Tide on a Roll: Alabama Looking To Close Out Strong in Recruiting

Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban has spent a lot of time this offseason preaching to his team about finishing strong.

Hopefully his recruiting staff has been paying attention.

With 18 commitments, counting two resigns from last year, the Tide at most has 10 spots left with the new limit of 28 signee's in the SEC. It's entirely possible they may only sign 25 this fall. If that is the case, that would only leave seven more spots open.

The following is a list of the current highly ranked guys on the Tide. As long as the Tide fills its needs, everything else is gravy so to speak. The Tide's current commitments (position wise) are as follows:

• QB—Phillip Sims
  
• RB—Corey Grant and Jalston Fowler
  
• TE—Brian Vogler
  
• OL—Jawuan James, Austin Sheppard, and Chad Lindsey
  
• WR—Blake Sims, Ronald Carswell, and Keiwone Malone
  
• DL—Wilson Love and Craig Sanders
  
• LB—None
• CB—Demarcus Milliner, Deion Blue
• Safety—Jarrick Williams and Nick Perry 
  
• Kicker—Jay Williams and Cade Foster

Saban has done a great job of "finishing" since arriving at the Capstone, so there is no reason to expect this year to be any different.

WR, Keenan Allen: 6'3" 195 lbs. 

Allen has played both offense and defense at Northern Guilford High School in Greensboro, NC. With offers from almost every major school in the country, Allen has whittled his list down too just two schools.

Alabama and Oregon will battle for Allen's signature. A decision is expected soon, as Allen wants to commit before the start of his senior season. The Tide is recruiting him as a wide receiver. At a recent Alabama camp, he showed soft hands, while working at wideout. 

Many Alabama fans assumed he was being recruited as a safety. With the Tide already taking two highly rated safeties in Jarrick Williams and Nick Perry, it free's Allen up for the Tide to take advantage of his speed and athleticism on the offensive side of things.

CB, John Fulton: 6'1" 180 lbs.

Cornerbacks seem to be at a premium in Titletown these days. Nick Saban has made it a focus to bring in a number of highly ranked corners in this year's class. 

Alabama already has two corner's committed and is likely looking to add at least two more.  Saban seems to favor having a number of athletic and speedy corners in helping defend the spread offense.

Fulton is considered the fifth best cornerback in the country by Rivals. He has the excellent speed and quick hips required to play corner in the SEC.

Fulton currently has South Carolina in the lead for his services after a visit to the Gamecocks. Alabama and Georgia are still battling for his signature as well and there is time to make up ground as Fulton has decided to wait until December to announce his decision. The Tide currently considers him a priority for one of their final spots. Fulton will be an early enrolee wherever he ends up.

OT, Damien Robinson: 6'7" 330 lbs.   or   OT, James Stone: 6'5" 297 lbs.

With the Tide likely to take only one more at the tackle spot, both Robinson and Stone are prime candidates to take that spot. Robinson hales from Olive Branch Mississippi, while Stone is from the Country Music Capitol of Nashville, Tennessee. 

Robinson plans to take his time with his recruitment, allowing him to visit as many of his top schools as possible. The Tide is believed to be either at/or near the top of his list.

Stone will wait until his senior season is finished before making any decisions. He wants see how the season develops. His finalists are: Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.

TE, Harrison Jones: 6'4" 230 lbs.

Jones is the brother of Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones. He has his three finalists down to: Alabama, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. He plans to make one last visit to his three finalist schools before the summer is over. 

The Tide's other tight end commitment, Brian Vogler, is more of a traditional tight end, while Jones is more of the H-back type.

Jones plans on having a decision before the end of August.

WR, Vincent Sanders 6'3" 182 lbs.   or   WR, Victor Beasley 6'5" 213 lbs.   or             WR, Demarco Cobbs 6'1" 198 lbs.

Sanders seems content to play the recruiting game right now. While he appears to favor Alabama, I wouldn't be surprised to see him wait until it's too late. He will visit Alabama unofficially on August 1. 

Beasley is an athletic freak. Once thought to commit before school starts, Beasely now says he will take his time, before making a decision. Alabama's biggest competition is Auburn, though the Tigers seem to trail by quite a bit right now.

Tulsa, Oklahoma native Demarco Cobbs has a strong interest in the Tide. He seems intent on going out of state. There is a lot of competition for Cobbs with Florida, LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia among the Tide's biggest worries.

With Malone, Blake Sims, Carswell, and possibly Keenan Allen, the Tide is likely only to take one more at the receiver spot. There is a chance they could take two more depending on how things develop.

LB, CJ Mosely 6'2" 212 lbs.

This Theodore, Alabama star has stayed quiet for the most part this recruiting season. It's thought the Tide hold an advantage over Auburn, even though the Tigers hosted him on his most recent campus visit. Mosely has excellent speed, but will likely play on the inside at the next level.

LB, Ladarius Owens  6'2" 225 lb's.

Owens has big time family connections to Auburn. His uncle was the first African-American to ever play football for the Tigers, so Owen's grew up a big fan of the Tigers. After a recent visit to an Alabama camp, Owens returned home and set a date for his announcement, only to delay it just four days before the scheduled announcement. 

It's widely considered good news for the Tide the longer he delays his decision. If Auburn continues their struggles this season and the Tide plays the way it's capable, Owen's may decide he'd rather play for a team battling for championships, than one trying to rebuild with an unproven coach.

There are other candidates with offers that could be allowed to commit as well as some that could develop after finishing their high school careers with a strong senior season.

The Tide's coaching staff is well on its way to a great class. All they have to do now is follow what the head man has been been preaching over and over this offseason.

Finish Strong!