Monday, February 3, 2014 |
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THE TUSCALOOSA NEWS
Your guide to National Signing Day A aron Sut tles A labama football beat writer starts the day at Hoover High School to cover Marlon Humphrey, the state’s No. 1 prospect, signing with the Crimson Tide. He will take part in an allday recruiting chat on Tidesports.com, then cover UA head coach Nick Saban’s 2014 National Signing Day press conference at 4 p.m. Follow Suttles on Twitter at @AaronSuttles.
D.C. Reeves TideSports.com’s managing editor will anchor all of TideSports’ coverage from Tuscaloosa. He will take part in TideSports.com’s allday chat beginning at 6:30 a.m. and give up-to-the-second updates on Alabama signees as they roll in throughout the morning. Later today, Reeves will attend UA coach Nick Saban’s afternoon press conference announcing the 2014 signing class. Follow Reeves on Twitter at @_DCReeves.
Tommy Deas The executive sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News will coordinate National Signing Day coverage, and cover five-star athlete Bo Scarbrough’s noon signing ceremony at Clark’s Sports Pub and Grille in Northport. He will report Alabama signings and signings of other local football players on his @tommydeas Twitter account.
Andrew Bone The senior recruiting analyst for Tidesports.com will be providing all-day coverage on the Tidesports. com website and on his Twitter account at @AndrewJBone. He will participate in the all-day recruiting chat on Tidesports. com.
In the house These commitments have graduated from high school and are enrolled at UA for the spring term. They will sign today and are eligible to participate in spring practice: Recruit Pos. High School Rivals.com ranking Tony Brown CB Beaumont (Texas) Ozen hhhhh David Cornwell QB Norman (Okla.) North hhhh Shaun Dion Hamilton LB Montgomery Carver hhhh Laurence ‘Hootie’ Jones DB Monroe (La.) Neville hhhh Cameron Robinson OL West Monroe (La.) hhhhh Cameron Sims WR Monroe (La.) Ouachita Parish hhhh
Famous dad, famous son Marlon Humphrey kept everyone guessing right up until the day he committed. Alabama or Florida State? Originally scheduled to announce his school of choice today, Humphrey instead decided to relay his decision via Twitter during the middle of the day last Wednesday. Humphrey is, of course, the son of Pro Bowl running back Bobby Humphrey, one of Alabama’s greatest all-time rushers with 3,420 rushing yards in his four-year career in the 1980s. But Marlon wasn’t intent to be known as simply the “son of Bobby Humphrey.” In his own right, Marlon is a track star, who, along with Tony Brown, is slated to run track at UA, and one of the best cornerbacks in the country. Marlon built a tight bond with Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher and was intrigued by the Seminoles’ powerhouse track program. But cornerback was a position of need for Alabama and the call of Kirby Smart and Nick Saban, along with his father’s legacy with the Crimson Tide, were all too strong to ignore. Humphrey is the No. 1 player in the state, No. 2 corner in the country and a five-star ranked player by Rivals.com. Hoover High School will livestream Humphrey’s announcement at 10 a.m. at www.nfhsnetwork. com/events/83790
The ink is dry These junior college transfers have already signed a national letter of intent and are enrolled at UA:
D.J. PETTWAY Defensive line 6-foot-3, 255 pounds East Mississippi C.C.
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JARRAN REED Defensive tackle 6-foot-4, 305 pounds East Mississippi C.C.
Hoover High School defensive back Marlon Humphrey
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Keep an eye on
Hillcrest High School linebacker Keith Holcombe
Paul W. Bryant High School defensive back Patrick Porter will sign with Washington State at 9 a.m. in the school’s auditorium.
Following in the footsteps
Making his own way
It didn’t take long for Keith Holcombe to pull the trigger and commit to Alabama after the verbal offer was extended over the summer. In in a way it was natural. Holcombe’s father, Danny Holcombe, lettered for the Crimson Tide under legendary coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant from 1980-82. He had several offers before Alabama came calling, but it was the summer camp circuit that raised Holcombe’s profile, including a standout performance at the Rivals Camp Series in Hoover. He backed that up with a solid senior season (128 tackles, including 11 for loss) and a stellar performance in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, in which he recorded seven tackles.
Nothing about Bo Scarbrough’s high school football career was boring. Injuries curtailed his first two seasons at Northridge High School. A summer transfer to Tuscaloosa County High School before his senior season was an interesting twist, but he never played a down for the Wildcats. Instead, the nation’s No. 2-ranked athlete and five-star skill position player transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., (in its inaugural football campaign) for his senior season, rushing for more than 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns with another three receiving touchdowns. Scarbrough verbally committed to Alabama during his junior season, and although he flirted with other schools during the process, he has never backed off that pledge.
Five-star running back Bo Scarbrough
Local notables
Fayette County High School receiver JaTevin Madison is expected to sign with Texas Tech at 9:45 a.m. at the school.
Sipsey Valley High School quarterback Garret Lewis will sign with the U.S. Naval Academy in a 2 p.m. ceremony at the school.
RASHAAN EVANS Linebacker 6-3, 218 Auburn High School
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CHAD THOMAS Defensive end 6-5, 230 Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington
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Committed to sign with Alabama
Demopolis High School is expected to have at least three players sign with major-conference programs today at a 2 p.m. ceremony. Wide receiver Cortez Lewis will choose between Minnesota and Wake Forest.
Recruit Pos. High School Ranking Joshua Casher OL Mobile St. Paul’s hhhh Ronnie Clark ATH Calera hhhh Johhny Dwight DT Rochelle (Ga.) Wilcox County hhh Ty Flournoy-Smith TE Georgia Military College hh Josh Frazier DT Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber hhhh Da’Shawn Hand DE Woodbridge (Va.) Senior hhhhh J.C. Hassenauer OL Woodbury (Minn.) East Ridge hhhh Keith Holcombe LB Hillcrest hhh Marlon Humphrey CB Hoover hhhhh Dominick Jackson OL San Mateo (Calif.) College of San Mateo hhhh Derek Kief WR Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle hhh Montel McBride OL Plant City (Fla.) hhhh Christian Miller LB Columbia (S.C.) Spring Valley hhhh Ross Pierschbacher OL Cedar Falls (Iowa) hhhh Bo Scarbrough ATH IMG Academy (Fla.) hhhhh JK Scott K/P Denver (Colo.) Mullen hhh O.J. Smith* DT Bossier City (La.) Airline hhh * Offered defered enrollment, not expected to sign today