitment until Pensacola safety Chris Lett pledged on May 25.

Today, on May 10, with the spring evaluation period in full swing for Nick Saban's first complete recruiting season at Alabama, the Tide has nine commitments already.

"I think it's like everything else (Saban) does: out front and aggressive," said Travis Reier of BamaOnLine and Rivals.com. "They've come out of the gates offering."

Mitch Dobbs of Bama magazine and Scout.com said Saban's 2007 signing class "obviously wasn't a function of his full recruiting abilities.

"I think Nick Saban has already offered more guys in the state of Alabama at this point this year than (the Mike Shula regime) did at any time last year," Dobbs said. "What (Saban) did from January up until signing day laid the foundation of what's to come."

If Saban's recent history holds course, Alabama's signing class of 2008 will be half to three-quarters full by kickoff time of the Tide's Sept. 1 season opener.

Saban is a strong believer in landing commitments early in the process.

"The calendar in recruiting (has moved up), and sometimes I get blamed for this, back when I started about seven years ago to accelerate the process, to make a lot offers in the spring, to have guys come to summer camp, to get a lot of early commitments," Saban said in one of his first interviews with Alabama media.

Saban's predecessor at LSU, Gerry DiNardo, also charged into the recruiting calendar, but "it became an art form the way (Saban) did it," said Williams Weathers of The Advocate of Baton Rouge.

"He has a passion for recruiting. Not a lot of head coaches treat it like he does. He treats it like an assistant. A lot of head coaches are referred to as the closer, (but) he's out in front on every kid. He's evaluating, making first contact. A lot of head coaches see a kid for the first time on their in-home visit."

Saban has also leaned heavily on a philosophy of recruiting hard within a 500-mile radius of Tuscaloosa.

Alabama has scored commitments from eight in-state players who hail from the north (Huntsville DB Wesley Neighbors), south (RBs Ivan Matchett of St. Paul's and Jermaine Preyear of Davidson), east/central (DL Undra Billingsley and DE Brandon Lewis out of the Birmingham area) and west (TE/DE Michael Williams of Pickens County) of campus. The Tide has also landed two players from its own backyard in lineman John Michael Boswell of Tuscaloosa County and tight end Brad Smelley of American Christian. Alabama's lone out-of-state commitment is kicker Corey Smith from Saban's old West Virginia stomping grounds. Smith is the first kicker to be offered an initial scholarship to Alabama since Mike McLaughlin in 2001.

Whether Saban can dominate within his state borders as he did while at LSU from 2000-04 remains to be seen, and there's no question it will be harder to accomplish with SEC rival Auburn in full stride across the state.
He has made it clear he intends to pound the recruiting trails in Alabama.
"It's really important for players in this state to have an opportunity to play at their state school and have a great choice in terms of what is offered to them relative to academic offerings," Saban said. "I personally think this is the finest institution I've ever been involved with in trying to get this thing done."

The current list of commitments includes three defensive linemen, and there should be several more on the front seven before this class is complete.

"They signed 10 players in the front seven (in the 2007 class) and I think it's pretty obvious they're not done addressing those areas by a long shot," Reier said.

"Obviously they're focused on linemen on both offense and defense," Dobbs said. "They have one offensive guard (Boswell) and I think they've got a lot of offensive linemen they're evaluating, they're going to rank and go after this summer."

Alabama has a bevy of skill position players now, but it'll lose three senior receivers in DJ Hall, Keith Brown and Matt Caddell and will certainly try to add another quarterback.

Some recruiting observers felt that highly touted quarterback Blaine Gabbert was close to committing to Alabama after a visit here in late April. However, the 6-4, 225-pounder out of Ballwin (Mo.) Parkway West has not pulled the trigger and lists the Tide as a favorite along with Missouri and Nebraska.

Alabama's initial high school camp of the summer is scheduled for June 17-20, followed by team camp on June 23 and a second high school camp July 22-25.

[Stoney]

If Saban recruits well in Alabama and Florida he won't need to go too states out side the Southeast to build his teams.

[cliffbamafan]

Originally Posted by Stoney

If Saban recruits well in Alabama and Florida he won't need to go too states out side the Southeast to build his teams.

Sounds like a NATIONAL TITLE to me.ROLL TIDE!!!

[Stoney]

Cliff sometimes I think you and I are the only ones who TRULY believe in a National Title this year.

[Tuck4Bama]

Texas speedster still high on Tide?



