Signing Day: Tide puts together another top-rated class

TUSCAOOSA – Alabama reloaded on the defensive side of the ball, but the first standouts Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban mentioned at Wednesday’s press conference were playmakers he added on offense.

“I think we filled some needs with this class,” Saban said after completing a class of 26 that most rank as the No. 1 or No. 2 signing class in the country.

“We started out with a goal of explosive players on offense – running back, receiver, those kinds of guys. We felt good about guys we were able to attract from that standpoint.”

Running back T.J. Yeldon of Daphne and two of the best receivers from the state of Florida – Chris Black of Jacksonville and Amari Cooper from Miami – are already enrolled at Alabama.

Yeldon, the state’s Mr. Football as judged by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound back who likens his style to the NFL’s Adrian Peterson. However, he knows there is a load of competition at running back.

“I’m just gonna go in and work hard and see what happens,” Yeldon said. “It’s a blessing here. All of them are good, hard-working guys. We’re getting along and getting to know each other.”

“This recruiting class is great,” Cooper said. “It’s an honor to be a part of the No. 1 recruiting class, and I hope we can live up to it and win a national championship.”

Black also said being part of this touted class was something he takes pride in. But that’s not why he picked Alabama.

“Through the recruiting process, everybody makes you feel like you’re the one guy they really want,” Black said. “Truly, at the end of the day, this is where I felt at home.”

Of course, the prospect of filling the void left by three senior receivers – starters Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks, along with Brandon Gibson – didn’t hurt, either.

“That’s another big reason I came here, with those three guys leaving after this year,” said Black, who can line up both in the slot and out wide. “Coach Saban was always preaching we need more explosive guys. That was the reason why I came.”

Saban also welcomed the addition of kicker Adam Griffith of Calhoun, Ga., as well as the addition of three offensive linemen – Brandon Greene, Brandon Hill and Caleb Gulledge of Prattville.

“Even though we’ve got lots of people coming back there, that’s a developmental position,” the coach said. “These are certainly the kind of guys you want in your program to be able to develop for the future.”

Alabama had nearly everyone committed before Wednesday, but Signing Day was highlighted early with the addition of two touted out-of-state defensive linemen – Korren Kirven of Lynchburg, Va., and Dalvin Tomlinson of McDonough, Ga.

Those additions gave Alabama an impressive crop of defensive prospects – five defensive linemen, five linebackers and four defensive backs.

“We’re obviously losing a lot of very, very good defensive players,” Saban said. “We felt that it was really important to have a good year on the defensive side of the ball. We feel good about the (players) that we were able to attract in this class.”

Landon Collins, a safety from Geismar, La., is the Tide’s highest rated signee. The five-star athlete committed to Alabama at the Under Armour game in Orlando, Fla., just days before the Tide defeated LSU for the national title in New Orleans.

His commitment was overshadowed by his mother’s negative reaction.

“We have a good relationship with the people around Landon, and Landon’s got a great family,” Saban said. “Landon’s a great person. We want to do everything that we can to help him be successful in the future. …

“I just hope that everybody can be supportive of his decision. This is kind of a mutual partnership that we have with parents, when they send their sons here to develop in our program, where we want to continue to develop the principles and values most parents want for their young folks.

“That’s exactly what we want for them, just like what I want for my own children.  It’s a partnership, and we need to have very good relationships to continue that partnership in a positive way, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to do that with Landon.”

Saban said there were no surprises on Signing Day. The SEC’s limit of 25 scholarships per class – one of these will count toward a spot in last year’s class, he said – contributed to that.

“All those things kind of shook out in the last 48 hours as to how it was going to come down today,” Saban said. “You almost needed to know that. We couldn’t send out a bunch of scholarships on a maybe, because if too many guys decided to come here we would have gotten penalized.”

In fact, the coach suggested the Crimson Tide’s top-rated signing class could have been even better due to the 25 scholarship limitation.

“We actually took some opportunities away from guys that really wanted to come to Alabama that we couldn’t sign, and they couldn’t come here because we couldn’t offer that option to them,” Saban said.

“I don’t really see how that’s good for the league, but it is what it is and we’ll manage it in the future.   Everybody said they don’t want anybody to oversign, but the fact of the matter is, if you only have 20 scholarships to give and you sign 25 guys you’re still oversigning.  But when you have a large class of seniors, which we did, and have a lot of scholarships available, then it’s a little more difficult management.”