Ask Farrell: Will Alabama's class finish outside the top 10?
One team has the best recruiting class in the country with 16 pledges, including five-star commitment Jack Sawyer and 13 other four-stars.
That program just landed a pledge from four-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, it has received commitments from six players in total, five of them being four-stars.
The other team has three total pledges and nearly as many decommitments as commitments.
The first team: Ohio State.
The second: Alabama.
Yes, that Alabama. The Crimson Tide received a commitment from Mobile (Ala.) Mobile Christian four-star linebacker Deontae Lawson over the holidays and that's the pledge that stuck since quarterback Drake Maye was committed to Alabama but flipped to North Carolina and defensive back Latrell McCutchin has backed off his pledge as well. This past week Alabama received a commitment from three star defensive lineman Anquin Barnes and enigmatic four star wide receiver Agiye Hall, who wasn’t a take for many programs.
Alabama currently sits in seventh place in the SEC team rankings and No. 38 nationally.
It’s April, which means there are about eight months to the early signing period. That’s a world of time for Nick Saban and his staff to get the recruiting class in tip-top shape. There’s no question elite prospects still want to play for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama sent 10 players to the NFL Scouting Combine and it’s likely all of them will be drafted, with probably four or more going in the first round.
But there are challenges ahead.
Players cannot visit until at least early June. There is no spring evaluation period for Alabama’s coaches to see players at their high schools. By his own admission (he recently grasped the 20th century concept of e-mail), Saban is not all that adept at Zoom or FaceTime videos with recruits, the mode of communicating with prospects in today’s coronavirus world.
Six of the top 10 programs in the team recruiting rankings have double-digit commits already, including all of the top four: Ohio State, Clemson, Florida and North Carolina. Two of the top four players in the state of Alabama are already committed to Auburn.
FARRELL'S TAKE
No one expects Alabama’s class to completely tank, but could we be looking at a Crimson Tide group that finishes outside the top 10 for the first time in the Saban era or will a later-than-normal surge put Alabama back to where it usually exists - right near the top of the team recruiting rankings? We ask National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell.
"I’m not worried about Alabama recruiting and I never will be as long as Saban is in charge. Ohio State is off to an amazing start and are recruiting like an SEC school and Ryan Day is building a program that will likely win a national title soon, but Alabama will be just fine.
"Hall has a ton of talent but is a big boom or bust guy but worth the risk and Barnes is a guy with a high upside. Lawson has a lot of talent as well and of course numerous top prospects from around the country are considering Alabama. Could it be a down year by their standards? It could. But they will still finish in the top five nationally in recruiting. Just watch."