Recruiting Round-Up

Recruiting Round-up

By Matt Conde

Sports Editor

The hat tricks are done. The I’s have been dotted and the T’s have been crossed to make this year’s recruiting class officially inked. It has been a successful year for Alabama and Auburn as they pulled in top five classes, which did prove to be a shock for some. However, now that the players are signed, will they learn from their coaches to be successful?

As Nick Saban, Head Coach for University of Alabama, commented on signing day success, “Really it takes about two years to really evaluate whether you had a good recruiting class or not,” he stated in his post-signing day press conference. If Saban’s analysis is correct, the players from the 2008 recruiting class made this year’s team successful. Players included: Julio Jones, Marcell Dareus, Mark Barron, oh, and can’t forget Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram.

Everyone knows Alabama has run the table ever since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa, but has Gene Chizik, Auburn Head Football Coach, found the wave of success that Alabama has been riding? It appears so. The Tigers had a great season in the eyes of realistic fans. They won their bowl game, started out 5-0 and came close to beating what would later be the national champions. Now they have pulled in the number three recruiting class in the nation, according to rivals.com. That beats Alabama in the rankings, which finished number five this year.

Regarding Auburns recruiting strategy, Gene Chizik said; “We came together and we really laid down a vision for what we wanted to try to do for the next recruiting class.”

Every school wants to recruit the best player, and every player obviously wants to go the best school. Between college visits, phone calls and having a family dinner with the head coach, it is not an easy task to convince eighteen-year-olds to sign their college careers away. Even Nick Saban cannot make the process easier, “There’s a lot that goes into having a successful recruiting class,” Saban said.

Two players shocked both Alabama and Auburn when they chose to play for different schools. Both Kennen Allen and Marcus Lattimore were highly-recruited players. Allen, whose eyes were set on the Crimson Tide, and Lattimore, who loved the Tigers, rethought their decision before signing day approached. Now Allen, a five-star defensive back, soon will play for the Cal Bears. Lattimore, the number one running back in the nation, chose to play for the Cocks in Columbia, South Carolina.

Overall, time will tell if these young athletes were worth all the hype. Some players that never received any attention will emerge as heroes, while others that lived in the spotlight will hit reality. So all that can be said now is, can they be coached?

Alabama’s Top Signed Players

1. DeMarcus Millner DB

2. C.J. Mosley LB

3. Phillip Sims QB

4. Arie Kouandjio OL

5. Corey Grant RB

Auburn’s Top Signed Players

1. Shon Coleman OL

2. Michael Dyer RB

3. Cameron Newton QB

4. Jeffrey Whitaker DT

5. Antonio Goodwin WR