Grading the SEC's recruiting situations: Alabama Crimson Tide
In the coming weeks, SDS will grade each team’s current state of recruiting based upon the factors listed below. Today we continue the series with the reigning SEC champion, Alabama.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Home-state talent: B+
Alabama is a national recruiting school. Just 34 of the 99 players currently on the team hail from the state of Alabama, per the school’s official roster. Still, Alabama has signed, on average, five of the top-10 players in the state every year from 2010-15, and has landed the top player in the state in five of those six years; the only one that didn’t sign with the Crimson Tide was Jameis Winston. Alabama maintains that kind of top-end success in the state despite the presence of Auburn and several other regional schools poking their nose in to swipe talent.
Recent success: A+
There’s nothing at all to quibble about with Alabama’s recruiting since Nick Saban arrived on campus. The Crimson Tide have finished outside the top five once, and that was in Saban’s first year when he came aboard near the end of the recruiting cycle. Since then, Alabama has finished in the top five every year, including five straight cycles at No. 1. The recruiting hauls seem to get better every year, too. In 2015, Alabama had twice as many five-star signees as it had three-star signees.
Fan satisfaction: A
Alabama is positioned as well for the future as any team in the nation, with a host of four- and five-star prospects lined up on the depth chart. Just this past year, Alabama signed the highest-rated quarterback of Saban’s tenure in Blake Barnett and brought in the top running back (Damien Harris) and wide receiver (Calvin Ridley) in the class to complement him, along with plenty of touted offensive linemen. The outlook on the defensive side is just as sunny. Barring some unforeseen drop in Saban’s coaching ability, Alabama is going to continue to contend in the SEC and nationally going forward, and that’s enough even for a ravenous fan base like Alabama’s.
Coaching stability: B+
Alabama lost two valuable members of its staff this past offseason, linebackers coaches Kevin Steele and Lance Thompson. Both were important contributors in recruiting and both went to SEC West rivals, Steele to LSU and Thompson to Auburn. There is also the chance that either coordinator, Kirby Smart or Lane Kiffin, could be tempted to leave by the right head coaching offer if presented to them. Despite those worries, Saban doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, and he’s had to replace high-profile assistants in the past.
SUM IT UP: Alabama is a recruiting titan that pulls talent from across the nation, from New Jersey to California. Bringing in talent is one of Saban’s specialties, and as long as he’s in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide are going to stand at or near the top of the recruiting mountain.
Editor’s note: Any reference to recruiting ratings in this series – team or individual – are to 247Sports.com’s industry composite ranking.
At the end of the series we will rank the SEC’s recruiting situations from 1-14 based on the grades we assign each program. Here are last year’s recruiting situation rankings:
