Nick Saban landed a monster recruiting class in 2008 and
2009, luring the likes of Julio Jones, D.J. Fluker, and Trent Richardson to
Tuscaloosa. His recruiting momentum does not appear to be slowing down, as
Saban has already landed key recruits in the 2010 and 2011 classes.{VIDEO_fef02713-4018-4564-a86d-f61445726bb5,floatRightWithBar}
Rising senior quarterback Phillip Sims from Oscar Smith
(Chesapeake, Va.) recently committed to Alabama. Sims will be one of the top signal callers in the nation next season.
A future target of his could be 2011 stand out Marvin
Shinn. The Vigor (Ala.) star had a breakout sophomore campaign, and is drawing
comparisons—albeit premature ones—to current Alabama star Julio Jones.
In a sign of the times, the buzz around the state is that
Saban is already making inroads with top 2012 recruits in an attempt to build
the proverbial fence around Alabama, keeping in-state talent from defecting to
other schools.
Auburn Working Hard
Saban’s stiffest competition may
come from in-state foe Auburn and new head coach Gene Chizik.
Despite being hired less than two months before National
Signing Day, Chizik pulled together a nice recruiting class for 2009. He landed
quarterback Tyrik Rollison and wide receiver Izeuea Lanier and held on to prized
tight end recruit Phil Lutzenkirchen.
Chizik already has received pledges from four players in
the 2010 class, but his biggest splash may be yet to come.
The Tigers are going hard after Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) running
back Marcus Lattimore and Temple (Texas) rusher Lache Seastrunk. Either player
would be a mammoth steal by Chizik, and landing both would be a historical
recruiting coup. Florida State and South Carolina are heavily courting
Lattimore; LSU and Texas are heavily in the mix for Lattimore, though sources
say USC could lure him West.
Golson a Gator?
Word around Myrtle Beach (S.C.) is that
quarterback Everett Golson, who led the
team to a state title in the fall, is strongly considering the University of
Florida, and may be making a trip there shortly.{VIDEO_6dd9182f-2371-4460-9c7b-56f9adbc4e85,floatLeftWithBar}
The 2011 star was thought to be favoring North Carolina,
where he could potentially play football and basketball. His recruitment is far
from over, however. Clemson and South Carolina are also hot on the trail.
UNC did score a major recruiting victory when it received
a pledge from Plainfield (Ind.) offensive lineman James Hurst.
With Hurst going to UNC, many of the top offensive
linemen in the class of 2010 have already committed to colleges. Robert Crisp
(Chapel Hill, N.C.) will attend North Carolina State. Andrew Norwell, from Anderson (Ohio)
will stay in-state and be a Buckeye. Andrew Rodriguez (Aurora, Neb.) verbally
committed to the Cornhuskers.
Punishing linebacker Chris Martin (No. 46) will be a big loss for California's Bishop O'Dowd.
Photo By Dennis Marpuri
A Home for Chris Martin?
It appears that Notre Dame
recruit Chris Martin may not be transferring to the Hun School (N.J.) after
all.
Martin committed to the Fighting Irish on National
Signing Day, and shortly thereafter reports swirled that he may transfer across
the country to play his senior season at the Hun School, with the hope of
graduating early and enrolling in South Bend in January.
Martin has hit some snags however. Hun, which saw Tyler
Stockton graduate last December and enroll early at Notre Dame, is a rigorous
academic institution, and graduating a semester early is much easier said than
done. It appears that Martin will be unlikely to transfer into the school and
earn enough credits to graduate in only one semester.
It has been six weeks since Martin withdrew from Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.),
and it’s not entirely clear where he will resurface. Losing Martin is a
damaging blow to both the Bishop O’Dowd football and basketball teams.
Woods Runs Wild
Robert Woods has bright future in
football, but his real talent may be in track.
The rising senior anchored both Serra’s (Calif.)
400-meter relay team and its 1,600-meter relay team. The 400-relay team clocked
an impressive 41.47, finishing second in the Small Schools division.
In the 1,600-meter race, Serra clocked in at 3:16:43.
Woods ran the anchor leg in 46.8 seconds.
Skyline QB Jake Heaps has plenty of college options.
Photo By Juliann Tallino
Woods will be one of the nation’s top runners next
season, and it’s not yet clear if he will focus on track or football at the
next level. If he focuses on football, his future position is also uncertain; he
plays wide receiver, but some prefer him at cornerback.
His teammate, wide receiver George Farmer, will be one of
California’s top juniors next season.
Heaps Rising or Falling?
Jake Heaps of Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.) has received mixed reviews since leading his team to its second straight state title in December. Many pegged him as the top quarterback in the class of 2010.
Since then, Heaps made a trip to the US Army All-American
Combine and failed to impress. Opinions about his college potential vs. his
high school production are now mixed. However, that has not scared off potential suitors. Washington,
BYU and Tennessee are all zeroing in on Heaps.
Tennessee is perhaps the most interesting scenario. Lane
Kiffin may have to look out-of-state for a lot of targets in the 2010 class,
but 2011 appears especially stocked with in-state talent. Early indications
show that 2012 will also have some nice recruits within state borders.
