Alabama National Signing Day 2015: 5 Takeaways from Crimson Tide's Class

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama may have missed out on another national championship, but it found itself No. 1 in the college football world once again on Wednesday.

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide put together a consensus No. 1 class, with only Rivals ranking Alabama No. 2 behind USC, signing 24 players to its 2015 haul, with eight of those players already on campus as early enrollees.

It wasn’t the volume, though, that put Alabama over the top this year. Its pure number of signees didn’t compare to schools like Tennessee, Ole Miss or Auburn. But the Crimson Tide had the highest average grade per signee, giving Alabama more quality in addition to quantity.

Here are five takeaways from this year’s Alabama class.

No. 1 Again

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It’s been quite the run for Saban and Alabama, especially in the recruiting rankings.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, this is Alabama’s fifth straight No. 1 class, a streak that dates back to 2011. That means that every player on campus in Tuscaloosa was part of a No. 1 class. And according to Rivals, before this year Alabama had pulled in the No. 1 class six of the last seven years, going all the way back to the 2008 class many credit with launching Alabama's dynasty.

Some of that has been just because of the sheer talent Saban brings in. But Saban himself thinks that his players automatically get a little bit of a bump.

"Sometimes I don't know what comes first in recruiting rankings, the cart or the horse,” he said before the SEC Championship Game, according to The Associated Press. “When a guy gets recruited by what I'm going to call high-profile programs, he gets ranked higher. That's where I question the validity of how accurate some of those things may be."

Still, it’s hard to deny that recruiting success hasn’t turned into on-field success. Alabama has won three national titles in that span and have only missed at least a BCS bowl (or, now, College Football Playoff berth) since that 2008 recruiting class.

As Cecil Hurt of The Tuscaloosa News noted, while everyone is gleefully throwing out the no-5-stars-in-the-Super-Bowl stat, there were 15 in the playoff. It helps to recruit the best, and Alabama does just that.

Alabama Continues to Be "Running Back U"

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T.J. Yeldon is expected to continue Alabama’s tradition of sending top running backs to the NFL, after Eddie Lacy, Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram.

On Wednesday, Alabama officially added three players who could be next in line.

Technically, 5-star athlete Bo Scarbrough was part of the 2014 class. But academic qualifying issues kept him from getting to campus in the fall. He practiced with the team in Tuscaloosa during Sugar Bowl prep and will be with the team this spring, so Alabama is counting him as part of this 2015 group. Scarbrough is an electric athlete that started practice at running back but could end up at wide receiver or even tight end.

Otherwise, Alabama added two more studs to carry the rock.

Four-star Desherrius Flowers comes from Mobile, Alabama, the same part of the state as Yeldon. In fact, when Yeldon declared for the NFL draft, he was asked about the backs Alabama has returning and he mentioned Flowers among the returning running backs.

Flowers is already on campus, giving him a leg up at a position that has proven easier than others to come in and see the field early.

On the same day Yeldon was declared for the NFL, Alabama also pulled in a late commitment from 5-star Damien Harris, a shorter back from Berea, Kentucky. Harris picked Alabama over Kentucky and has a chance to join a starting rotation that will include Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake.

Alabama continues to load up at running back.

Secondary Help on the Way

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Deionte Thompson

After giving up the most passing yards of the Saban era in 2014, Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart took big steps in shoring up that part of the defense in this cycle.

For the second year in a row, Alabama signed two 5-star cornerbacks, grabbing Kendall Sheffield and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the No. 4 and No. 5 corners in this class, respectively.

Alabama returns Cyrus Jones, who started every game at cornerback, while Eddie Jackson Tony Brown will likely compete for the other starting role. But Sheffield and Fitzpatrick add depth to a unit that appears to have a very bright future. They could see playing time this year on special teams.

Where the real immediate impact could be is at safety, where Alabama added 4-stars Deionte Thompson and Ronnie Harrison, both of whom enrolled early and have already started class.

The Crimson Tide lost its top three safeties this offseason, so there is plenty of room for opportunity and competition. It wouldn’t be out of the question to see Thompson or Harrison get some looks at Star or Money (essentially the fifth and sixth defensive backs) in spring and fall camp.

Loading Up the Trenches

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Despite going to a more open offense that set a school record for total yards, Saban and Alabama haven’t forgotten where the game is won and lost.

The Crimson Tide added five offensive linemen and four defensive linemen, solidifying both lines and building depth.

Alabama is already stacked on the defensive side, with four returning starters that will in all likelihood be NFL draft picks in 2016. But the Crimson Tide made sure there won’t be a dropoff when that happens.

Daron Payne was the biggest get, both literally and figuratively, a 5-star defensive tackle from right down the road in Birmingham. Alabama also already has 4-star JUCO tackle Jonathan Taylor, who has been a lightning rod among the fanbase after he was kicked out of Georgia for allegedly punching and choking his then-girlfriend.

Alabama added two more 4-star defensive ends, Mehki Brown and Anfernee Jennings, to complete the haul.

On offense, the Crimson Tide signed five offensive linemen for the second straight year, headlined by Tuscaloosa’s Lester Cotton and Dallas Warmack, brother of former Alabama All-American Chance Warmack.

Four of the five offensive linemen are listed as guards, though offensive linemen at Alabama usually get looks at both guard and tackle. Still, the interior, especially on the right side, was a weakness for Alabama this year. It looks like that won’t be a problem in the future.

The Next Star Connection?

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It’s hard to look at quarterback Blake Barnett and wide receiver Calvin Ridley and not have flashbacks to Greg McElroy-to-Julio Jones or Blake Sims-to-Amari Cooper.

Barnett is a 5-star mobile quarterback, who could be a game-changer at that position in Lane Kiffin’s offense, and the highest-rated quarterback prospect Saban has ever signed. Ridley is also a 5-star, and they made quite a pair this summer at The Opening.

With a wide-open quarterback battle set to take place this offseason, Barnett’s status as a true freshman shouldn’t necessarily limit his chances to win the job.

And there is definitely a precedent for wide receivers playing right away. Cooper and Jones both did just that and were dominant players from the time they stepped on campus.

If Barnett and Ridley can both catch on sooner rather than later, it could be the start of a special duo for a few years.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information comes courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.