Alabama Football: Real Recruiting News That Is Accurate for the 2012 Class

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)—Last week before leaving for vacation, I had the wonderful opportunity to dine with and pick the brain of Andrew Bone, senior recruiting specialist for Scout.com and FoxSports.com in Panama City Beach, Florida.

No one knows recruiting like Andrew Bone when it comes to the SEC and no one else is out there every Friday, laying eyes on these young recruits more than Andrew.

He also stays in touch with each coaching staff to both give insights to these recruits as well as talk with the staff on which prospects they are still targeting.

It was a rare night of insight into what's going on in college football recruiting right now at Alabama.

So in no particular order let's discuss what was learned from a real old pro at this.

Tight Ends

Alabama wants to sign one and the one they're after is Kurt Freitag from Buford High School in Buford, Ga. He's a big 6'3'' target for any QB and has both good hands and great blocking ability.

He already has 14 offers from other schools but likes Bama and Florida. But Florida seems to have a lock on the number one tight end in the country, Kent Taylor, and combined with the fact that Florida said they want to sign three tight ends, that may leave Freitag looking harder at Alabama.

He really liked his visits at Alabama and you can pretty much put this one in the books for Alabama.

Defensive Linemen

Nick Saban just can't seem to stop wanting the best defensive linemen he can get and right now he wants even more.

The ones he's looking at the hardest and still hot on the trail after include: Eddie Goldman, a 6'4'', 307 pound defensive tackle from the District of Columbia, Quay Evans, a 6'3'' 300 defensive tackle from Morton, Mississippi and Daniel McCullurs, the biggest of the three, at 6'6'' and 375 pounds, a nose tackle from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Goldman was one of the many recruits that were swept up with the excitement of the Alabama - LSU game and the atmosphere at game time and has said that this and the relationship he's built with the coaching staff at Alabama places them high on the list.

Bama has a better-than-not shot of landing Goldman. He is currently the number one defensive tackle prospect in the country.

Of Evans, Scout.com says,

"Evans is lightning fast off the ball. He's too quick to pull a guard away from him, because he'll break up the play in the backfield. Outstanding body lean and change of direction. He is constantly in the backfield and ball carriers have a hard time sidestepping him because of his ability to drop his shoulders and turn. He plays with outstanding strength and leverage. Does a good job of keeping blockers off of his legs #1 prospect in MS, and strong contention, if not, the #1 DT in the Nation."
- Scott Kennedy, Scout.com

Dalvin Tomlinson is someone you may not have heard much about to this point. Bone says he has all the tools to be the next Marcell Dareus.

He is 6'2'' and 270 pounds and most think that Tide and Georgia Tech are the two schools most likely to be front-runners with a slight edge to the Tide. He was yet another of the recruits who came to see the Alabama-LSU game and loved the game atmosphere.

Tomlinson said that Bama has about a 50 percent chance of signing Evans at this point.

McCullers is a Jr. College prospect, who could literally be the next Terrance Cody. Scout's assessment of him is:

"Surprisingly nimble for as big as he is, McCullers is a space eating nose guard capable of pushing a center and guard straight backwards. He's not going to have the quickness to make a lot of plays laterally, but he makes it tough for defenses to go up the middle. Relatively effective in the passing game because of his good straight ahead push and long arms allow him to clog passing lanes up the middle. Conditioning is a concern."

McCullers likes the visibility and pro prospects of being a nose tackle at Alabama and they have a better than 50 percent chance of signing him.

Linebacker

There's really only one that the staff would kill to get and that's Jordan Jenkins, a 6'3'' defensive end in high school that Nick Saban thinks could be the Jack Linebacker he's always wanted.

It's come down to Alabama and Florida for Jenkins, but Georgia is making a very hard late push. Though the talent in front of him at Alabama is daunting, Jenkins is confident that he could push for early playing time like other talented freshmen have

Chances are Bama has the inside track for this man that Saban thinks he can develop into the perfect Jack linebacker.

Defensive Secondary

What else could be closer to Nick Saban's heart than great defensive backs? It's no secret that Nick Saban makes this a prime recruiting mission. With Geno Smith and Eddie Williams in hand, Saban would certainly like to add to those two.

Travell Dixon was yet another prospect that was there for the Alabama-LSU game that came away very impressed with everything he saw and everyone he met.He is a 6'2'', 200 pound cornerback at Eastern Arizona Jr. College in Thatcher, Arizona.

Dixon is said to be one of the best prospects in the country. Most not only feel Alabama will land him, but that he will enroll early in January to be part of the spring practice.

Deion Belue was a 2010 commitment to the Tide from Dreshler High School in Tuscumbia, Alabama, but he didn't have the grades and spent the 2010 and 2011 season at Northeast Mississippi Jr. College.

Now with his grades in order, he is finally ready to rejoin the Tide for the 2012 class. He now stands at 6'0'' and weighs in at about 170 with a blazing 4.3 second 40 yard time.

About him Andrew Bone says, "Belue is an electric playmaker with the ball in his hands. He can make defenders miss when returning kicks and is an aggresive player on the defensive side of the ball as well. He has excellent ball skills and is truly a gifted athlete."

As for Landon Collins, of course the Tide would like to land him, but he is looking more like an LSU commitment all the time. He was at the Alabama-LSU game and loved the atmosphere at Alabama, but is feeling the heat to stay in state.

It's a four-hour ride from his home to the campus here. Almost all feel that everyone else is on the outside looking in for this number one defensive back prospect except for LSU and Alabama. The Tigers seem to have a slim lead right now for this 6'0'', 200 pound prospect from Geismer, Louisiana.

Final Conclusion

Bone says the worst Alabama can do is a top-five class and they could land the honor of top class in the best case scenario. In all, I have to agree with everything I learned from him and things do indeed look good for the future in Tuscaloosa.