National Signing Day is once again upon us and it looks like this could be an eventful day for Alabama. Several heavily recruited prospects will be announcing their decisions today -- though there are conflicting reports as to whether Jadeveon Clowney will sign today or delay his decision until February 14th -- and as usual there is some uncertainty with some players currently committed to schools but who may spurn their commitments once they put the ink on the dotted line.
In an attempt to streamline this day as much as possible and keep the latest news in a reader-friendly format, we're going to try to keep everything in this one thread. We're going to break everything down into three categories -- (1) announcements occurring today, (2) the letters of intent from current 'Bama commitments as they come in, and (3) notes of interest regarding other schools and prospects from around the country -- and we will update this thread accordingly throughout the day as news develops.
Editor's Note: All updates after 11:45 are in the second open thread.
Announcements
Barring some surprise, seven players will be announcing their respective decisions today where there is at least some legitimate possibility that they may sign with Alabama (eight if Clowney signs today). Those seven are as follows with the time of announcements (if made public at this time):
Jeoffrey Pagan (8:00): The first big surprise of the day rolls in as Jeoffrey Pagan signs with Alabama over Georgia. This one is a big coup for 'Bama as many felt he was a Georgia lock for much of the past week, but 'Bama apparently closed strong. He's a high risk / high reward signee with the knee injury, but even so he was heavily recruited. Add him to the list of those with dramatic recruitments, first committing to Florida before de-committing, then committing to Clemson, de-committing again a few days later, then looking UGA-bound before signing with 'Bama. His official visit to Alabama looks to have changed things in UA's favor.
Erique Florence (8:00): Absolutely no surprise here as Erique Florence signs with Auburn. I've speculated for months that he was a silent commitment, but nevertheless this one is officially over.
Nickolas Brassell (9:00): No major shock here as Nickolas Brassell signs with Ole Miss. We made a run at the Batesville product, but with him being a mere 30 minutes from Oxford this one was always going to be a fairly tough pull with the early playing time offered by Colonel Reb.
Robensen Therezie: After some rumblings that he may pull the late switch to Alabama, Therezie upheld his earlier commitment and signed with Auburn. The Tigers missing out on Marcus Roberson probably didn't hurt their chances here.
Brent Calloway (10:00): And Brent Calloway ends up in Tuscaloosa, spurning Auburn when it counted. Cue the hilarious feedback from the Auburn Fambly complaining about the undue influence of his parents (amusing, I know). Either way, while it's nice to have Calloway's talent on hand, the kid is going to have to get it together mentally and commit to playing the game before he's going to make any real contributions on the field. The raw talent is obviously there, but admittedly he's a bit of a risk.
Cyrus Kouandjio (11:00):
Isiah Crowell (12:30):
Commitment LOIs received
Of the current Alabama commitments nearly all are expected to fax in their signed letters of intent today, but there is some uncertainty surrounding LaMichael Fanning and Daryl Collins (who will announce at 1:45). We'll update here throughout the day as the LOIs begin rolling in, and any name you see listed here has faxed his letter of intent into Tuscaloosa (EE stands for early enrollment signees who have already enrolled at Alabama):
Quentin Dial (EE)
Trey DePriest (EE)
Aaron Douglas (EE)
Phillip Ely (EE)
Dee Hart (EE)
Vinnie Sunseri (EE)
Jesse Williams (EE)
Ronald Carswell (EE)
Wilson Love (EE)
Ryan Kelly
Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix
Jabriel Washington
Xzavier Dickson
LaMichael Fanning: Turns out that late official visit to Auburn was harmless
Isaac Luatua
Chris Jones
Malcolm Faciane
Marvin Shinn
Notes of Interest From Around the Country
Even though they will not be signing with Alabama today, we'll nevertheless keep an eye on a handful of prospects from around the country, such as Jermauria Rasco, Antonio Richardson, Marcus Roberson, Gabe Wright, Spencer Region, and others. We'll update here as those signatures come across.
Marcus Roberson ends his whirlwind commitment by signing with Florida. Long expected to be a heavy Auburn lean, Roberson surprisingly committed to Texas Tech, de-committed days later, committed to Auburn, backed out again, and today decided to state in-state by signing with Will Muschamp and the Gators.
Tony Steward signs with Clemson. No word yet on whether or not he technically considers his hair style a finger-in-the-electrical-socket design or whether that's just by coincidence.
Antonio Richardson signs with Tennessee over Georgia and Auburn. This one is a pretty big get for Dooley, and admittedly he has put together a pretty good class. On the upside, there's still no real evidence that he's much of a coach.
Spencer Region signs with Clemson, purportedly over Auburn but I'd bet a wad of cash they didn't give him a firm offer. And with that ends this ten month train wreck. Note to future recruits, if you ever want to look at a good case study of what not to do during your recruiting process, pay close attention to this guy.
Tim Jernigan signs with Florida over LSU and a slew of others, including Alabama. Per his announcement, location played a big role in him staying home.