WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 |
THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
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NATIONAL SIGNING DAY GUIDE HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION The Tuscaloosa News sports staff will be tracking all today’s action to keep you informed of where the top college prospects are headed. Here is how you can keep track of today’s signing day activity. Sign up for a subscription to tidesports.com today and get the best and latest recruiting news as well as premium video highlights and interviews and expert analysis from Andrew Bone. Annual subscribers receive free text alerts on breaking news.
D.C. REEVES
AARON SUTTLES
The Tuscaloosa News’ Alabama football beat writer starts the day at Shades Valley High School to cover Daron Payne, the state’s No. 1 prospect, signing with the Crimson Tide. He will then head back to Tuscaloosa in time to report on UA head coach Nick Saban’s 2015 National Signing Day press conference. He will also report on select student-athletes made available to the media as in years past. Follow Suttles on Twitter at @AaronSuttles.
TideSports.com’s managing editor will be overseeing the site’s National Signing Day coverage, participating in TideSports. com’s all-day subscriber live chat beginning at 6:30 a.m., where Alabama fans can get up-to-the-second updates on Alabama’s 2015 recruiting class throughout the day. Later today, Reeves will be reporting from UA coach Nick Saban’s afternoon press conference announcing the 2015 signing class. You can follow Reeves on Twitter at @_DCReeves.
TOMMY DEAS The executive sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News will coordinate National Signing Day coverage from the home office in downtown Tuscaloosa. He will report Alabama signings and signings of other West Alabama football players on his @TommyDeas Twitter account.
ANDREW BONE TideSports.com’s lead recruiting analyst will be reporting all of the breaking news on A labama’s 2015 class on TideSports.com’s l ive chat a nd message boards throughout the day. Subscribers can interact with Bone in both places all day long. Follow Andrew for stories, video analysis and much more on TideSports and on Twitter at @AndrewJBone
LOCAL FLAVOR Lester Cotton has seen his dream, quite literally, lly, every day of his high school career. hool can look north over 15th Street The gifted offensive lineman from Central High School me, the University of Alabama and, and across the railroad tracks and see his future home, more directly, the UA practice fields. Cotton signs his national letter of intent today with the Crimson Tide, the fi rst Falcons ris did in 2003. player to do so in more than a decade when Chris Harris At 6-foot-4, 321 pounds, the Tuscaloosa big man is a road-grading mauler, projected to play inside at guard. He’s the No. 3-ranked offensive guard in the country and the state’s No. 2 overall prospect behind only Daron Payne from Shades Valley High School who is also headed to Tuscaloosa. He committed to UA head coach Nick Saban one yearr ago in February 2014, and stuck by his ngs. Pulling a player out of Tuscaloosa pledge even as his stock soared in the recruiting rankings. isn’t the easiest thing, you see, especially when one of the nation’s top programs sits literally a few blocks away. So Cotton will realize his goal today, beginning the next chapter of a dream come true.
Lester Cotton will sign his letter of intent this morning at 9 a.m. at the Central High School auditorium. The four-star offensive lineman is an Alabama commitment.
COMMITTED TO SIGN WITH ALABAMA Pos. LB DE DE DB OL DB RB TE DE LB DT OL WR DB LB OL
Player Keaton Anderson Christian Bell Mekhi Brown Shawn Burgess-Becker Lester Cotton Minkah Fitzpatrick Damien Harris Hale Hentges Anfernee Jennings Joshua McMillon Daron Payne Richie Petitbon Calvin Ridley Kendall Sheffield Adonis Thomas Matt Womack
Hometown Florence Hoover Columbus (Ga.) Coconut Creek (Fla.) Tuscaloosa Jersey City (N.J.) Berea (Ky.) Jefferson City (Mo.) Dadeville Memphis (Tenn.) Birmingham Washington, D.C. Coconut Creek (Fla.) Missouri City (Texas) Lawrenceville (Ga.) Senatobia (Miss.)
High School Florence Hoover Carver Monarch Central St. Peter’s Prep Madison So. Helias Dadeville Whitehaven Shades Valley Gonzaga Monarch Fort Bend Marshall Central Gwinnett Magnolia Heights
Rating
★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★
IN THE HOUSE
These commitments have graduated from high school and are enrolled d at UA for the spring term. They will sign today and are eligible to compete in spring drills. Pos. QB RB DB OL RB DB OL
Player Blake Barnett Desherrius Flowers Ronnie Harrison Brandon Kennedy *Bo Scarbrough Deionte Thompson Dallas Warmack
Hometown Corona (Calif.) Prichard Tallahassee (Fla.) Wetumpka Tuscaloosa Orange (Texas) Atlanta (Ga.)
High School Santiago Vigor Florida High Wetumpka IMG Acad. (Fla.) West Orange-Stark Mays
Rating
★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
*Signed in 2014 but is a part of the 2015 class
THE INK IS DRY
This junior college transfer has already signed a national letter of intent and is enrolled at UA.
JONATHAN TAYLOR Pos: Defensive tackle Ht: 6-foot-5 Wt: 335 School: Copiah-Lincoln Community College Rating: ★★★
KEEP AN EYE ON CECE JEFFERSON Pos: Defensive end Ht: 6-foot-2 Wt: 245 School: Glen St. Mary (Fla.) Baker County Rating: ★★★★★ DAYLON CHARLOT Pos: Wide Receiver Ht: 6-foot Wt: 177 School: Patterson (La.) Rating: ★★★★
• Lawrence Cager, a fourstar wide receiver and Miami commitment from Calvert Hall High School in Towson, Md., has remained in communication with Alabama as late as Tuesday.
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The University of Alabama aims to land the No. 1 recruiting class on signing day for the fi fth consecutive year on Rivals. com. The Tide is locked to a top two recruiting class, and USC is gaining steam with a possible fi nish of several fi ve-star signees. Alabama also has an opportunity to close strong on National Signing Day with a couple of top targets who are announcing their decision. • K.J. Hill, a four-star wide receiver from North Little Rock High School in Ark., will announce at 9:30 a.m. The former Arkansas commitment will choose between Alabama, Arkansas and Ohio State. Many expect him to choose between the Tide and Buckeyes.
LOCAL NOTABLES W
COULD THEY TURN THE TIDE?
• Running back Kyle Nalls is set to choose between TennesseeChattanooga and TennesseeMartin, two NCAA Football Championship Subdivision schools, at 2 p.m. at the Fayette County High School library. Linebacker Steve Enis will sign with Memphis and linebacker Omar Smith will sign with Carson-Newman, an NCAA Division II school located in Jefferson City, Tenn.
• Tuscaloosa Academy safety/receiver Tray Foster will choose between Air Force, Furman and Northern Illinois. He is signing at 12:25 p.m. at the TA atrium.
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• Hillcrest will have three players signing at 9:30 a.m. in the school library: linebacker Jalen Choice with Jacksonville State, wideout Darnell Webb with West Alabama and defensive end Russell Brown with Nassau Community College of Garden City, N.Y.