Alabama Recruiting Update: Move Along, Nothing To See Here

There is a famous and hilarious scene from the movie The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! with the late great Leslie Nielsen playing the part of a bumbling policeman telling bystanders “Alright, move along, nothing to see here, please disperse” while a fireworks store is going up in flames, shooting all the inventory into the sky behind him.

That is my message to you, the nervous Alabama recruiting followers. However, there is no fireworks store and there is no fire. There isn’t even drying paint to look at. The hiring of Alabama Offensive Coordinator and chief recruiter of the Mid-Atlantic region Mike Locksley to Maryland will have no effect on the current wealth of talent committed to the Crimson Tide.

Recruiting reporters with bigger budgets than that of RBR have reached out to the #ROLL1N9 committed and most of them had the same message. High 4-star ILB Shane Lee of Baltimore, MD said it best when he told Rivals:

“I have nothing but love for Coach Locks. He was the first coach I met when I was starting to get recruited. But no, it wouldn’t have any effect on my commitment. I hope he has nothing but success as he helps our hometown team become dominant.”

Similar statements were made by Lee’s teammate Darrian Dalcourt and John Metchie of Hightstown, NJ. Even 2020 5-star defensive end commit Chris Braswell from the same Baltimore school of St. Frances echoed this sentiment.

Newly minted 5-star Antonio Alfano from Colonia, NJ spoke with 247sports:

“I’ve been hearing from a few other people like Georgia and Auburn, all Alabama’s rivals and stuff,” Alfano said. “I’ve kindly told them I appreciate if they could take me off the distribution list as I’m already committed. Respectfully they did and I think they understand that I’m not choosing any other school besides Alabama.”

The only committed recruit who did not want to comment was running back Keilan Robinson who I have long speculated would be asked to blueshirt, greyshirt or may just flip to another school. The Washington, DC. prospect is believed to be waiting until February to sign.

WEBB OF DECEIT

On another front, recruiting media members are absolutely confounded by what 5-star Clay Webb may be thinking. I am sure that is his plan and good for him if it is. We sometimes take crootin’ a little too serious. If Alabama gets him, that is great news. If not, that is too bad but I firmly believe the Tide will end up with an outstanding group of offensive linemen in this class with or without him.

All that said, there were confirmed reports that Webb cancelled a planned in-home visit with Dabo Swinney. Logically, that pares the choices down to Georgia and Alabama. But who knows? Maybe he signs with Hugh Freeze at Liberty.

VISITS

4-star cornerback Jeffery Carter, will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend on an official visit. The Mansfield, TX native is committed to Texas A&M, but getting him in town this late in the game is bad news for Jimbo Fisher. This makes Carter’s first visit back to Tuscaloosa since the Mississippi State game November 10.

Also on campus will be 3-star running back DJ Williams out of Sebring, FL. The 5’11”/210 back is currently committed to Appalachian State but has offers from Auburn, Georgia, and Miami. Could the Tide have another Josh Jacobs on their hands? Alabama has not offered him as of yet but it’s something to keep an eye on.