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(A Very Fluid) Three Weeks 'til NSD Recruiting Update 1/14

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runtheoption22

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First, I want to say that this class has become even better than most of us had ever anticipated. The majority of our guys have moved up the rankings, some very significantly.

Here are just a few bullet thoughts after a round of official visits:

  • Might as well get this one out of the way. Unless we just blow Randle out of the water this weekend, I expect him to sign with LSU.
  • Having said that, Patterson becomes even more important than before. In all honesty, he's probably RR's equal as a receiver. It will be a dog-fight with OM, with UT barely in the picture.
  • McCarron did bond with some of these WRs at the Army game.
  • I think Tana Patrick is leaning towards Bama, but UT/Orgeron is all over him.
  • Barring a huge flip back to FSU, Stinson should be on board.
  • Moore is an interesting case, and with Murphy in, now, he might not be a priority. However, there are a couple of DL academic concerns that may keep him a priority.
  • No recent news on Massie
  • It will be difficult to pull Reid, but playing time is likely his deciding factor. We need CBs.
  • We should get Kirkpatrick, but he has academic work to do.
  • I'm torn on Kelly. I'm leaning towards we take him, just because of potential. Injuries really hampered him this year.
  • Bumphis seems legitimately torn after his official. It just depends if he wants to leave home and play in a traditional system that will contend for titles or be the next "Percy Harvin" in Mullen's perrenial cellar dweller.
  • Darrington Sentimore should qualify, needing only a small bump in ACT or GPA to be safe, if reported grades are accurate.
  • Rod Woodson needs to finish strong to qualify. He's probably the longest off of our commits, but it's doable. We really need him at safety.
  • Speaking of safeties, Myles was blown away by Bama. I think we lead, but barely, over LSU. LSU was the boyhood team, and we are having to overcome that.
  • No recent news on Steen, but he still needs some work academically. He's a nasty one, and we need that in an OL.
  • There's a rumor Dial has been talked to about a greyshirt to get academics in order, and not cause him to go to JUCO. The only way I can relate that is Travis McCall, who stayed at Prattville to retake classes and delayed enrollment. That's just my speculation, though, nothing concrete.
  • Pray Bowman gets his last academics taken care of. Physically, he's our closest to Julio.
 
SimCastilleFan3

SimCastilleFan3

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I believe we will make it hard for Randle but in the end he will eventually sign with LSU. I didnt know Dre had some academic problems but I believe he will get it done and will be wearing a crimson jersey this fall!!
 
crimson_blood

crimson_blood

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Great stuff...if we can pull one of the 2 between Bumphis and Patterson, I'll be happy. I really hope we can hang onto Tana...I think he's gonna be a great, great player.
 
WMack4Bama

WMack4Bama

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runtheoption22 said:
  • Barring a huge flip back to FSU, Stinson should be on board.
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Spoke with my guy two days ago, and AFTER a visit from Chuck Amato, Stinson is still a heavy lean toward Bama (95%). He's ours. I'm waiting for him to tell me when Ed's expected to announce.


runtheoption22 said:
  • Rod Woodson needs to finish strong to qualify. He's probably the longest off of our commits, but it's doable. We really need him at safety.
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Understatement of the year. I'd take a kid with his physical talents ANY day. Will probably be the best tackling safety since Marcus Spencer.
 
C

CrimsonEyeshade

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Lots of academic question marks. Maybe the reputed CNS comments in an earlier thread about the scholastic shortcomings of this class of recruits are dead-on.

I can't remember an Alabama recruiting class with these many kids on the eligibility bubble. These numbers are typical for Georgia and Auburn, not us.
 
RedStar

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I've been saying for a while now, I want Patterson. Just as much as I want Randle. Patterson is a better candidate to be ready to step in next year. I think Rueben would still be a year away from making an impact. Patterson is the best receiver Mississippi has produced in at least 10 years, and think about the level of talent MS produces. To me it's easily the highest amount of talent per capita than any other state. This kid is incredible.
 
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BigEasyTider

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CrimsonEyeshade said:
Lots of academic question marks. Maybe the reputed CNS comments in an earlier thread about the scholastic shortcomings of this class of recruits are dead-on.

I can't remember an Alabama recruiting class with these many kids on the eligibility bubble. These numbers are typical for Georgia and Auburn, not us.
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I disagree. We've got a few academic cases out there now, but there are only a few.

The "serious" cases would consist of Woodson, Steen, Sentimore, Bowman, and perhaps Dial. Even so, though, all of those guys have a legitimate shot at qualifying -- and it seems that Sentimore may have already done enough to make it -- and probably half of them will make it.

When you put it all together, we'll probably have two or three guys who don't qualify academically, but that's pretty much the norm. This is not going to be anything near some of the situations we've seen at Auburn were 8-10 guys don't qualify, or anything even remotely close to that. Thinking that will be the case is simply blowing our current situation drastically out of proportion.
 
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bamamick

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If Patrick decides to go to UTK I am almost positive that I will puke. NO! That can NOT happen.

rtr
 
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Bama Ben

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Tider@UNA said:
I've been saying for a while now, I want Patterson. Just as much as I want Randle. Patterson is a better candidate to be ready to step in next year. I think Rueben would still be a year away from making an impact. Patterson is the best receiver Mississippi has produced in at least 10 years, and think about the level of talent MS produces. To me it's easily the highest amount of talent per capita than any other state. This kid is incredible.
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I would have to disagree with you on this one. The kid who broke his leg in the bowl game for Southern Miss is an amazing wide receiver. PP is great but this guy was astonishing with his ability.
 
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CrimsonEyeshade

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BigEasyTider said:
I disagree. We've got a few academic cases out there now, but there are only a few.

The "serious" cases would consist of Woodson, Steen, Sentimore, Bowman, and perhaps Dial. Even so, though, all of those guys have a legitimate shot at qualifying -- and it seems that Sentimore may have already done enough to make it -- and probably half of them will make it.

When you put it all together, we'll probably have two or three guys who don't qualify academically, but that's pretty much the norm. This is not going to be anything near some of the situations we've seen at Auburn were 8-10 guys don't qualify, or anything even remotely close to that. Thinking that will be the case is simply blowing our current situation drastically out of proportion.
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BET, you're far closer to the situation, and it may turn out we only lose a few kids.

That said, it's not unreasonable to conclude that one possible reason behind the surprising size of this class is that the guy putting it together anticipates a significantly longer casualty list. True or not, this class clearly has more at-risk kids than last year's, and the four you highlight include some of the most important members in the class. Then RTO reports that 'Dre has work to do . . . and so on and so on.

In the end, all that matters is how it all turns out. Let's hope it turns out well.
 
B

BigEasyTider

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CrimsonEyeshade said:
BET, you're far closer to the situation, and it may turn out we only lose a few kids.

That said, it's not unreasonable to conclude that one possible reason behind the surprising size of this class is that the guy putting it together anticipates a significantly longer casualty list. True or not, this class clearly has more at-risk kids than last year's, and the four you highlight include some of the most important members in the class. Then RTO reports that 'Dre has work to do . . . and so on and so on.

In the end, all that matters is how it all turns out. Let's hope it turns out well.
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I don't think the size really has anything to do with any academic uncertainty. The increased size of this class, IMO, stems from the fact that we have one more player than expected leaving early (Coffee), and because we widely expect to lose several players this offseason due to various attrition-related reasons. I'm sure we'll have two or three academic casualties in this class, as per usual, but I don't see any reason to believe that we are loading up on overall class size because we are afraid a ton of players won't make the grades.

I just don't see where this class has any more academic concerns than the class we had a year ago. In fact, the two almost seem to be almost exact replicas of one another... somewhere in the neighborhood of about six academic question marks, but all of them can reasonably get the job done, and at the end of the day a few will and a few won't.

And don't worry too much about Kirkpatrick, either. He's a smart kid who will get things done. Don't forget, at this time a year ago Julio himself still had some academic issues to resolve. And especially with a high school graduation exam, keep in mind that one can go up to the very end with you getting a chance to pass it. Le'Ron McClain, for example, passed his during the first week of Fall practice in August of 2003, and he was good to go in the second week.

tidefan23 said:
al.com reporting that Massie has cancelled his visit this weekend because his parents would be unable to go as well:

OT recruit Morgan Moses not visiting Alabama this weekend... - The Rap Sheet - al.com
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The link is about Morgan Moses canceling his visit, not Massie. In fact, Massie is not even scheduled to visit Alabama until next weekend, so he's not expect this weekend anyway. As for Moses, I think it's a non-issue. I don't think he really wants to come here anyway, and frankly I'm not sure we would even take him.

And as for Fluker, that's not true. No one is expecting any academic concerns with him.
 
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