Alabama Football: Which Defensive 2012 Recruits Is Saban's Still Chasing Hard?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) With about half the 2012 class in the books, Alabama coach Nick Saban still has people he's going after hard and heavy that make the hot list.

Here's a look at who they are, and you'll see why he wants them.

Though Saban certainly won't land them all, you can bet that he'll give it his best shot.

Let's take a look at the defensive players Saban is pursuing the hardest, and keep in mind that this is in no particular order or ranking. Just the list of "hot" prospects he wants.

Defense: Corner Back Tracy Howard

Tracy Howard, a 6'0'', 180-pound cornerback from Miramar, Fla. is a 4-star corner and is ranked as the No. 1 cornerback prospect in the 2012 class, the fifth best player in Florida and the 25th best recruit overall.

Besides Alabama, his other "hot teams" are Florida, Florida State, Miami and LSU.

He has offers from at least a dozen top schools, and more are sure to come.

Defensive End Denico Autry

Can you have enough great defensive ends? Not in Saban's mind and he's trying hard to land this Scooba, Mississippi pass rusher, Denico Autry.

He's a big 6'6'', 255-pound end with the size and speed to come in and be effective immediately.

Rivals has him as a 4-star recruit, and he is presently unranked beyond that. He has at least 13 solid offers from big schools but is considered as being most interested in Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State.

He would be a great snag for any team.

Outside Linebacker Javiere Mitchell

At 6'2'' and less than 200 pounds, Javiere Mitchell still has some filling out he could do to be even more productive than he is right now. But even on the light side, he's a 4-star linebacker and considered to be one of the top 25 linebackers in the 2012 class.

Saban knows that with a little home cooking and a year of Scott Cochran, that he will put on added muscle that he'll need to play in the SEC.

Right now, he is looking at Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State as his top choices. They have all offered him as did UAB and Southern Miss.

Defensive End Jordan Jenkins

Jordan Jenkins is another Georgia prospect that Saban's trying to steal. This one is from Hamilton, Ga., and he is the star defensive end on the Harris County High School team.

He measures out at 6'2'' and 245 pounds and is all filled out and ready to come in and play if he keeps in the same shape he is in now.

He is considered by some ranking services as the No. 1 defensive end and the No. 5 end by Rivals. He is a 4-star on everyone's list and with most thinking will get his fifth star sometime during his senior season.

He has at least 14 offers we know of but just like the previous player mentioned, has Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State as his top schools right now.

Safety Landon Collins

Landon Collins is from Geismar, La. is the No. 2 safety in the 2012 class and is the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana.

He's 6'0'' and 203 pounds of raw speed. He only has 10 offers because he's pretty much made it clear that it could come down to Alabama and LSU.

He has exhibited some interest in Tennessee, Florida and Florida State, but most feel those are long shots at this point.

Cornerback Geno Smith

Geno Smith is yet another top recruit from the athletically laden state of Georgia that Saban is trying to land. He attends St. Pius X High School in Atlanta and is the stud cornerback there that also plays quarterback.

At barely 6-feet tall, he'll never be a big time quarterback, but with his 178-pound body covering the turf with his lightning speed and ball hawking skills, he's clearly one of the best corners out there in the 2012 recruiting class.

This past Thursday he made his last visit to a school before his visit and he came to Alabama on an "unofficial" visit to show the campus and staff to his father, who had never accompanied him to Tuscaloosa. Both met with all the coaches, and both came away very pleased.

His 4.4 40-yard speed is nearly as impressive as his 4.39 shuttle run, and you can see why Rivals has him rated as the No. 4 corner in the country and in the elite group of being in the top 50 recruits overall.

He's narrowed it down to Alabama and Auburn and will make his decision next month.

Defensive Tackle Danny O'Brien

Danny O'Brien is from Flint Powers Catholic High School in Flint, Michigan and Saban hopes to steal away another Flint native as he did with Mark Ingram. And why not?

He's a big shouldered 6'3'', 285-pound defensive tackle that has the speed and agility of a basketball player which he is in fact. No one dares try and sweep his end as he has the quick explosive speed to bust the play long before they get to the corner.

Offensive coordinators usually plan an attack away from O'Brien as he can simply dominate his side of the line.

With 14 known offers at this point, O'Brien is said to be most interested in Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and Tennessee.

Athlete Jeremy Liggins, Offense or Defense? That Is the Question

Jeremy Liggins is just a super athlete. At his high school, he plays quarterback and most of the eight SEC schools who have offered him looked at him as a quarterback option, while some of the others saw this 6'3'', 273-pound frame with speed as a super linebacker or defensive end of the future.

And while that may be his best route to get in the pros, it may be hard for people to overlook him as a quarterback even though most scouting services saw him as a potential defensive player.

Recently, at the BadgerSports 7-on-7 National Championships in Dallas, Liggins helped steer Team Louisiana to the semifinals with accurate passing in all types of ranges.

Liggins now feels that with the right coaching and mentor, he could be an SEC quarterback and light up the scoreboard as he does in high school.

And who knows, he might just be right. With an offer from every SEC but Florida and South Carolina, Liggins is most hot for Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Dalton Santos, Inside Linebacker

Dalton Santos is a stocky 6'3'', 250-pound four star inside linebacker from Van, Texas and has 10 offers from major players in college football.

He had previously committed to Oklahoma State but soon after doing so, just didn't feel that it was the right fit and withdrew his commitment. Now it's down to Alabama and Texas A&M.

However, from everything you can accumulate from all his interviews, it seems like it is the Tide in the lead.

Santos already has the nasty attitude it takes to be an inside linebacker, but that attitude is reserved for opponents with the ball, otherwise he's a friendly outgoing farm boy who is already found a friend in Alabama recruit Reggie Ragland who messages and texts Santos to come and join him at Alabama.

With just a little more size and conditioning, Santos feels he could hit the ground at Alabama ready to compete for playing time.

Saban thinks he may just be right about that.

Cornerback T.J. Davis

It is always important to Nick Saban to have cornerbacks who can cover one on one and allow the front to handle the running game alone. That's why Saban's offered so many great cornerbacks. He has to be sure to land the numbers to keep that group just that way.

T.J. Davis fits that mold and Saban wants him.

Davis is a very solid 6'0'', 180-pound speedster with about 25 offers. I guess the 3-star rating doesn't mean much to those 23 schools that all see the potential that Davis can grow in to with the right coaching and system.

Of the 25 offers, Davis has narrowed his favorites list down to Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, TCU and Florida State.

T. J. is from Tallahassee and has been said to be leaning to the Notre Dame side of the scale and after a recent visit to Auburn, they may have moved to second place just ahead of Ohio State.

Unless something dramatic occurs, I look for Davis to head to other pastures.