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There are some Crimson Tide football players you know by one name. Names like Trent and Julio come to mind. Today we have Bo and Minkah. Soon Alabama hopes to add the names Najee and Tua to that lexicon.
Alabama 5-star commits RB Najee Harris and QB Tua Tagovailoa will be taking part in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl played Saturday, January 7, at noon CT / 1pm ET on NBC. The game takes place in the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Texas. Hopefully after the game, these two young men will be on a plane to Alabama.
BAMA COMMITS:
WEST:
#2 Najee Harris
#17 Brandon Ruiz
EAST:
#12 Tua Tagovailoa
#60 Kendall Randolph
#19 Thomas Fletcher
| Name | Pos | Location | Ht | Wt | 247 Comp | 247 | Scout | ESPN | Rivals | Average | |
| Najee Harris | RB | Antioch, CA | 6'2" | 222 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Army |
| Tua Tagovailoa | QB | Honolulu, HI | 6'1" | 185 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Army |
| Kendall Randolph | OL | Madison, AL | 6'5" | 285 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Army |
| Brandon Ruiz | K | Gilbert, AZ | 5'10" | 165 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Army |
| Thomas Fletcher | LS | Bradenton, FL | 6'1" | 215 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Army |
EARLY ENROLLEES
By my count, Alabama unofficially has 16 recruits planning to enroll at the Capstone this week. This will certainly lessen the drama of National Signing Day (Feb. 1) a bit:
Alex Leatherwood OL - currently practicing with the Tide, wearing #70.
Najee Harris RB - check back later today.
Dylan Moses LB - signed Financial Aid papers, tweeted to Leatherwood on Thursday "see you in a couple days".
Jerry Jeudy WR
Elliot Baker OL - signed.
Isaiah Buggs DE - signed; practicing.
Xavier McKinney S
Tua Tagovailoa QB - should be arriving Saturday evening.
Tyrell Shavers WR
Daniel Wright DB
Chadarius Townsend ATH - on campus, not practicing yet.
Brian Robinson RB - Tuscaloosa native.
Major Tennison TE - signed Financial Aid papers.
Kyriq McDonald DB - practicing.
Hunter Brannon OL
Thomas Fletcher LS - signed Financial Aid papers.
THE NAJEE DRAMA
There has been some talk this past week that Najee Harris would be flipping to the 1997 co-National Champions Michigan or stay home and join one of the Pac-12 schools. Harris is not on social media and does not do interviews. Nobody know what he will do and there are reports that after this game, he might just jump on a plane and head to the college town of his choice to enroll.
The irony of Harris' super-secretiveness is that in NOT making a big production of his commitment like so many others do, he is building the suspense all that much more.
IMHO, I believe he sticks with Bama.
[Ed. Note: As of 10:30 Central last night, reports came out of California that Harris has now cancelled his flight back to Cali and will instead be taking a plane to Alabama with Tua. Yes, I know, this flatly contradicts his decision 36 hours early to skip the Alabama flight and head back home. I'm not going to harass him either way. This is the biggest decision he's made in his young life. -E]
OTHERS TO WATCH:
The following prospects are undecided. Will there be room for them at Bama once they finally do make up their minds?
- Reports are that five-star defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon (#91 EAST) is trending towards Alabama over Georgia. I'm not buying it just yet. The 6-foot-4, 288 pounds Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County product made an OV to Tuscaloosa for Iron Bowl and has scheduled visits for Southern Cal (sight-seeing?), Auburn and Florida. The former Michigan commit was in Ann Arbor Nov. 5.
- 4/5-star WR DeVonta Smith (#27 WEST) is visiting LSU Jan. 13, Alabama Jan. 20, and Miami Jan. 27. The Amite, LA native appears to be a Tide lean over LSU.
- Henry Ruggs (27# EAST) 4-star WR from Montgomery seems like a Bama lock but you have to wonder if the Tide staff is trying to figure out how to squeeze him into this already full class. It is doubtful that Alabama will take both Ruggs and Smith. Nico Collins (Pinson, AL), who is not a part of this all-star game, is also a possibility at WR.
- Jarez Parks (#20 EAST) Sebastian, FL 4-star Weak-Side DE likes Bama over Florida, but did he wait too long?
VANDARIUS COWAN
This 4-star linebacker commit is an immense talent but he has been making some poor life choices as of late. Cowan was kicked off his Palm Beach Gardens (FL) high school team back in November, after he was reportedly eating on the sidelines, interacting with fans and not paying attention during a game. This came after he had been removed from the game by his head coach for committing two costly penalties.
After the incident, the Alabama staff spoke with Cowan and reaffirmed to him that his scholarship would be honored. Due to his removal from his high school team, he will not be participating in today's U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Originally, he was planning on enrolling at Alabama this week but it has now been reported that he will delay his enrollment until the summer. Reportedly, this is not an academic issue. Rather, he wants to spend more time with his family before heading.
He appears to be 100% committed to the Tide and Saban has a reputation of giving guys a "second chance". Color me skeptical but don't be surprised if he ends up elsewhere.