The abundance of ATH/DB/WR of this class

RedStar · October 14th, 2009, 09:17 AM

I know it's been discussed a bit in other threads, but I thought we'd have a little bit of a breakdown on these guys.

We have four guys who are mirror images of each other.

Deion Belue
Ronald Carswell
Blake Sims
DeAndrew White

They're all the same height, close to the same weight, and would be within arms reach of each other while running a 40 yard dash.

Not to mention 3 other guys with similar size/speed:

Demarcus Miliner
Keiwone Malone
Corey Grant

2 Things stand out to me:

1. This is easily the fastest class Saban has recruited in his time here. We've got a total of 9 guys who run a 4.5 or faster

2. This is easily the smallest class Saban has recruited in his time here. Last year we had about 4 guys who were around 6' tall 200 lbs. This year about half of our class is that size.

When February rolls around, I don't think all 7 of these guys will still be on board. Some of these guys are airtight, while others have been seen on rival campuses. I also don't think that the 3 guys who are listed as WR end up playing that position if they end up at Alabama, especially considering we're losing a total of 6 DB's off of our depth chart.

Ole Man Dan · October 14th, 2009, 01:17 PM

Quote from famous short guy, Tom Cruise...
"I feel the need for speed..."
It looks like this group of 6 footers can run with the small guys, and jump with the big guys. (Athletes)
Is it too much to hope that these guys are as tough as J. Arenas?

glasscutter256 · October 14th, 2009, 02:33 PM

	Quote:	RedStar
	I know it's been discussed a bit in other threads, but I thought we'd have a little bit of a breakdown on these guys. We have four guys who are mirror images of each other. Deion Belue Ronald Carswell Blake Sims DeAndrew White They're all the same height, close to the same weight, and would be within arms reach of each other while running a 40 yard dash. Not to mention 3 other guys with similar size/speed: Demarcus Miliner Keiwone Malone Corey Grant 2 Things stand out to me: 1. This is easily the fastest class Saban has recruited in his time here. We've got a total of 9 guys who run a 4.5 or faster 2. This is easily the smallest class Saban has recruited in his time here. Last year we had about 4 guys who were around 6' tall 200 lbs. This year about half of our class is that size. When February rolls around, I don't think all 7 of these guys will still be on board. Some of these guys are airtight, while others have been seen on rival campuses. I also don't think that the 3 guys who are listed as WR end up playing that position if they end up at Alabama, especially considering we're losing a total of 6 DB's off of our depth chart.

I agree. I know we are losing some skill players, but this seems a little overkill. Especially since we've had 2 linemen decommit. I expect to see recruiting focus on the big guys soon. Albeit, it is hard to turn away the talent these guys bring. After seeing all of these small guys, I was wondering if Saban is moving toward the spread offense as well.
Can you see Saban and JM moving toward a spread offense when these guys start getting playing time?

REBELZED · October 14th, 2009, 02:53 PM

	Quote:	glasscutter256
	I agree. I know we are losing some skill players, but this seems a little overkill. Especially since we've had 2 linemen decommit. I expect to see recruiting focus on the big guys soon. Albeit, it is hard to turn away the talent these guys bring. After seeing all of these small guys, I was wondering if Saban is moving toward the spread offense as well. Can you see Saban and JM moving toward a spread offense when these guys start getting playing time?

No way will CNS and CJM move toward a spread offense.

I think what we are seeing is the product of HEAVILY recruiting both DL and OL in CNS first 3 classes. We have a pretty solid, relatively young 2 deep on both sides of the line.

And for those who think that these "smaller" guys can't compete or aren't our style of players, why don't you have a chat with Arenas and Maze?

time_4_the_TIDE · October 14th, 2009, 03:31 PM

I will not question Saban's recruiting classes. Nor should any1 else, he knows what he is doing just let him do it and enjoy the ride.

runtheoption22 · October 14th, 2009, 04:02 PM

Several points in a very random order because it's been a long day:

-Speed spreads the field quicker than a "spread" offense will.

