“They really came hard after him the last 48 hours,” said Stanley Pritchett, Taylor’s high school coach. “

“Kentucky really put the full court press on him. He can play early there because they need running backs. Kentucky runs a pro-style offense and he feels very comfortable there with those coaches, especially Tee Martin.”

Taylor and his family were reportedly were not happy that he would be gray shirted because he thought he’d be part of this year’s class, so it’s not that surprising that he changed his commitment, but according to a story on ESPN.com, he thought long and hard before he changed his mind.

But first the coach had these opening remarks: "We started out w/ a goal of explosive players on offense and felt good about the guys we were able to attract."

Then Saban went off for a few minutes about the new SEC over signing rule.

“We took away some opportunities from players who wanted to come here because of the 25 limit.”

“It was more difficult to manage, to hit the exact number, said Saban." "We couldn't send out too many scholarships on a maybe because of the new rule.”

The coach also said he resents people thinking that coaches don’t have the best interest of the player and he basically ended his press conference speaking briefly on the Ladon Collins signing saying he hopes everyone around him will support his decision.

I don’t blame the coach for being a little upset, the media has seem to have made him the poster child for over siging players, but despite that, it hasn’t hurt him at all which tells you what kind of coach he is and the type of program he runs.

RTR!

I know fans are excited as you should be, I am because a top recruiting class equals success. Nick Saban’s 2008 class included Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Courtney Upshaw just to name a few and I’m not mistaken, the 2008 class was No. 1 in the country too.

That class won 45 games, two national championships and one SEC championship. To say that was one of the best recruiting classes ever, would be an understatement.

But the thing that worries me is sometimes the fans reaction when they don’t get the player they wanted and the young men themselves who take their recruitment too seriously.

Fans that “stalk” and harass kids on social networks are the worst. I remember last year when Brent Calloway decided to switch back to Alabama after he had chosen Auburn. The nasty comments he received from AU fans were pitiful; this was an 18-year old who just changed his mind.

I also remember the controversy surrounding his recruitment and how an AU blogger tried to say Alabama had cheated to get him which was never proven and the blogger never apologized either.

Then there are the kids themselves who at times get over exposed. No wonder some of these kids get the big head when ESPN puts pressure on them to sign on national TV so they make a show out of it and in some cases, so do their parents.

This is a big day and should be a big day, but at times it seems like we lose prospective on what it’s really all about; schools taking chances on a bunch of 17 and 18-year olds.

What do you think? Comment below!

ESPN, Rivals, Maxpreps had the Tide No. 1 and Scout had the Tide at No. 2. While Bama lost out on running back Justin Taylor who decided not to grey shirt and go to Kentucky, they did land names like Cyrus Jones, Geno Smith, and as expected Landon Collins who also signed his letter of intent.

Unlike when he made his announcement to attend Bama a few months ago, his mother sat next to him and actually hug him after he signed the papers.

Other SEC teams that finished in the top 10 behind Bama were Georgia, Florida and LSU.

Auburn finished somewhere near the middle or bottom of their the top 25 if you believe most experts.

Here is a list of Tide commitments:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/alabama/football/recruiting/commitments/2012

Apparently, Collins and his mother are still having issues about him attending Alabama and she still hasn't gotten over his choice yet. According to reports, Collins' mother felt disrepected by Nick Saban because she felt he was more concern about her son's football future then his academic future; wonder if she felt that way about Les Miles?

My guess is that Collins visited LSU to please his mom, because it sounded like when he committed to Bama a few weeks ago, that no matter what his mom said or did, his mind was made up and he was going to Tuscaloosa.

You would think after watching the way LSU played in the national championship game that she would change her mind and realize maybe LSU is NOT the place her son should be.

We'll see if mom truly does know best.

According to Rivals.com, the Crimson Tide picked up it’s 20th commitment in offensive tackle Brandon Hill, a 6-foot-6, 350 pounder from Collierville (Tenn.) St. George's High.

Rivals states that he is a three-star recruit. This is the Tide’s first recruit since September when they received commitments Miami Northwestern wide receiver Amari Cooper and Vigor defensive tackle Darius Philon verbally committed.

Philon found out he will have to undergo knee surgery for a torn meniscus.

Philon’s high school coach doesn’t know if he’ll return this season saying they won’t know until after his surgery.

The 6’2 180 pound wide out is from the Miami area and attends school at Northwestern High School.

Cooper chose Bama over Florida State, Miami, Ohio State and Michigan State.

Apparently, according to some reports, Cooper wasn’t highly thought of until he made some noise at the Alabama football camp in June.

I guess he remembered that in choosing the Tide. So far this season, Cooper has caught 11 pass for 273 and averages over 25 yards per catch.

Cooper is the second wide out that signed with Bama out of Florida; the other was Chris Black who is also a four-star recruit.

The commitment by Mr. Kelly came after football camp in Tuscaloosa this summer. He is the second lineman to commit to the 2011 class following Isaac Luatua, a Scout.com 3-star offensive guard from Norwolks, California's La Mirada High School. Luatua is 6-foot-2, 299-pound lineman, of Samoan descent and according to rivals is the 8th ranked center prospect in the nation.

One of the things that Alabama's Joe Pendry most likely admires about these two young recruits is the fact that they can play multiple positions. There is a great upside for both on the offensive line. Alabama will most likely get a least two more offensive lineman prospects in this class.

One of the most highly sought after linebackers in the nation is also from the same state of Ohio and a five-star athlete. His name is Trey DePriest of Springfield High School in Ohio. He has Alabama in his top two choices of colleges along with Ohio State.

Ryan Kelley is the first Alabama commitment since last month's Vinnie Sunseri committed.

Kelly also had offers from Arizona, Boston College, North Carolina State, Louisville, Michigan State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Purdue, and Illinois. He initially leaned a bit toward Cincinnati, which was his parents’ alma mater, and was 20 minutes from home. However, he felt that Alabama was the best fit for his education and football career.

Alabama is definitely going more national this in attracting more top notch out-of-state recruits following the national championship.

The Tide Express keeps rolling along! ROLL TIDE!

Here is a video of his high school team. He is #78 if you can spot him..

Tags: Alabama recruiting news, Bama recruiting, Ohio lineman commits to Alabama, Crimson Tide football recruiting, recruiting updates, football recruiting Alabama

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At this point in the process, Alabama is simply reloading.  I read this nice article below abouthow we are progressing this year in recruiting.  If we had a crystal ball that worked right, we could tell more about it.  Nevertheless, I think you will enjoy this read.... 

Bama set to land another top 5 class
By Michael Casagrande,
For the TimesDaily
Less than two weeks before signing day, the final push begins in the cut-throat world of college football recruiting. If the current list of commitments stick to their word, Alabama is primed to ink another top-five class when paperwork is signed Feb. 3...

Read more at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100125/ARTICLES/1255023/1164?Title=Bama-set-to-land-another-top-5-class