2013 WR Raheem Falkins Commits to Alabama

Make that the third commitment of the afternoon for the Tide during the Junior Day weekend, this time coming from wide receiver Raheem Falkins out of New Orleans. Per ESPN:

2013 wide receiver Raheem Falkins (New Orleans Carver) could have played out the recruiting process. His two favorite schools offered him a scholarship recently but in the end he knew what he wanted to do. It came down to the home state LSU Tigers and the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

"I just committed to Alabama," Falkins said. "They came in and have shown so much interest in me. It’s where I know where I want to be. I just felt a whole lot of love and I wanted to make this difficult decision."

This one may be an even bigger recruiting coup than Tenpenny, as Falkins comes out of New Orleans and has an LSU offer in hand. The Carver product caught 53 passes for 989 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior and looks poised to be on the top prospects in the state of Louisiana for the 2013 recruiting class. He had attended a handful of LSU games this past season and made several other unofficial visits to Baton Rouge, which certainly gave him the look of the typical in-state lock for the Bayou Bengals, so this news comes as a big surprise.

If he sticks, Falkins could help fill a big void for 'Bama. Special teams notwithstanding, the wide receiver corps was the most consistent weakness of the 2011 Tide, and the lack of size outside was a serious liability throughout most of the season. At 6'3 and roughly 190 pounds, Falkins could go a long way to helping shore up a position that has been in serious need of an upgrade.

The real concern, though, has less to do with ability and more to do with whether or not he sticks with 'Bama. Again, prior to this commitment during Junior Day, Falkins looked like an LSU lock, and clearly both the in-state pressure and his recruitment by the LSU coaching staff will be intense if he continues to develop into the player that most expect him to become. The Bayou Bengals anemic passing attack, the struggles by LSU in recent years to develop big-time wide receiver recruits, and the recent departure of Billy Gonzales may all be playing a role here, but even so you have to wonder if this isn't just a rash decision being made by someone venturing out of state for the first time and being caught up in the 'Bama Junior Day atmosphere. Again, obviously we all hope that Falkins sticks because he looks to be a very talented player who can fill a definite need in Tuscaloosa, but even so the feeling is palpable that 'Bama will likely have a fight on its hands to hang on to this New Orleans product through National Signing Day 2013.

Falkins becomes the seventh commitment of the 2013 recruiting class.