-Maze was our leading receiver against OM, and it was primarily on routes where he was able to run the defender off and stop/come back. The DB knowing he's a deep threat helps that tremendously.

-The middle of the field becomes wide open when you have true deep threats on both of the edges. Run, run, TE wide open across middle.

-Six foot guys are plenty tall enough.

-We still have plenty of big uglies, and we will get a couple more.

-Belue and Milliner are going to be household names for our defense.

-B. Sims may have played himself into a good shot at QB, and at least a stay offense.

-This is a good year for secondary/wr, hence, you see a lot mentioned.

RedStar · October 14th, 2009, 05:10 PM

	Quote:	time_4_the_TIDE
	I will not question Saban's recruiting classes. Nor should any1 else, he knows what he is doing just let him do it and enjoy the ride.

I guess we don't have a reason to post on message boards anymore then.

I wasn't questioning any of these guys. They are all superbly talented and can easily find spots on our roster. And I'm not suggesting 6' tall guys aren't tall enough to play for us. Javy, Ant Madison, and others have proven that.

Sorry if anyone misunderstood the initial post. It wasn't to criticize anyone. I noticed a major difference between this class and the previous two so I thought I'd point it out.

derek4tide · October 14th, 2009, 05:12 PM

Remember when we couldn't get anyone higher than a 3 star to come to the Capstone?? Man, I love these "problems".

time_4_the_TIDE · October 14th, 2009, 05:23 PM

	Quote:	RedStar
	I guess we don't have a reason to post on message boards anymore then. I wasn't questioning any of these guys. They are all superbly talented and can easily find spots on our roster. And I'm not suggesting 6' tall guys aren't tall enough to play for us. Javy, Ant Madison, and others have proven that. Sorry if anyone misunderstood the initial post. It wasn't to criticize anyone. I noticed a major difference between this class and the previous two so I thought I'd point it out.

After re-reading it I guess I did come across as an attacker, that was not my intention. In Saban I trust is more on point I think.

time_4_the_TIDE · October 14th, 2009, 05:35 PM

I question who we are going after, who is locked and who could waiver, who Saban could steal. But not his abilities to decide whether or not to get this guy or that guy or where he sees them fitting in, I don't. He is a genuis with talent and his planning for each guy he brings in. I understand your thoughts and question all I am saying is, I don't see Saban being dictated by who is out there vs. getting who he wants on his team for whatever reason. I know he doesn't get some guys he wants but not often and don't believe he gets any1 he doesn't want. If he doesn't think a guy will have an opportunity to be something under his guidance then that guy isn't going to be on the team, plain and simple. He is like a chess master always planning 10 moves ahead and every variable in between.

CapstoneGrad06 · October 14th, 2009, 07:06 PM

	Quote:	derek4tide
	Remember when we couldn't get anyone higher than a 3 star to come to the Capstone?? Man, I love these "problems".

It was bad earlier this decade, but we got a few four stars. Not enough to compete at a high level, but still a few.

bamaslammer · October 14th, 2009, 09:12 PM

When you think of how many WR and DB cycle in and out of a game and perform on special teams AND the fact that when you recruit 4 and 5 star guys you have a percentage who leave after only three years you understand why we still need to sign these guys. Some will be wideouts, some defensive backs.

This year in particular we are going to graduate a huge chunk of our DB depth.

CapstoneGrad06 · October 14th, 2009, 10:26 PM

	Quote:	bamaslammer
	When you think of how many WR and DB cycle in and out of a game and perform on special teams AND the fact that when you recruit 4 and 5 star guys you have a percentage who leave after only three years you understand why we still need to sign these guys. Some will be wideouts, some defensive backs. This year in particular we are going to graduate a huge chunk of our DB depth.

Its also going to be the same at WR before we know it. We only have one senior this year (Mike McCoy), and one again in 2010 (Darius Hanks), but 2011 will see a number of senior WRs. Of course this doesn't even account for guys who could leave early, namely Julio Jones.