Alabama Football: Early Grades for 2016 Recruiting Class

A slow start isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Alabama in recruiting, and it’s not that uncommon either.

The 2016 class might just be taking a little longer than usual.

2015’s haul started similarly but got a big kick-start at the 2014 A-Day, when four players committed, including two 5-stars, pushing Alabama’s class to 14 commitments at the time. This year, it’s been more of a slow trickle, with just eight commitments to date, but no drop in quality.

When doing some early analysis of the Crimson Tide’s 2016 class, it’s important to remember that there are still 10 or so months until national signing day. Consider these more midterm grades, a judge of progress, than a final evaluation.

Offense

Name	Position	Star rating
Jonah Williams	Offensive tackle	4
Chris Owens	Offensive guard	4
Deonte Brown	Offensive guard	4
T.J. Simmons	Wide receiver	3
Brendan Scales	Tight end	3

The fact remains that Alabama still needs running backs, in a bad way.

Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake will both likely be gone after 2015, leaving the Crimson Tide with a ton of inexperience at running back.

One of Damien Harris, DeSherrius Flowers or Ronnie Clark should get a little bit of playing time, while Bo Scarbrough has dealt with knee problems during his football career.

So Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin would like to add a running back or two in this class to build a little bit of depth. That’s proven to be a challenge. They have offers out to 12 backs, though most of them already committed.

Elsewhere, this looks to be a typical offensive Saban recruiting class, heavy on offensive linemen once again with three commitments in the trenches already.

Credit: 247Sports

Alabama would probably like to add another slam-dunk left tackle to bookend Cam Robinson for his junior, and likely final, season. Willie Allen, a 5-star from Louisiana, would certainly fit that bill.

Another position where Alabama would like to add another body or two is tight end, where O.J. Howard will be a rising junior with not much in the way of receiving threats behind him.

Brendan Scales was a nice pickup but another receiving threat would be very much welcome.

Also missing right now is a quarterback, a position where Saban has signed at least one guy in each of his recruiting classes.

Alabama’s top two targets are Jawon Pass and Woody Barrett, both dual-threat guys who the Crimson Tide are battling in-state Auburn for.

All in all, Alabama is off to a good start on offense, with the class building from the inside out. It still needs to add a few key pieces but should be in good shape come signing day.

Grade: B

Defense

Name	Position	Star rating
Shyheim Carter	Cornerback	4
Raekwon Davis	Defensive tackle	3
Joshua Perry	Safety	3

Alabama’s top commitment for 2016 so far is on the defensive side of the ball, but after him there aren’t any other 4-star or higher prospects.

Shyheim Carter was a big get out of Kentwood, Louisiana, and should be able to see the field sooner rather than later. Raekwon Davis was a surprise commitment over his two in-state schools, while Joshua Perry was another plucked out of Louisiana.

Credit: 247Sports

The good news for Alabama is that it won’t have to go very far for some very good defensive players.

Marlon Davidson, a 5-star from Montgomery, is highly coveted as a defensive lineman. Lyndell Wilson and Ben Davis are two top linebackers just a short drive from Tuscaloosa.

Otherwise, Alabama has three top defensive tackles it is hot after in Rashan Gary, Rashard Lawrence and Kendell Jones.

For the overall class, though, it’s just not possible to give a grade yet with such a small sample size, but that’s OK right now.

Grade: Incomplete

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes and reporting were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.