Here is Part I of II in the signing day series. Much more from a few of the early signees will come later on.
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The topic that’s dominated recruiting discussions for a few years came up once again with Alabama’s signing class. The balance between oversigning and grayshirting changed when the SEC capped classes at 25.
The seemingly solved the first issue but amplified the other. Alabama reportedly offered Justin Taylor and Darius Philon the option to sit out next fall and sign in 2013 because the Tide had too many commitments.
Philon ended up signing with Arkansas and Taylor with Kentucky.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said he “sorta resents” the “cynical attitude of a lot of people” towards coaches’ intentions when grayshirting players to meet scholarship limits.
“We actually took some opportunities away from guys that really wanted to come to Alabama that we couldn’t sign,” Saban said. “And they couldn’t come here because we couldn’t offer that option to them. I don’t really see how that’s really good for the league, but it is what it is and we’ll manage it in the future.
“They said they didn’t want anybody to over sign, but the fact of the matter is, if you only have 20 scholarships to give and you sign 25 guys, you’re still over signing. But when you have a large class of seniors like we did and have a lot of scholarships available, it’s a little more difficult management.”
Read more about this tomorrow.
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It’s hard to keep up with all the different recruiting services and how they rank the signing classes.
So I tried to make this easy for you. Here’s a link fiesta with every ranking I could find. Alabama’s ranking comes after the site name
CBS Sports analyst Tom Lemming, a recruiting veteran of more than 30 years, also released his rankings.
1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Florida
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The headline-maker of the 2012 Alabama signing class has signed and faxed his letter to the Alabama coaches. He is No. 26 and appears to be the final signee of the class. You know him as …
LANDON COLLINS
Position: Safety
Height, weight: 6-0, 210
School: Dutchtown; Geismar, La.
Notes: His live commitment on ESPN’s telecast of the Under Armour All-American game became legendary when his mother was vocal in her disagreement with his choice … One of the nation’s top-ranked safety chose the Tide over local favorite LSU, where his mother wanted him to attend. … Scout and Rivals rank him second in the nation at his position while 247sports says he’s No. 1. … Collins could compete for playing time with the graduation of safety Mark Barron.
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This is almost over. Alabama received the 25th scholarship of the day. Who did it belong to?
BRANDON GREENE
Position: Offensive line
Height, weight: 6-6, 280
School: Cedar Grove; Ellenwood, Ga.
Notes: Greene had scholarship offers from Alabama and Auburn to Central Florida and Louisville … He was one of the earliest commitments to the Tide when going public last March. … All three recruiting services rated him a 4-star prospect. … There isn’t much room for competition on the line right away with three starters and Cyrus Kouandjio returning this fall, but the 2013 season should present opportunities on the offensive line.
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Another of the top names in the Alabama class made it official with his letter of intent. Crimson Tide gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson made the announcement. He is the 24th signee. You might recognize the name …
CYRUS JONES
Position: Athlete
Height, weight: 5-11, 183
School: Gilman School; Baltimore, Md.
Notes: Jones, one of the top names in the class, had his commitment overshadowed by the Landon Collins spectacle at the Under Armour All-American game. … He was named Gatorade Maryland player of the year after running for 2,365 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior. … He was recruited by former linebackers coach and current Tennessee defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri. Jones told the Baltimore Sun he loved Sunseri’s enthusiasm. … The Baltimore area has now produced Alabama signees three straight years after the Kouandjio brothers made the decision in each of the past two.
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Update: Mike Herndon of the Press-Register spoke with Philon’s high school coach. Click here for his updates on Twitter.
–
One of the committed but faxless names for Alabama belongs to Darius Philon, the defensive lineman from Prichard.
It sounds like there could be something going on with Philon. Check out the following Tweets from ace Mobile Press-Register reporter Mike Herndon.
”Darius Philon has not signed. Teammate said #bama asked him to grey shirt.”
Philon was originally committed to Auburn, but he swapped the Tigers for the Tide in September.
This could get interesting. Stay tuned and follow Herndon on Twitter for the updates. He’s on site at Vigor’s announcement.
