Finally I have a moment to sit down, relax, and actually do something I enjoy. These past two weeks have been extremely stressful for me, almost to the point of a breakdown or even simply giving up. So I decided to get away from it all and come back home for the weekend and recharge the batteries.
This may not have been the best weekend to leave under normal circumstances. Alabama hoops host Vanderbilt this weekend and I would usually be there, but why waste my time. Secondly, Alabama will host a Junior Day this weekend where several of the top 2009 prospects will be here showcasing their skills. Some already have offers and others are still seeking them from the head man Nick Saban.
Junior Days are huge events. Sometimes even bigger than team camps. This one should be no different. I know that the 08 recruiting season just ended, but recruiting never ends. Ever. Also, recruiting is probably my favorite part of college football.
So, here’s a short list of the 09 prospects that are scheduled to be in town this weekend:
In-State
- Kendal Kelly (WR) Gadsden City High School - Alabama offer
- Nico Johnson (LB) Andalusia High School - Alabama offer - Rivals #28 overall
- Anthony Orr (DE) Sparkman High School - Alabama offer
- Mardrecas Hood (WR) Pickens County High School
- Orwin Smith (RB) Central High School (Phenix City) - Alabama offer
Out-of-state
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Rueben Randle (WR) Bastrop, LA - Alabama offer - Rivals #8 overall
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Montrell Conner (ATH) Monroe, LA - Alabama offer - Rivals #42 overall
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Chad Bumphis (ATH) Tupelo, MS - Alabama offer - Rivals #95 overall
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Chris Bonds (DT) Columbia, SC - Alabama offer - Rivals #72 overall
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Alshon Jeffrey - (WR) St. Matthews, SC - Alabama offer
Some notables that will not be attending or still unsure about this weekend are:
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Dre Kirkpatrick (CB) Gadsden City High School - Alabama offer - Rivals #6 overall
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DJ Fluker (DT) Foley High School - Alabama commit - Rivals #36 overall
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William Ming (DE) Athens High School - Alabama offer
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AJ McCarron (QB) St. Paul’s High School - Alabama offer - Rivals #99 overall
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Tana Patrick (LB) North Jackson High School - Alabama offer - Rivals #67
As this recruiting season is still very young, many of these names are relatively unknown. Give it time and these names will become more common.
Also, from a personal standpoint I want to thank some of the guys for the support they have given me these past couple of weeks. Ghost and TideFanInTN have given me some words of wisdom and I greatly appreciate that. Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute more to the blog world shortly because I’ve missed out on a lot of the action lately.
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I just don’t have the stamina to keep up with this much recruiting, but I love seeing that many top 100 players showing early interest.
Also, something that is interesting is the number of ATH that Saban recruits. We had several in this last class and it looks like he’s resuming that trend.
TFIT, I always have the stamina for recruiting. So does Saban, and that’s something the previous staff didn’t have. There are supposed to be around 100 total prospects there and about 10% of them are in the Rivals 100. Hopefully we can get this thing rolling and get the ‘09 class started. If you have a look at USC and Florida State, they are already killing teams in recruiting for ‘09.
I love recruiting too. And hang in there, bro. College is tough. It’s not life, though.