By Shane Youngblood, BamaOnLine.com Staff Writer – Rivals.com
Fort Bend Dulles (Sugarland, Tx.) receiver Darryl Stonum was identified early by the Crimson Tide coaching staff as a top target for 2008. Since his Alabama offer, the speedster has seen his offer list blow up. After being courted by some of the top schools in the country, is the Tide still high on this elite prospect's list of favorites?
"Alabama is in my top five schools," said Stonum, who has been clocked at 21.3-seconds in the 200 meters. "There are things about each of my favorite schools that I like, and Alabama has a lot of things going for them."
With a top five list that also includes Florida, Florida State, Southern California and Michigan, what stands out about Alabama?

"Well, they almost had 100,000 fans at their spring game, and that is nuts," said Stonum, who had 49 receptions for 1,078 yards and 16 touchdowns last fall. "And they get an A-plus for their coaching staff. Coach Saban is going to do great things, and you know that whoever plays in his program will be well-coached."
With the impressive offer list, noticably absent among the schools is Texas.
"They said they are looking for something different," said Stonum. "They want bigger receivers. I guess they are looking for possession receivers or something. Their coaches actually came out and watched our spring practice on Monday. I put on a little show for them to show them what they were going to miss."
Also in attendance on Monday was Alabama Offensive Coordinator Major Applewhite.
"Coach Applewhite told my coaches that he was going to come back in two weeks when we have our spring scrimmage and bring Coach Saban," said Stonum. "I am looking to visit Alabama as soon as possible. My track season is over now, and school will be out soon. I am going to get my visits out of the way this summer and make a decision before school starts back."

Updated on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 12:00 pm EDT

[Tuck4Bama]

UA offers Texas WR


UA offers Texas WR



By Tim Watts, BamaOnLine.com Recruiting Editor – Rivals.com
In October, Texas wide receiver Jeff Fuller received his first scholarship offer from Texas A&M where his father played. During the course of the next six months The 6-foot-4, 201-pound Fuller could count his offers on one hand. But all that changed in late April after a great showing at the Fort Worth NIKE camp in which the Boyd High School prospect saw his offers climb to 15.
"It's been a blessing. I've got over 13 offers now with Nebraska, Illinois and Boston College among the most recent. I'm also getting a lot of attention from other programs so hopefully more are on the way," Fuller said. "I performed well and some schools noticed. I've worked hard to get better so it's rewarding. I make sure I give everything in practice and during a game. That is all I can do. I try to live up to the best of my ability."
Last Thursday, Tide assistant coach Major Applewhite visited the McKinney native and Alabama is now one of the schools on his watch list.

"I didn't get to talk to the coach because the whole junior class was on a field trip but I was excited that he came there. I have his card and I'm going to call this week. My coach talked to him for a while and it went pretty good from what he told me. He said they were giving me an offer," Fuller said. "I'm interested in Alabama. I hadn't really thought about them but when coach told me they came by I knew I wanted to check them out. I don't know a lot about them but they have a new staff and a lot of tradition. I'll learn more after I talk to the staff and do some research."
As things stand now Fuller claims to be wide-open in the recruiting process with plans to take some visits this summer.
"I'm not favoring anyone right now. I still want to see what all comes my way but in the meantime I'm going to do my research and see what each school has to offer. This is all happening so fast and I don't want to rush into anything," Fuller said. "I'm going to Texas for a visit on May 11 and they are talking about offering. After that I'm going to take some unofficial visits but I haven't set those up yet. It's still early for me and I'm adjusting to the attention. But I'm going to have fun with it."
As a junior, Fuller recorded 27 catches for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

Updated on Sunday, May 6, 2007 7:00 pm EDT

[Tuck4Bama]

Tennessee standout visits Tuscaloosa


Tennessee standout visits Tuscaloosa


By JC Shurburtt, Special to BamaOnLine.com – Rivals.com




One of the top prospects in the state of Tennessee, Brentwood Academy athlete Chris Jordan, made an unofficial visit to one of the several Southeastern Conference programs that are recruiting him Saturday.
"I went to Alabama yesterday," he said. "It went well. I was impressed with the facilities and stuff the coaches seemed nice. I talked to (Crimson Tide head) coach Nick Saban for a while and I met all the coaches."
The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder and his parents had a lengthy conversation with Saban.
"He wasn't really talking to me," he said. "He was talking to my parents basically and was talking about the academics, building a player and a person and how education was more important than football and stuff."
Jordan also had the chance to talk with other members of the Tide coaching staff.

