Final Pre-NSD Recruiting Update

runtheoption22

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  • OJ Smith's father claims that he has decided to stick with Alabama and expects an LOI from the Bama staff today. He needs to finish well in the classroom, but it is doable. UPDATE 8PM: Bama apparently offering a greyshirt in case he does not qualify. Status uncertain.
  • Chris Williams is extremely torn. His family claims he will get an LOI from Bama but distance from home may play a factor. His dad had a stroke when he was younger, and driving distance is now a concern-- which highly favors UCF over T-town. UPDATED: 10:50AM Did flip to UCF UPDATED: 8PM- Having second thoughts.
  • As was stated yesterday, Chad Thomas is sticking with his Miami commitment.
  • Rashaan Evans decision is a lot tougher than many want to think. His father seems to favor CNS and 3-year plan to the league. But, established relationships at AU may be too much to overcome in the end. One source said this was as close as 51/49 AU entering the weekend.
  • Malachi Dupre is down to FSU and LSU, with LSU being the heavy favorite.
  • Travis Rudolph reached back to our staff while Dupre was visiting FSU. If Dupre gave indication he was heading to FSU, Rudolph would flip to Bama. However, the FSU staff told him they did not expect Dupre.
  • Elisha Shaw may sign an LOI with Bama tomorrow. If he does, it will either be to be placed on medical or a greyshirt to see if he can get cleared. As of now, football is a long shot based on the injury. The Bama staff is the only one that has kept in regular contact since being medically DQd.
  • Markell Boston wanted a Bama offer and did not get one Monday. So he took the next best SEC offer he had- Barnie.
  • Ty Flournoy-Smith is all Kiffin's. He see's him as a matchup nightmare and loves the possibility of he and Howard on the field at the same time.
  • Does the staff pull another surprise? A Korren Kirven, Kenny Bell type late flip? We always seem to have one. If not, NSD will be rather quiet....quietly another #1 ranked class.
 
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BigEasyTider

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Rapidly growing consensus on Dupre is that he has just been playing games in recent weeks, and a lot of that line of thinking was cemented by the Cam Cameron stunt on his UCLA visit (which, incidentally, will likely result in a rule change). Neither 'Bama or FSU expect his signature tomorrow, and you can venture a guess as to what UCLA feels about their chances.

Do keep your eye on Chris Williams, who has been pretty silent since returning from his visit to UCF. Really have no expectation one way or the other on whether or not we receive a signed LOI from him tomorrow. OJ Smith, on the other hand, looks like he is going to stick if you believe everything he and his family have said the past two days.

At this point, barring a surprise, I think Evans is really the only outstanding option on the board. Hope I'm wrong, but my instinct and my prediction is that he signs with Auburn. We will see.

In terms of surprises, what are the odds? I'm thinking very, very low as a whole, and in likelihood we won't see anything. Keep your eyes on Rudolph and Boston in particular, but again I wouldn't get my hopes up.
 
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mikeua69

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Just saw where Mike Farrell changed his Dupree prediction to FSU. I still think he signs with LSU, but could impact Randolph's decision if he goes with the Noles.
 

BigEasyTider

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Just saw where Mike Farrell changed his Dupree prediction to FSU. I still think he signs with LSU, but could impact Randolph's decision if he goes with the Noles.
Farrell better tell the FSU coaching staff then, because as of late night they weren't holding out hope, although some of the FSU homers are still drinking the Kool-Aid. If Dupre goes anywhere other than LSU, he will have trolled a lot of people in Louisiana in the past 96 hours.

In the event it does happen, though, hopefully Rudolph will hold off signing his LOI until later in the day to see what Dupre does. Dupre is announcing on ESPN at 10:30 Eastern (Rudolph's time), so hopefully he waits until then before faxing in his papers, if that's a serious consideration in his recruitment. Again, though, as RTO stated above, it is interesting with Rudolph because he voluntarily reached out to our staff, not the other way around (though obviously we were still very interested). It should also be noted that, if Dupre indeed does sign with FSU, that will mean the 'Noles added two top receivers -- Ermon Lane and Dupre -- since Rudolph committed to them, so that could be changing his calculus. We'll see.
 
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runtheoption22

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Just saw where Mike Farrell changed his Dupree prediction to FSU. I still think he signs with LSU, but could impact Randolph's decision if he goes with the Noles.
Farrell seems like he's been kinda goofy this season. Let's hope he's right and like BET said, Rudolph holds off signing until he does.


Regardless of lack of fanfare on NSD, this class is amazing.
 

CoolBreeze

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Ahhh, my favorite thread. I am pulling for a quiet signing day...one that includes Chris Williams.
 
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derek4tide

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Can totally understand, if Chris Williams signs with UCF. A part of me hopes he does, so he can be close to his dad. Dads are pretty special and you need to enjoy the time with them, while you can.
 

bamacon

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Is the Williams decommitment the one that allowed F-S to join because I thought it was the fact that Elam didn't? I may have that all wrong. How many spots are actually available? 1-2? I know we will get Evans in regardless but I just thought we might have another available spot now.
 

peariver

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It should also be noted that, if Dupre indeed does sign with FSU, that will mean the 'Noles added two top receivers -- Ermon Lane and Dupre -- since Rudolph committed to them, so that could be changing his calculus. We'll see.
FWIW - Read on an FSU board they are really hoping for Dupree because they don't think Lane will qualify.
 

BigEasyTider

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So with Williams flipping, do we make a push for Boston again?
It's possible enough to keep an eye out for it, but not likely. The Williams news wasn't exactly unexpected, so the better likelihood is that we passed on Boston even though we knew Williams might defect.
 

bama579

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I thought we needed another DB/S in this group, was hopeful M Boston would be the one. Perhaps the DBs on the team will play better with the coaching change.

Or maybe a good surprise tomorrow! Maybe both.

Hope so.
 
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