Alabama gets top-ranked class, Auburn eyes late additions, South Alabama lands one of program’s best classes
MOBILE, Alabama – Three weeks after hoisting the crystal football as the No. 1 college football team in the country, Alabama was No. 1 again Wednesday on National Signing Day. Alabama’s class of 26 signees was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Rivals, ESPN and 24/7 Sports and a close second to Texas by Scout.com. Auburn brought in a class of 20 signees ranked between 11th and 17th by the recruiting services, with coach Gene Chizik holding out hope for a couple of late marquee additions. The Crimson Tide’s class included three five-star prospects – Daphne running back T.J. Yeldon, Geismar (La.) safety Landon Collins and Arnold (Fla.) receiver Eddie Williams – and it added two coveted defensive line prospects to the class on Wednesday in Dalvin Tomlinson and Korren Kirven.
Meet T.J. Yeldon, an Alabama signee from Daphne (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is T.J. Yeldon. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound running back from Daphne is one of the stars of the class. He’s a five-star signee who was named Alabama’s Mr. Football last month. Yeldon also is one of eight early enrollees.
Meet Ryan Anderson, an Alabama signee from Daphne (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is Ryan Anderson. The 6-foot-2, 244-pound outside linebacker from Daphne is one of eight early enrollees. He was among the new players who made a brief appearance Wednesday in the Alabama media room.
VIDEO: Saban and Players NSD
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban speaks to the media after landing the number one signing class for 2012 NSD. Following Saban, some of the newest members of the University of Alabama Football team including Ryan Anderson, Dillon Lee, Alphonse Taylor, Amari Cooper, Chris Black, Travell Dixon and T.J. Yeldon addressed the media.
Meet Travell Dixon, an Alabama signee from Eastern Arizona Community College (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is Travell Dixon. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound cornerback from Miami, via Eastern Arizona Community College, is one of eight early enrollees. He said he came to Alabama because he wanted to play for coach Nick Saban and because of recent success of junior college transfers such as Terrence Cody, James Carpenter and DeQuan Menzie.
Meet Amari Cooper, an Alabama signee from Miami (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is Amari Cooper. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound wide receiver from Northwestern High School in Miami is one of eight early enrollees. He was among the new players who made a brief appearance Wednesday in the Alabama media room.
Meet Alphonse Taylor, an Alabama signee from Mobile (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is Alphonse Taylor. The 6-foot-5, 340-pound nose guard from Davidson High School in Mobile is one of eight early enrollees. Wait. Did he just say he weighs 360 pounds?
No surprises for Nick Saban; Alabama recruiting class widely regarded as nation’s best
Saban said there were virtually no surprises, unlike a year ago. He admitted there were challenges with the SEC’s new 25-man cap on signees; Saban said 26 players signed with one back-counted toward the 2011 class. “We couldn’t send out a lot of scholarships on a maybe because if too many guys decided to come here we would have gotten penalized,” Saban said. “It worked out well from that standpoint the fact we had a lot of guys commit to us a long time ago. To stick with those commitments was also a positive thing for us in terms of our management in recruiting this year.”
Meet Chris Black, an Alabama signee from Jacksonville, Fla. (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is Chris Black. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound wide receiver from Jacksonville, Fla., is one of eight early enrollees. He was among the new players who made a brief appearance Wednesday in the Alabama media room.
Meet Dillon Lee, an Alabama signee from Buford, Ga. (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – One of the members of Alabama’s heralded 2012 signing class is Dillon Lee. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound linebacker from Buford, Ga., is one of eight early enrollees. He was among the new players who made a brief appearance Wednesday in the Alabama media room.
Walk-ons add to Tide’s talent pool
TUSCALOOSA – In addition to signing a top-ranked recruiting class, the University of Alabama is expected to have some top-caliber walk-ons on its roster in 2012. American Christian Academy wide receiver Parker Barrineau will join the UA team as a walk-on. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound wideout caught 58 passes for 1,027 yards with 12 touchdowns as a senior last fall.
Alabama coach Nick Saban’s signing day press conference (video)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Alabama’s class of 2012 is being heralded as the No. 1 signing class in college football. Coach Nick Saban and his staff signed 26 players, of which eight already are enrolled. In a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, Saban talked about the class and answered questions.
New rules complicate recruiting process
If you’re Nick Saban, you look at it differently. Players who wanted to come to Alabama didn’t get the chance to do so. That, in Saban’s mind, is unfair, not so much to Alabama as to the player. “We actually took away an opportunity to sign with Alabama for a couple of young men,” Saban said. “We couldn’t sign them. I don’t see how that’s good for the league.”
Saban Is Pleased With New Tiders
Although Alabama’s signing class changed a bit for the better in the final 48 hours or so, it wasn’t quite enough to keep the Crimson Tide on top in the annual Recruiting Rankings by Scout.com. Bama had been number one for several weeks, but Texas also had its roster of recruits change in the final few days and the Longhorns edged out the Tide for the recruiting championship on Wednesday.
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