I have not heard much from Alabama's perspective on Solomon Patton. However, I continue to hear that he's very interested in Florida and LSU. Seems he was "blown away" by his trip to Gainesville. He has an upcoming visit to LSU this weekend. Does anyone have any information regarding him?
WR Solomon Patton visited Bama for A-Day
- Thread starter CapstoneGrad06
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I've been wandering which way Patton is leaning also and what kind of interest he has in Alabama.
Maybe it's just me, and this is purely a gut feeling on my part at this point, but considering who we already have on board and who is still left on our board, I'm not sure where Patton fits in. A lot can and most likely will change between now and signing day but if I had to guess right now I'd say he might be on the outside looking in. JOMO.
If solomon had an offer at any time from Bama, I believe he has waited too long and missed the ship.
As I said previously with Patton, I am just not really sure that he is very high on our staff's board.
He's got great speed, but he's such a small player, and we really don't have an offense that is going to utilize a lot of 5'9 and 160 pound guys. We have a couple of guys already who can basically do what he can for us, and as a result I just don't think his marginal value is that high to us.
He is a guy I would like to have because (1) he is from a key recruiting area, and (2) he is a good player. Nevertheless, though, space has gotten really limited with us at wide receiver now that Malone and Carswell are on board, and frankly I think it's pretty clear at this point that Patton is behind several other guys on the wide receiver pecking order right now. That may change in the future as things shake out, but as far right now I don't think he has a firm offer, and frankly on a more personal note I think his skill set might be a better fit at a place like LSU or Florida than it is here.
Finally, don't read anything into the whole "blown away" by the Florida visit stuff. That comes from Jason Higdon of the Florida Scout.com site, and he's one of the biggest homers around. This is the same guy who was saying that Brandon Moore was headed to Florida after his visit last year, completely missing on the fact that Moore actually gave his verbal commitment to Saban on the car ride home from Gainesville. Obviously, take all of that with a massive grain of salt.
He's got great speed, but he's such a small player, and we really don't have an offense that is going to utilize a lot of 5'9 and 160 pound guys. We have a couple of guys already who can basically do what he can for us, and as a result I just don't think his marginal value is that high to us.
He is a guy I would like to have because (1) he is from a key recruiting area, and (2) he is a good player. Nevertheless, though, space has gotten really limited with us at wide receiver now that Malone and Carswell are on board, and frankly I think it's pretty clear at this point that Patton is behind several other guys on the wide receiver pecking order right now. That may change in the future as things shake out, but as far right now I don't think he has a firm offer, and frankly on a more personal note I think his skill set might be a better fit at a place like LSU or Florida than it is here.
Finally, don't read anything into the whole "blown away" by the Florida visit stuff. That comes from Jason Higdon of the Florida Scout.com site, and he's one of the biggest homers around. This is the same guy who was saying that Brandon Moore was headed to Florida after his visit last year, completely missing on the fact that Moore actually gave his verbal commitment to Saban on the car ride home from Gainesville. Obviously, take all of that with a massive grain of salt.
And unless things have changed, the last I heard on Patton was that he was going to the LSU Spring game instead of the A-Day game this weekend, so that ought to tell you something.
Just to add to what BET said, Patton just is not a priority for us at the moment. He is a talented player, no doubt, but he is not exactly what we need right now. We still have quite a few talented WR's on the board such as Ambles and Richardson and with Malone and Carswell we are running out of room.
Also Patton has made it quite clear that he would like to play in a spread offense. So to be honest with you he would probably be better off going else where.
Also Patton has made it quite clear that he would like to play in a spread offense. So to be honest with you he would probably be better off going else where.
I could see him fitting in at Florida. But its gettin to a point where its ridiculous. You think that with the athletes they already have, that fewer athletes would go there. But they keep piling them up. They already have guys like Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody and Brandon James, but they still bring in guys like Andre Debose from last year.
Overall, Patton may be just too small for a team like LSU or Alabama, who are more powerhouse teams
Overall, Patton may be just too small for a team like LSU or Alabama, who are more powerhouse teams
I agree. The kid is a smallish, chiseled track star...he is tailor-made for Urb's offense. It's pretty obvious that our staff has backed off him (for whatever reason), as BET and ABT have noted. If he won't even be in attendance at A-Day, that's a good sign that our staff has pulled back on contacting him considerably. I mean we have guys flying in from Michigan all excited for A-Day
I was really hoping we would land this kid after watching his film, but I must admit he fits into UF's offense much better than our own. C'est la vie in the recruiting game, you can only sign so many.Just to add a bit more...
