I didn't have a good place to put any of this in the two stories we just put up, so here it is in message board form. Comments welcome:
1) If Jamar King doesn't join this class late, I don't think I would have ranked it ahead of Florida State's. Having King in the mix gives Alabama a possibility in regards to replacing the flex DE/T position Jarran Reed held down. Rebuilding the DL is going to be a challenge anyway. I shudder to think of what would be happening had Jonathan Allen gone to the pros and then Simmons still picked MSU. King tamps down a lot of the angst.
2) Irvin Smith is a huge get at TE. Talking about tight end at Alabama requires first the understanding that UA actually has two positions, Y and H. Hentges started at Y in the bowl game, which means four guys started there this year: Howard (mostly played H), Greene, Ball, Hentges. Dwight was also available I don't think Forristall is ready for Y this year and may never be. The Y going into next year is going to be Hentges and, had Smith not come onboard, who knows. Dwight went back to DL. Greene will at least compete for the RT slot and doesn't have the footwork to be a true tight end. Ball didn't get it done in the first half of the season last year, and Howard has never been a natural Y. So getting Smith is a big deal. That gives Alabama two "pure" tight ends who aren't converted DLs.
3) I think news of the Ole Miss investigation definitely hurt them. With that not out there, I don't think they lose both Simmons and Carter. They still held most of their class together but where this investigation will really hit them is with the 2016-2017 kids unless there's a fast end to the query. For Alabama to get both of OM's top CB targets (Carter, Knott) is huge regardless.
4) I'm about ready to say Bret Bielema is the second-best coach in the SEC West because he darn sure doesn't do himself any favors in recruiting. Nice class from Arkansas this year but they fell further behind everyone besides MSU.
5) Was told Dan Mullen really tried to get out of Starkville this year because he knew Dak Prescott was responsible for most of their success. Mullen's coaching job in 2015 was one of the best you'll see in this league: No running game, gutted OL, one special WR yet they still made a lot of people nervous. Unless the new QB turns out to be something unexpected, they're going to backslide in a big way. This recruiting class was not what they needed.
6) I've learned to hold my tongue on Auburn QBs until I actually see them play, because I never would have given Nick Marshall a snowball's chance. I will say this, however: If the new QB can't play right out of the gate, AU will probably change coaches in the offseason. Auburn's class didn't do nearly enough to address issues in the back seven of its defense and RB depth will be an issue. Mostly, though, I don't know how they whiffed so badly on OL recruiting.
7) It's something when you look at Florida State and Ohio State, the two non-SEC teams that got the closest to Alabama, and notice how much further out away from them Alabama was in regards to the top end of the class. The only way anyone's going to catch Saban right now is if a situation pops up like this year, where Alabama lost out on just about every one of its top DL targets, and doesn't have a Plan B. Having said that, the thought of Saban without a Plan B (or Plans C-Z) makes me chuckle. When Plan B in this case means a guy who could be Jarran Reed's equal it's time to just go ahead and give up, if you're working against the man.
8) For next year, Alabama's top targets have to be DT, WR, RB. We're going to appreciate one day just how lucky the 2015 team was in regards to injury at both WR and RB and I'd rather not keep betting on that.
9) Nice first effort from Kirby Smart. Will Muschamp? Eh. Did a good job bringing in more base athleticism but I'm not sure at the end of the day that Kentucky's class won't be better, *IF* the Wildcats do a better job with development. Steve Spurrier left at the right time.
10) Lastly, I will admit that I used to be a full-bore recruiting junkie when we first moved from BamaNation.com to TideFans.com, and for about the first five years after that. But the kids themselves have poisoned the process to a large degree. Reliable information prior to Signing Day is just about impossible to come by, and that's no fault of the writers and site owners who do hard work trying to get it right. You've got kids just playing the media for fun, committing to multiple schools at once (Simmons, for instance, committed to UA staff this week before signing with MSU; what do you do?), etc. However, recruiting is still the lifeblood of the program and still the most important thing that will happen between the end of the season and the start of fall camp.
