Heading into National Signing Day for the 2016 recruiting cycle, Alabama had the longest runway of any of the contenders for the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class. The Crimson Tide used it well and took flight to the No. 1 ranking yet again.

Heading into signing day week, the Crimson Tide were ranked within the top 10 of the recruiting media industry-formulated 247Sports composite team rankings, but numerically wasn’t close to the top.

That changed quickly with the addition of 11 prospects during the next 72 hours.

It started on Monday when Alabama received a commitment from cornerback Nigel Knott from the state of Mississippi. That was significant in and of itself because there haven’t been very many programs that have had success of late in the Magnolia State going head-to-head with the in-state programs. Tuesday, there was a second Mississippi commit and this one was even more of a surprise. Most had four-star offensive tackle Scott Lashley from West Point pencilled in for nearby Mississippi State. Instead, he went with Alabama and suddenly the Crimson Tide had major momentum heading into what was set up to be a successful signing day.

Signing day indeed was good for Alabama. Five-star linebackers Ben Davis and Lyndell “Mack” Wilson, both in-state prospects, signed with the Tide. Alabama added elite talent on the defensive line in the form of Washington, D.C., defensive end Terrell Hall and JUCO defensive end Jamar King (both are undervalued from a rankings standpoint, but ranked high enough to lift Bama’s team ranking score). Cornerbacks Shyheim Carter out of Louisiana, Jared Mayden out of Texas and Aaron Robinson out of Florida (flipped from the in-state Gators) all signed with Alabama. So did New Orleans tight end Irvin Smith. Perhaps the biggest senior riser running back in the country — Joshua Jacobs from Oklahoma — also signed with the Tide.

Those additions put Alabama at the top for a sixth straight recruiting cycle, and it’s again another balanced class geographically (24 players from 12 states), further underscoring that the Crimson Tide can go anywhere in the country and land high-end talent.