We already have two wide receiver prospects in this class, and I do not see us signing any more than four, and even three could be a legitimate possibility if (1) Bowman qualifies and (2) the other three 2009 wide receiver prospects show good progress this Fall. I think the smart money is clearly on four wide receiver prospects being brought in for 2010, but I'd be shocked if we brought in any more than that.
So, effectively, I think it is safe to assume that we have only two spots left for wide receiver commitments at this point. And with that in mind, I think it is clear that Markeith Ambles, Jeremy Richardson, Da'Rick Rogers, and Demarco Cobbs are all ahead of Patton at this point. And it is also possible that B.J. Chitty (who is ours if we want), and Julian Horton (likely the same as Chitty) are also ahead of Patton.
Bottom line: We have only about spots left for two wide receivers in this class, and I think Patton is currently, at best, fifth in the pecking order right now, and might even be as low as seventh. Obviously, he's a good ways on the outside looking in right now.
And finally, I'll add again that I just do not think that Patton gives us much of anything that we do not already have. Again, we just do not have an offense that is really going to utilize a 5'9 and 160 pound receiver very much. It is certainly nice to have some speed burners on the outside, but we really already have that. Guys like Maze, Hanks, Bell, and Malone can get that done for us right now.
We already have two wide receiver prospects in this class, and I do not see us signing any more than four, and even three could be a legitimate possibility if (1) Bowman qualifies and (2) the other three 2009 wide receiver prospects show good progress this Fall. I think the smart money is clearly on four wide receiver prospects being brought in for 2010, but I'd be shocked if we brought in any more than that.
So, effectively, I think it is safe to assume that we have only two spots left for wide receiver commitments at this point. And with that in mind, I think it is clear that Markeith Ambles, Jeremy Richardson, Da'Rick Rogers, and Demarco Cobbs are all ahead of Patton at this point. And it is also possible that B.J. Chitty (who is ours if we want), and Julian Horton (likely the same as Chitty) are also ahead of Patton.
Bottom line: We have only about spots left for two wide receivers in this class, and I think Patton is currently, at best, fifth in the pecking order right now, and might even be as low as seventh. Obviously, he's a good ways on the outside looking in right now.
And finally, I'll add again that I just do not think that Patton gives us much of anything that we do not already have. Again, we just do not have an offense that is really going to utilize a 5'9 and 160 pound receiver very much. It is certainly nice to have some speed burners on the outside, but we really already have that. Guys like Maze, Hanks, Bell, and Malone can get that done for us right now.
Don't count out LSU by any stretch. They have ground it out lately, but Crowton is a spread guy who wants to air it out, and if he can get the personnel he will do just that. Personnel limitations and injuries -- Flynn's ankle / shoulder injury in 2007, and the horrid QB play in 2008 -- have kept him from really doing that, but make no mistake that is what he wants to do. Moreover, I imagine that LSU will try to sell him on using him in a role similar to Trindon Holliday, who will be a senior this season. They'll use him in the return game and as a gimmick guy on offense.
Furthermore, do you really think Miles would be able to pass on Patton if he really wanted LSU? I think Hell would freeze over before Miles would pass on a chance to go into a hotbed recruiting area, plus Nick Saban territory, and "steal" one away from the ol' Nicktator. If Patton wants LSU, I'd bet the farm they will snap him up immediately.
Again, don't underestimate the A-Day deal. As you mentioned, we literally have kids who are considered locks for other schools coming in from across the country, on their own dime, to see Tuscaloosa and the A-Day game. And now this in-state kid is going to instead go to Baton Rouge to watch 20,000 people show up to see some bad QB play and a bunch of drunk Cajuns eating mudbugs by the bushel? Again, that ought to tell you all you need to know.If he won't even be in attendance at A-Day, that's a good sign that our staff has pulled back on contacting him considerably. I mean we have guys flying in from Michigan all excited for A-Day
As for Florida, I'm not sure Patton is a huge priority for them either. He clearly fits well into their scheme, and of course Meyer would love getting another kid out of Mobile, but they already have a plethora of similar guys. Andre Debose was a five-star last year who was recruited for that role, and they still have guys like Rainey and Demps to play that role. Moreover, Jaylen Watkins just committed in the 2010 class a couple of days ago, and he is largely going to play that same role.
