SEC West Recruiting Preview

Kyle Pollock Posted On January 24, 2016

saban

On January 14^th, the recruit dead period (no contact with recruits) ended and the final sprint towards National Signing Day began. Teams all across the country are making one last desperate push to convince promising high school seniors to come play for their school for the next four years. Most coaches have in home visits with prospects, visit their high school, and maybe attend a basketball game that a prospect is playing in. Some coaches go the extra mile, such as Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh who recently camped outside a recruit’s house until the dead period ended, and then proceeded to spend the next 24 hours with him in an attempt to decommit from Penn State and commit to the Maize and Blue. Teams are still targeting many players, and I’ll go conference by conference to give an overview of each team’s skill position targets entering the final few weeks of the recruiting season.

Alabama

Nick Saban and the Tide always have one of the best classes in the country, but this year they “only” have the number nine class in the country. They could jump up a few spots if they land any of the following players:

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Mecole Hardman Jr, Athlete
Demetrius Robertson, WR
A.J. Brown, WR
Keith Gavin, WR
Ahmmon Richards, WR
Mykel Jones, WR

Hardman is the one of two five stars in the group, and he named Alabama his favorite his few weeks ago at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Saban also paid him a visit as his house, along with lead recruiter Jeremy Pruitt. He played cornerback and quarterback in high school, but I would expect him to play corner or wide receiver in college. It’s clear that Alabama is looking to add another receiver in this year’s class, as they currently are targeting five. Robertson and Craig-Myers are considered the top two receivers in the country, and Robertson is a five star player. The two are very different players, as Robertson is only 6’, 175 pounds, while ‘NCM’ stands at 6’2”, and weighs 205 pounds. Robertson is similar to Hardman, as the two are blazing fast and electric with the ball in their hands. It’s easy to see both Harman and Robertson players coming in and immediately contributing as returners and working their way into starting roles in the future. Jones is on the smaller side, at only 6’, 180 pounds, while Craig-Myers, Gavin, and Richards are all bigger receivers who would complement freshman phenome Calvin Ridley well. Alabama currently has commitment from two wide receivers (T.J. and Tyler Simmons) and an athlete (Treveon Diggs, younger brother of Stefon Diggs) who is expected to play receiver. For that reason, it’s hard to see them landing more than two to three of these receivers. I’d expect them to come away with one or two of Gavin, Jones, and Richards, and potentially one of Hardman or Robertson, but they will be much harder to land.

Arkansas

Arkansas looks to be pretty set with this year’s recruiting class, as all of their top targets are already committed. They do have an outside chance to land running back Kyle Porter, who could pair with current commit Devwah Whaley to form a nice duo for the Razorbacks. Porter is the number 11 running back in the country, and has good size for the position (5’11”, 208 pounds). He is expected to sign with Texas, as he hails from Katy, Texas. Arkansas has the last official visit set with Porter on January 29th, so they will have one last shot to convince him to commit. Porter is a very shifty runner, who displays great agility and change of direction. His low center of gravity and speed make him particularly difficult for defenders to tackle, which allows him to consistently pick up extra yards, Lastly, his patience and ability to set up blocks, combined with his above average vision, allow him to regularly break off big runs. He is reminiscent of Ameer Abdullah to me, and would create a thunder-lightning combo with Whaley that would help the Razorbacks be a formidable threat in the West for the next few seasons.

Auburn

Auburn essentially has all of their major skill position recruits locked up or even enrolled already. Top five receiver Kyle Davis, three star running back Malik Miller, four star tight end Landon Rice, and four star JUCO quarterback John Franklin have already enrolled at the school, while four star receiver Eli Stove, four star quarterback Woody Barrett, and three star receiver Marquis McClain have given pledges to the Tigers. Their lone skill position target remaining is the aforementioned Nate Craig-Myers. The race to land him appears to have come down to Auburn and Florida, and both schools already have commitments from multiple receivers. As mentioned above, NCM has good size for the position, but I’m not sure that he is the number two receiver in the country. He’s very similar to Davis in that both players are solid all around, but lack an area where they clearly can “win” over college competition. To me, he looks to lack burst and needs to work on becoming more of a hands catcher to have a chance of living up to the hype bestowed upon him. Adding Craig-Myers to the number ten recruiting class in the country will certainly help move the Tigers up a spot or two in the rankings

LSU

All of LSU’s remaining targets are on the defensive side of the ball, as they look to add to the nation’s top recruiting class. Athlete Devin White (6′, 258 pounds), and WR Stephen Sullivan (6’5″, 230 pounds) both enrolled early, while WR’s Drake Davis (6’4″, 215 pounds), Dee Anderson (6’5″, 205 pounds), and Da’Monte Coxie (6’3″, 175 pounds) have all verbally committed to the team along with TE Jamal Pettigrew (6’6″, 229 pounds). LSU is clearly sticking with its philosophy of bringing in bigger skill players, which has helped them produce multiple NFL starters.

Mississippi State

Mississippi State has one huge target left on its board: WR A.J. Brown. The Bulldogs will have to beat out Alabama to get him, but appear to have the edge at the moment. Brown hails from Starkville, Mississippi, which happens to be where the Mississippi State campus is located. He will make an immediate impact wherever he ends up, as he is an all-around great receiver. Brown “wins” in jump ball and contested catch situations, as he high points the ball well and is able to box out defenders to use his frame and leaping ability to always come away with the ball. He is dangerous in the open field as well, consistently displaying good lateral movement and change of direction, speed, physicality, and acceleration. These traits carry over to his route running, although this is likely the area where Brown needs to improve the most. If Brown does end up a Bulldog, he will greatly help ease the loss of De’Runnya Wilson, and will be the team’s top wide receiver for the next few seasons.

Ole Miss

The Rebels are only targeting two skill position: wide receiver Mykel Jones and running back Denzel Mitchell. While they are considered the favorite to land Mitchell, it may be a moot point as they already have three other running back commits in the class. Jones would join a crowded receiving corp featuring Damarcus Lodge, a top recruit from last season, and Dekaylin Metcalf, one of the top receivers in this year’s class. Metcalf could be the prime replacement for Laquon Treadwell, and will look to form good chemistry with five star quarterback Shea Patterson. Metcalf is currently my number two receiver in this year’s class. He is a hands catcher who has a flare for making spectacular catches, and pairs this with well run, nuanced routes. He can already perform some double moves, and this will help him get on the field early. He’s a great athlete with excellent size at 6’4”, 205 pounds. He uses this size to his advantage, as he is extremely physical and is a great blocker. He is actually very similar to Treadwell because of this size, physicality, and athleticism combination. With the number seven class in the country, Ole Miss should be very excited about the future.

Texas A&M

A tumultuous off-season doesn’t look like it will be getting any help from the Aggies incoming recruiting class, which lacks a true star at the skill positions like they’ve seen in the past few seasons. Even after losing both Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray to transfer, A&M still doesn’t have a quarterback committed for this year’s class. They have gone hard after Nick Starkel, a pro style passer who is a three star, but still have to beat out UCLA to land him. He reportedly had an amazing visit this past weekend but even if he does end up committing, it’s unlikely that Starkel will be ready to start this season, and the coaching staff that recruited him could be gone by next year. They are also working hard to flip Ole Miss commit D’vaughn Pennamon, a 5’11”, 220 pound running back from Marvel, Texas. A&M is currently projected as the favorite for him, but Alabama has jumped in late and made a strong push, along with Ole Miss. While the Aggies may receive a small boost on the offensive side of the ball on National Signing Day, none of the incoming recruits look like they will be able to help Kevin Sumlin immediately, and this could lead to his firing after or during next season.

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