Ala-Fuckin’-Bama!

Every week we will be reviewing the recruiting classes for each SEC team. Coaches will be graded on filling the needs that are open this year, and for replacing seniors that will graduate next year. No partial credit will be given for recruiting a stud to fill a position that has a decent underclassman slated to start in the fall of 07.

I have no doubt that fuckin’ Alabama will be a formidable powerhouse in the SEC in the coming years. It just won’t be in 2007 or 2008. To be sure, Nick Saban did not have much time this year, but even considering this he should have done much better than he did, since he allegedly contacted Mal Moore about the job in September.  The Nicktator did almost everything to lure recruits to Tuscaloosa,  short of using a bear trap.  One of the things he did do was take credit for ALL of Les Miles’ success at LSU, which didn’t sit well with many recruits since Nick had about as much to do with the success of players like Joe Addai and Jamarcus Russell (refused to play either of them) as he did with the success of Vince Young: He recruited them but didn’t do much else.

Ma’am, if you send your son to Alabama, I’ll coach him just like I did Vince You………

Where was the all-star running back? Defensive ends? Linebackers? Did ‘Bama need another Quarterback? What the hell is going on here?

Areas that need improvement:

Running Back:

Alabama loses their #1 and #3 running back Kenneth Darby and Tim Castille, who accounted for 745 rushing yards last year, which is more than 53% of their running game. Running back is typically a year where a first year player can make an impact. Alabama recruited one four-star running back in Demetrius Goode, and two 3 star running backs that will compete for time with Jimmy Johns who is the only rusher to amass over 100 yards last season.

Grade: B It’s a wide open race next year.

Wide Receiver:

Alabama needs receivers. Their top 2 recievers will be seniors in 2008, and their 3rd and 4rth leading receivers will graduate in 2007. Alabama got commitments from Brandon Gibson, a 4 star recruit, and Darius Hanks, a 3 star recruit. I hope they can catch because these boys are slow. Still, not bad additions.

Grade: B Probably won’t contribute immediately, but it is possible.

Offensive Line:

Alabama has 2 starting offensive lineman that will graduate in 2007. They didn’t do as good a job here as with the other positions, but it’s hard to judge talent. They didn’t recruit an offensive tackle, but how hard can it be to teach a fat kid to get in the way? They got a center and an offensive gaurd, both 3 star recruits.

Grade: C- Need more talent than that to protect JPW.

Offensive GPA: 2.6 , C

Alabama didn’t recruit above their ability, nor did they recruit below it. Expect the same ‘ol thing next year. It’s really REALLY too bad Mike Ford didn’t qualify last year. We’ll never get to see how good he is since he decided to go to a big east school. I can’t figure out why he would want to play in Tampa instead of Tuscaloosa.

Defensive Line:

This is a tricky one to assess. Nick Saban will undoubtedly change the defense to a 4-3. With 2 seniors graduating at the DT spot, and 2 seniors for defensive end in 2007, they needed to pull in some serious talent here. Alabama got two ~300lb 4 star defensive tackles that should get immediate playing time, but they are just fucked at the DE position. They recruited 1 4 star recruit but he’s 225 lbs, the same size as most LB’s.

Grade: C, Decent job at the DT position; piss poor on the ends.

Linebacker

Alabama graduated 2 seniors at linebacker this year, and they got 2 linebacker commits. Great right? Well…..sort of. They got a commitment from the #2 linebacker in the nation in Rolando McClain, but Jennings Hester? Not even ranked at the position.

Grade: D, hopefully Alabama can convert some of their talent at running back that hasn’t panned out.

Defensive Backs:

All the starters this year at DB are either juniors or seniors. They would have needed to get 4 4 star recruits to earn as high as a B from me on this. They got 3 4 Star recruits. only one of them has 4.4 speed.

Grade: C+.

Defensive Recruiting GPA: 2.3 . Alabama graduated a lot of talent this year, and will graduate a lot of talent next year. Nick Saban should have recruited more JUCO kids that could step in right away. A good defense at Alabama is about 2-3 years away.

Overall Recruiting GPA: 2.25. The reality is that Nick Saban didn’t recruit any better than Mike Shula did. In fact, he didn’t do nearly as good as Mike Shula’s class last year. This year’s class doesn’t improve last year’s team, but won’t necessarily make them worse. The key is on offense, and how JPW matures, and if anyone can step up in Darby’s absence.