All told, I'm just not sure he's a big priority for the Gators. They may take him, but I really do not see him being "the" guy for them. The Harvin role in that offense moving forward, I think, will be dominated by Rainey, Demps, Debose, and Watkins. Patton would probably have a hard time just getting on the field in Gainesville.
Personally, I think the smart money is probably on LSU right now.
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There are alot of good receivers in this class. On top of the two we already have committed, I really like Ambles and Richardson. I dont know much about Rogers, and it will probably be tough to pull Cobbs out of OK.
One more note on Patton and LSU, I think it should be pointed out that they probably don't really need him. With Shepard playing in the slot, they are going after Trovon Reed, a five-star kid out of south Louisiana who would pretty much do what Patton would do.
As a result of that, I really don't think Patton would have a huge marginal value to LSU either. Again, though, there's no way that Miles passes on the chance of getting a kid out of Saban's backyard.
As a result of that, I really don't think Patton would have a huge marginal value to LSU either. Again, though, there's no way that Miles passes on the chance of getting a kid out of Saban's backyard.
Rogers is a flat out stud, I'd be highly surprised if he, Ambles, and Richardson weren't ahead of Patton. I believe Patton is lower on the board because of less versatility, he's likely only a two position player at best (slot WR or CB). In all likelihood he's too small to play CB and he doesn't really bring anything to slot that we don't already have or will have (in all likelihood with bigger players).
I certainly wouldn't argue with you, like I said Rogers is a flat out stud, and I would certainly love to see him in Crimson.
Some interesting news breaking on Patton this morning...
He had been planning on skipping the A-Day game and attending the LSU spring game instead. However, this morning he changed his plans and he is now going to attend the A-Day game, and will stay in Tuscaloosa through Sunday so he can compete in the Scout.com Southeast Elite Camp.
This is pretty big news, and I think it gives us some insight. Some have thought that Patton wanted us a lot more than we wanted him, and this seems to confirm this. Canceling on LSU is a pretty big deal this late in the game, and this whole move just wreaks of Patton trying to get in good with the Alabama coaching staff and trying to impress them at the camp on Sunday.
We'll have to see how it works out, but it's not too hard to read the tea leaves on this one. Despite the fact that he apparently does have firm offers from LSU and Florida, it is plain as day that Patton is coming to Tuscaloosa with one goal in mind, and that is to get a firm offer from the Tide.
As I said earlier in this thread, though, I do think he is a pretty good ways down the pecking order right now. I think he is going to need a very good combine performance on Sunday to legitimately be able to walk away with a firm offer.
He had been planning on skipping the A-Day game and attending the LSU spring game instead. However, this morning he changed his plans and he is now going to attend the A-Day game, and will stay in Tuscaloosa through Sunday so he can compete in the Scout.com Southeast Elite Camp.
This is pretty big news, and I think it gives us some insight. Some have thought that Patton wanted us a lot more than we wanted him, and this seems to confirm this. Canceling on LSU is a pretty big deal this late in the game, and this whole move just wreaks of Patton trying to get in good with the Alabama coaching staff and trying to impress them at the camp on Sunday.
We'll have to see how it works out, but it's not too hard to read the tea leaves on this one. Despite the fact that he apparently does have firm offers from LSU and Florida, it is plain as day that Patton is coming to Tuscaloosa with one goal in mind, and that is to get a firm offer from the Tide.
As I said earlier in this thread, though, I do think he is a pretty good ways down the pecking order right now. I think he is going to need a very good combine performance on Sunday to legitimately be able to walk away with a firm offer.
I don't know BET, I gotta disagree a bit. I think the staff was so-so on Patton and Patton was so-so on Bama. Patton has said that he felt like he should be in a spread or a pass happier offense, etc. I think he didn't see Bama providing that in any way, and I think the staff would have accepted a commitment from him, but would rather get some taller more physical WR. I think this whole change of venue for Patton this weekend is directly related to Phillip Sims committment. With Sims committment all of a sudden we look much more appealing to Patton and probably alot of WRs. Therefore he changes from going to LSU this weekend to Bama. In my mind he still would have went to LSU if Sims didn't commit.
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