Coach Burton Burns seemed nice," he said. "I talked to (receivers) coach Curt Cignetti the most. He's real cool. I like him."
Cignetti is Jordan's Alabama recruiter of record and was a Rivals.com Top 25 recruiter nationally for the Class of 2006 while at North Carolina State.
In addition to the coaching staff, Jordan was impressed with a number of other aspects of the Alabama program.
"On a scale of 1-10, I would give them a 10," he said. "The weight room was amazing and the field and the stadium was something I could picture myself playing in. They have an academic building that I haven't seen at any other schools I think that it's 3-4 stories high. They have personal tutors, personal classrooms and study halls. They also have a lounge just to get away if you want.
"Alabama is pretty much a great school. I am using Alabama as a role model university, so I will know what to expect from other schools when I go there."
Jordan added that the Tide is recruiting him as a tailback.
Clemson also is still in the mix and Jordan plans to head down to the Northwestern corner of Upstate South Carolina to get a closer look at the Tigers in June.
"When I went to Clemson (for the NIKE Camp last May), I didn't get to look at Clemson like I did with Alabama (Saturday), so I can't really get into a comparison of the two right now," he said. "I am going to go check out Clemson some time in June."
Class of 2007 national top 25 recruiter Billy Napier is recruiting Jordan for the Tigers, who added "Florida, Georgia Tech are in the mix right now as well."
Ole Miss, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and others also have offered Jordan.
Besides Clemson, Jordan doesn't have any additional trips scheduled, but says he could make a few more.
"For whatever my schedule allows, I will travel to some local schools that are one or two states away," he said. "I have already been to UT and Vandy, so it may be like some neighboring states, I would check them out."
Currently, Jordan is working toward a potential state championship with the Brentwood Academy track and field team.

"The 4x100 team that I am on is guaranteed at state," he said. "I also may qualify in high jump, but I don't know."
Jordan is a Rivals250 to watch prospect for the Class of 2008.

Updated on Sunday, May 6, 2007 4:05 pm EDT

[Tuck4Bama]

TN defender picks up Tide offer


TN defender picks up Tide offer



By Tim Watts, BamaOnLine.com Recruiting Analyst – Rivals.com
The Tide staff has hit the road hard since the May evaluation period began and it is paying off. Just this past week Don'ta Hightower from Lewisburg, Tenn., picked up an Alabama offer after receiving a visit from Tide head coach Nick Saban to watch his practice. Alabama became the 2nd SEC offer for the 6-foot-3, 248-pounder, and the Tide quickly moved among his top choices.
"Coach (Curt) Cignetti has been recruiting me for the last two or three months but Alabama really got serious the last three weeks. Coach Cignetti has been a cool guy so far. He's told me the truth and I appreciate that. He's a good man," Hightower said. "I talked to Coach Saban the other day and he was cool as well. He wasn't trying to sell me on anything but told me that I could play inside or outside linebacker or defensive end for him. There were a lot of ways he could use me.
"He asked me what I was looking for in a school and I told him I wanted to be close to home and Alabama is the 2nd closest behind Vanderbilt so that is good for them. Also, I want a chance to play as a freshman and he told me to work hard and it was possible. And last I wanted to make sure I had good tutors so I could get my degree. He said that wasn't going to be a problem."

Last year Hightower visited Tuscaloosa for a home contest against Duke and that environment made a strong impression.
"I went to see them last year for the Duke game and I was blown away with the environment. It was great. The game was close but the pre-game and everything else was awesome," Hightower said. "You could feel the excitement in the stands and the fans had me ready to play. It was super charged. You can tell it's a football state and that is the kind of school I want to play for."
At this point in the recruiting process Alabama seems in good shape for Hightower but the Tide will have competition.
"They are at the top of my list. I wouldn't say I have a favorite but they have made a big impression so far. I really didn't find any weak points. I'll be going for an unofficial in a few weeks," Hightower said. "I also like Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Louisville and LSU. I want to see which of those schools offer and then possibly take some visits. I've been to Ole Miss this year and it went really good and I would like to take more."
At the Atlanta NIKE combine this year Hightower was clocked at 4.84 in the 40, on a 55 degree afternoon, 31-inch vertical jump and did 17 reps of 185-pounds on the bench.

Updated on Monday, May 7, 2007 11:00 am EDT