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It’s not over yet. Alabama just announced the 23rd member of its signing class is…
DARREN LAKE
Position: Defensive line
Height, weight: 6-3, 330
School: Sumter County; York, Ala.
Notes: Lake is a consensus 3-star recruit according to all three services. … Scout reported he ran a 4.9-second 40-yard dash. …Rivals reported Lake was recruited to Tennessee by Lance Thompson who took the linebackers coaching job at Alabama in January. … His hometown of York is just 70 minutes from the Alabama campus.
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Texas Tech confirmed Casey Gladney, a wide receiver from Columbia, S.C., has signed with the Red Raiders.
Coach Tommy Tuberville got the former Alabama commit after some signing day shuffling.
Gladney is a 3-star prospect according to the recruiting services.
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The questions are relevant now four hours after the first letters of intent arrived in Tuscaloosa. So where does Alabama stand?
As of 11 a.m., the Crimson Tide has 22 players locked in. The “big board” on the rolltide.com has 25 spots — the same number allowed by the SEC.
So who is left? The list of committed players who have yet to sign letters include:
This does not mean anything just yet. Don’t read anything into this. I just wanted to list those who’ve made public commitments. Keep it here for the updates as they roll come in.
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The second player to commit to Alabama today sent his letter of intent to Tuscaloosa. He’s defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson.
The 4-star prospect is the fifth defensive lineman to join the Tide today. Take a look at this video from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Take a break from the signing day vortex and read the following story courtesy of the Associated Press:
TUSCALOOSA — Trustees at the University of Alabama are considering a plan to improve cell phone service inside Bryant-Denny Stadium during football games.
School officials have reached an agreement with Verizon Wireless and AT&T to install 715 cellular antennas inside the stadium. The Tuscaloosa News reports that trustees still have to review the plan, which will go to a board committee on Thursday.
The newspaper reports the two companies will pay all the installation costs for the new system, along with licensing fees totaling $72,000 annually.
Fans often have problems with cell service inside the stadium during football games.
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Kwon Alexander, the linebacker from Oxford (Ala.) just made his announcement live on ESPNU.
His choice: LSU
Alexander, who tore his ACL this September in a win over Austin, was choosing from Alabama, Auburn and LSU.
He said he made the decision about two weeks ago.
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The letters keep rolling in. Alabama is about 10 minutes from learning Kwon Alexander’s decision, but it knows the 21st signee is …
ADAM GRIFFITH
Position: Kicker
Height, weight: 5-11, 175
School: Calhoun; Calhoun, Ga.
Notes: Two of the three services ranked Griffith the No. 1 kicking prospect in the country. … He made the game-winning kick in overtime of the Class AA state championship game. … On kickoffs, 82 percent went for touchbacks. … Born in Poland, he kicked his first football in seventh grade, his high school coach Hal Lamb said. … His season-long was a 52-yarder this season. … Nick Saban liked how high Griffith kicked the ball, Lamb said.
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The folks at ESPNU are live at the Alabama football complex this morning. They spoke with Tide coach Nick Saban a little bit ago. Here’s a taste of what he told Wendy Nix.
“We really had to satisfy some needs,” Saban said. “With Dre Kirkpatrick going out for the draft and DeQuan Menzie (graduating) and Dee Milliner was the only experienced corner we had coming back and the linebackers that we lost, we though those were two critical areas.
“To have a couple of the (signees) be those guys be DBs and a couple of those guys be linebackers that we think are very good players, will really help our development defensively in our rebuilding process.”
Top linebackers like Reggie Ragland, Ryan Anderson, Denzell Devall, Tyler Hayes and Dillon Lee have already signed. In the secondary, Deion Belue, Travell Dixon, and Geno Smith have already signed with Landon Collins still to come.
Stay tuned for all the updates. Alabama has 20 signees as of 9:53 a.m.
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Michael Casagrande covers University of Alabama athletics for The Decatur Daily, The TimesDaily, The Montgomery Advertiser and The Anniston Star.
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