Tide Tidbits – February 4, 2010

Tide’s primary prize:Secondary
Led by Milliner and Fulton, defensive back position seems to be fully stocked for future. Alabama’s string of consecutive No. 1 recruiting national championships was snapped Wednesday. Sort of. No, the Crimson Tide did not put together the country’s highest-rated group of signees. But at its position of greatest need, give the rankings a closer look. According to Rivals.com, Alabama signed the best crop of defensive backs in the nation – a snapshot of reloading for the team that won the BCS national championship last month but lost four of its top five defensive backs. Scout.com has Alabama tied with Florida for the top crop of defensive backs. Look even closer and that group of defensive backs might look still even better. Alabama’s top two cornerback signees – DeMarcus Milliner and John Fulton – are already enrolled and will get a jump on their freshmen seasons by participating in spring practice. [More]

RECRUITING: Few surprises for Crimson Tide
Alabama didn’t finish the way Nick Saban might have hoped, but the Crimson Tide was still able to add a top-five recruiting class on Wednesday. Saban lost one commitment just prior to signing day and failed to sign any of the three that had been mentioned as possible signees in the hours leading up to Wednesday. But the fourth-year head coach said his class addressed the major needs it faced heading into the recruiting season. “Is there anybody ever in college football who didn’t have a good recruiting class, that they didn’t satisfy their needs, that they didn’t get somebody who’s going to make an impact on their team next year?” Saban asked. “I don’t want you to think I’m being glib, but we are pleased with the kind of football players we were able to attract to our school this year.” [More]

Alabama gets an early jump on competition
When touted prep cornerback DeMarcus Milliner realized Alabama was going to lose six or seven defensive backs from its 2009 team, “I just knew I should come in early.” Of the same opinion, quarterback Phillip Sims went to great lengths to obtain approval from the state of Virginia, allowing him to leave high school after 31/2 years and enroll a semester early at Alabama. “I’ll miss prom, but hey, prom is nothing but a big party,” Sims said Wednesday. “And trust me, when you’re in college, it’s a whole lot of parties. You’re going to have plenty of opportunities to have fun and stuff like that. So I’m glad I’m here.” Perhaps as a symptom of football recruiting efforts being pushed back seemingly more each year, more players are leaving high school a semester early to be able to get acclimated in college and participate in spring practice. [More]

ALABAMA RECRUITING CLASS ANALYSIS
PK Cade Foster, 6-1, 215, Southlake, Texas (Carroll)
The first thing that stands out about Foster is his size. He looks more like a linebacker than a kicker, which translates into booming kickoffs that have both distance and height, something that has been lacking in recent years at Alabama. Like most freshmen, the biggest question mark is consistency on field goals, but as the only scholarship kicker he will be penciled in as the replacement for Leigh Tiffin. Played in the U.S. Army All-American Game. [More]

Best Tide signee could come from Auburn
On a day where there was plenty of back-and-forth barking between Alabama and Auburn fans as both debated the relative merits of their football signing classes, a funny thing happened. The closer you got to Auburn, the better it got for Alabama. That’s because of Corey Grant. The 5-foot-9, 186-pound speedster capped his recruitment process Wednesday as a model of what good recruiting should be. Grant committed early to Alabama, choosing the Crimson Tide over Auburn and Florida. He didn’t take any further official visits. He didn’t waver between schools or take the counsel of any advisors other than his father and mother. He didn’t choose between different hats, or announce on ESPNU. Of all the large high schools in the state, few could be considered less of an Alabama stronghold than Opelika, just a few minutes down the road from Jordan-Hare Stadium. Grant is the first Alabama signee ever from Opelika High. [More]

Roll Tide!

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