1) If Jamar King doesn't join this class late, I don't think I would have ranked it ahead of Florida State's. Having King in the mix gives Alabama a possibility in regards to replacing the flex DE/T position Jarran Reed held down. Rebuilding the DL is going to be a challenge anyway. I shudder to think of what would be happening had Jonathan Allen gone to the pros and then Simmons still picked MSU. King tamps down a lot of the angst.
2) Irvin Smith is a huge get at TE. Talking about tight end at Alabama requires first the understanding that UA actually has two positions, Y and H. Hentges started at Y in the bowl game, which means four guys started there this year: Howard (mostly played H), Greene, Ball, Hentges. Dwight was also available I don't think Forristall is ready for Y this year and may never be. The Y going into next year is going to be Hentges and, had Smith not come onboard, who knows. Dwight went back to DL. Greene will at least compete for the RT slot and doesn't have the footwork to be a true tight end. Ball didn't get it done in the first half of the season last year, and Howard has never been a natural Y. So getting Smith is a big deal. That gives Alabama two "pure" tight ends who aren't converted DLs.
3) I think news of the Ole Miss investigation definitely hurt them. With that not out there, I don't think they lose both Simmons and Carter. They still held most of their class together but where this investigation will really hit them is with the 2016-2017 kids unless there's a fast end to the query. For Alabama to get both of OM's top CB targets (Carter, Knott) is huge regardless.
4) I'm about ready to say Bret Bielema is the second-best coach in the SEC West because he darn sure doesn't do himself any favors in recruiting. Nice class from Arkansas this year but they fell further behind everyone besides MSU.
5) Was told Dan Mullen really tried to get out of Starkville this year because he knew Dak Prescott was responsible for most of their success. Mullen's coaching job in 2015 was one of the best you'll see in this league: No running game, gutted OL, one special WR yet they still made a lot of people nervous. Unless the new QB turns out to be something unexpected, they're going to backslide in a big way. This recruiting class was not what they needed.
6) I've learned to hold my tongue on Auburn QBs until I actually see them play, because I never would have given Nick Marshall a snowball's chance. I will say this, however: If the new QB can't play right out of the gate, AU will probably change coaches in the offseason. Auburn's class didn't do nearly enough to address issues in the back seven of its defense and RB depth will be an issue. Mostly, though, I don't know how they whiffed so badly on OL recruiting.
7) It's something when you look at Florida State and Ohio State, the two non-SEC teams that got the closest to Alabama, and notice how much further out away from them Alabama was in regards to the top end of the class. The only way anyone's going to catch Saban right now is if a situation pops up like this year, where Alabama lost out on just about every one of its top DL targets, and doesn't have a Plan B. Having said that, the thought of Saban without a Plan B (or Plans C-Z) makes me chuckle. When Plan B in this case means a guy who could be Jarran Reed's equal it's time to just go ahead and give up, if you're working against the man.
8) For next year, Alabama's top targets have to be DT, WR, RB. We're going to appreciate one day just how lucky the 2015 team was in regards to injury at both WR and RB and I'd rather not keep betting on that.
9) Nice first effort from Kirby Smart. Will Muschamp? Eh. Did a good job bringing in more base athleticism but I'm not sure at the end of the day that Kentucky's class won't be better, *IF* the Wildcats do a better job with development. Steve Spurrier left at the right time.
10) Lastly, I will admit that I used to be a full-bore recruiting junkie when we first moved from BamaNation.com to TideFans.com, and for about the first five years after that. But the kids themselves have poisoned the process to a large degree. Reliable information prior to Signing Day is just about impossible to come by, and that's no fault of the writers and site owners who do hard work trying to get it right. You've got kids just playing the media for fun, committing to multiple schools at once (Simmons, for instance, committed to UA staff this week before signing with MSU; what do you do?), etc. However, recruiting is still the lifeblood of the program and still the most important thing that will happen between the end of the season and the start of fall camp.
