Can Alabama Reel in No. 1 Recruit Dorial Green-Beckham?

Alabama fans have had plenty to celebrate these past few days after the Tide’s dominant defensive performance in the BCS championship game against LSU on Monday night.

Nick Saban’s squad has now added the school’s 14th national championship trophy to the display case, but don’t expect Saban and his staff to just sit back and celebrate.

The Tide coaches know that with National Signing Day just a few weeks away, this is a crucial time for recruiting.

Alabama has already landed commitments from some of the top prospects in the country, such as safety Landon Collins, wide receiver Cyrus Jones, linebacker Reggie Ragland and running back T.J. Yeldon.

But there’s still one more big fish that Saban would love to reel in—the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit Dorial Green-Beckham, wide receiver out of Hillcrest High School in Missouri.

Green-Beckham may only be a high school senior, but he already has the look of a man-child. The 6’6’’, 220-pound specimen is the type of rare physically advanced recruit that doesn’t come along very often.

D.G.B. has been one of the true stars of the 2012 recruiting class for the past year. But, up to this point, he’s been tight-lipped about where he wants to play his college ball.

Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas are all believed to be in play to potentially land his services, but we’ll have to wait until National Signing Day to hear his final decision.

With Alabama’s four most productive receivers—WR Marquis Maze, TE Brad Smelley, RB Trent Richardson and WR Darius Hanks—all leaving Tuscaloosa, the Tide would love to bring in a receiver the caliber of Green-Beckham to tag-team with Cyrus Jones and some of the other up-and-coming receivers in the program, such as DeAndrew White, Duron Carter and Kenny Bell.

But getting him to sign on the dotted line presents a challenge.

Even though D.G.B. denied a report that he had cut Alabama from his list, many, including myself, seem to believe that it’s going to be tough for the Tide to get a commitment from him.

If I were a betting man, I’d say Arkansas is the favorite to land the star receiver, with Missouri and Oklahoma both in the mix as well.

The Marques Colston-Andre Johnson hybrid would flourish in the Razorbacks’ offense. And, with Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs all gone, he would have the chance to step into the starting lineup immediately.

Given all the talent that the Tide have already stockpiled for the 2012 recruiting class—one that’s possibly shaping up to be the best overall class in the country—Alabama can afford to lose Dorial Green-Beckham.

But if he does end up choosing SEC West foe Arkansas, that’s definitely going to sting Nick Saban just a little bit.