Alvin Kamara is down to two schools: Alabama and Georgia.
Photo by Gary McCullough
It was a dream season for
Alvin Kamara, rushing for 2,264 yards and helping to lead
Norcross (Ga.) to a 15-0 finish, a Class AAAAAA state championship and a No. 3 finish in the
Xcellent 25 Rankings.
Now the question remains, will Kamara's dream continue at Alabama or Georgia?
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back has whittled down his list of schools to the defending national champion Crimson Tide and the hometown Bulldogs.
Where will he land? Even Kamara does not yet know, at least according to Norcross head coach Keith Maloof.
"He's still [deciding]," Maloof told MaxPreps on Thursday. "I think he's going to sit down this weekend and figure it out."
The deluge of recruiting attention came as a result of Kamara's fine play as a senior. He had multiple offers before the start of the season, but he really exploded onto the national scene this fall.
"Kamara snuck up on people a little because he didn't have eye-popping numbers as a junior," said Todd Holcomb of the Georgia High School Football Daily. "But Norcross' run to the state title allowed people to see that Kamara is an elite back too. He was the best player on Georgia's best team."
See our National Signing Day page /
Alabama commits /
Georgia commitsAccording to Holcomb, Colquitt County head coach Rush Propst called Kamara the best player he's coached against since 2006, when he coached at Hoover against a Joe McKnight-led John Curtis squad. Considering Propst has seen the likes of Greg Reid and Robert Nkemdiche on the opposing sidelines since then, it's high praise for Kamara.
Both Alabama and Georgia would love to land Kamara, and he appears torn between the two.
Kamara took an official visit to Tuscaloosa two weeks ago, while last weekend he made the 52-mile drive to Athens for an official visit with Georgia. According to his Twitter account, Kamara toured the stadium, hung out with fellow blue-chip recruits Reuben Foster and Montravius Adams, and played card games with members of Georgia's coaching staff.
Kamara said that Georgia coaches said he could have a Knowshon Moreno-type role in the team's offense.
"(Coach Mark Richt) said I could bring back that element that Knowshon Moreno provided for them – an every-down back, pass catcher, Wildcat guy, a big threat to defenses," Kamara
told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But will it be enough to keep him out of the hands of Nick Saban, who landed top Georgia back Kenyan Drake a year ago?
Interestingly, neither school would appear able to offer early playing time. Alabama returns young running backs Drake and T.J. Yeldon in addition to commitments from Tyren Jones, Derrick Henry and Altee Tenpenny. Georgia returns its freshman running back duo of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, who should dominate the share of carries for at least the next two seasons.
Georgia also has a commitment from 6-foot, 205-pound Florida running back A.J. Turman, who Bulldogs fans would love to have as a complement to the electric running of Kamara.
Favorite: AlabamaNick Saban is a recruiting magnate, and Alabama is unquestionably the top program in the country right now. Despite a loaded depth chart, it will be hard for Kamara to say no to playing running back for the Crimson Tide.
Contender: GeorgiaRicht has done a good job closing on top running backs on National Signing Day over the last two seasons, having landed Isaiah Crowell, Marshall and Gurley very late in the recruiting cycle. Several key factors are working in Georgia's favor: it is closer to home and it received Kamara's last official visit. Will it be enough to overcome the lure of the Crimson Tide?
