Big weekend for Bama recruiting Tide schedules biggest rush of prospects to visit campus beginning today Friday, January 07, 2005 By THOMAS MURPHY Sports Reporter
http://www.al.com/alabama/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/sports/110509317865620.xml
If college football recruiting were a baseball game, the University of Alabama's pre-Christmas efforts would be like a seven-inning quality start.
The Crimson Tide has a de cent hold on 24 commitments, but it would like to finish with a flourish by knocking out the last handful of top prospects on its board.
That's where this weekend comes into play.
Starting this evening, the Alabama program will play host to 16 or so prospects, treating them to tours of its new football facility, Bryant Hall, Bryant-Denny Stadium and taking the group to Saturday's basketball game against LSU.
"Obviously, it's a big weekend for us," Tide coach Mike Shula said. "This will be the biggest weekend we'll have by far all year."
There is only a trickle of prospects scheduled to come in on the final few weekends before National Signing Day on Feb. 2.
"There's a small chance we could be finished if things go well (this weekend)," Shula said.
A wide spectrum of players are slated to attend, but Davidson High School tight end Gabe McKenzie, the state's No. 1 player on the Mobile Register's Elite 18, was wavering Thursday on his scheduled visit. Alabama assistant coach Buddy Wyatt visited McKenzie Thursday to try to convince him to follow through with the visit.
Among the other visitors expected are Williamson defensive end Antonio Coleman (who was visited Thursday by new LSU head coach Les Miles), blue-chip defensive backs such as Chris Keys and Chris Rogers, prime-time receivers Fred Rouse and Julius McClellan, top defensive linemen Bobby Greenwood and Doug Worthington, and a quartet of standout running backs.
McKenzie, who has Auburn and Miami (Fla.) as his leaders, looks like a long shot for the Tide, while Coleman has narrowed his choices to Bama, Auburn, LSU and Southern Miss.
Keys has committed to Alabama, but he was an LSU pledge until Nick Saban's departure on Christmas Day and there may be twists remaining in his recruitment. Rogers, of Lakeland, Fla., has been a Maryland commitment, but some feel he has swung toward the Crimson Tide. Rogers told Tider Insider he will make his official announcement at Evangel Christian School in Lakeland next Tuesday.
Rouse, the top-rated receiver in the country by Rivals.com out of Tallahassee, Fla., appears a possibility, however remote, but Tide fans are holding out hope he'll surprise by choosing Alabama over Florida State, Texas and others. McClellan, an intriguing 6-4, 220-pounder with 4.4 speed, is rated the No. 5 junior college product nationally out of Coahoma (Miss.) College.
Greenwood, who is still considering Alabama and Florida State over Auburn and Vanderbilt, will probably get a strong sales job from fellow Prattville products Kyle Tatum and Roman Harper this weekend. Worthington, a 6-7, 255-pounder out of Althol Springs, N.Y., is committed to Ohio State but is keeping his options open as the Buckeyes enter murky NCAA waters with allegations of recruiting violations. Worthington is also slated to visit Florida, and is also considering Wisconsin, Boston College and Notre Dame.
While Alabama can still take the best available athletes to fill most of its final six or so slots, another running back and a defensive lineman or two are key targets.
"We're still (recruiting) at every position, but defensive line and running backs for sure are two positions we're looking at," Shula said.
A handful of running backs -- led by Roy Upchurch of Tallahassee (Fla.) Godby, Mike Davis of Columbia, S.C., Mike Ford of Sarasota, Fla., and Tide commitment Ali Sharrief of Stevenson -- are set to visit today.
On the defensive front, ends Greenwood and Worthington are scheduled to be joined by Brandon Deaderick, an end out of Elizabethtown, Ky., and tackle Antonio Forbes of the Atlanta suburb of Norcross. Cordero Moore of Mequite, Texas, who had a family connection to the Crimson Tide, was scheduled to visit but canceled after committing to Oklahoma.
McKenzie is not the only tight end on the weekend's guest list, as Colin Peek of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., is expected to attend.
Keys and Rogers lead a big group of defensive backs slated to visit, including Guesly Dervil of Jacksonville, Fla., and Anthony Johnson of Jackson, Miss.
Alabama is also slated to welcome linebacker Antonio Clay of Jacksonville, Ga., who has narrowed his choices to Miami and Alabama, as well as quarterback Jimmy Johns of Brookhaven, Miss. Clay's visit, somewhat of a surprise, has been credited to Tide receivers coach Charlie Harbison's efforts.
In other Alabama football news, Shula said the Crimson Tide will have to learn from its apparent faux pas in failing to bring grayshirts John Parker Wilson and Drew Davis and prep school signee Lionel Mitchell to Nashville for Music City Bowl practices.
Alabama compliance director Chris King and other school officials were rankled upon learning in Nashville that Tennessee took two mid-term signees to Dallas for Cotton Bowl workouts.
King received an initial interpretation from the SEC office that taking the signees out of state for bowl practice was a violation, but further inquiries with the NCAA showed it was within the rules.
"It was just a matter of interpretation," Shula said. "Is it the end of the world? No. Would we have liked to had them practicing in Nashville? Yes.
"But we're going to err on the side of caution right now, and it wasn't that detrimental. We have to make sure we learn from it, and have better communication on everybody's part -- including us, the SEC and the NCAA."
-- ROLL TIDE!! Ricky
_______________________________________________ RTF mailing list RTF@rolltidefan.net http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
