Alabama Football: 5 Tide 2019 signees who’ll have instant impacts

Alabama Football put together their eighth No. 1 recruiting  class in the last nine years. Which of the signees have the best opportunity to make instant impacts?

It was a foregone conclusion coming into National Signing Day that Nick Saban was going to reel in the No. 1 recruiting class again. Alabama had a huge lead coming into the day, and despite a big final push by Georgia, the top-ranked class was secured by the Crimson Tide.

After a strong early signing period, Alabama didn’t have a lot of work to do on Wednesday, but still walked away with a couple of key recruiting victories to solidify the nation’s top class.

The day started off ominously, however, with four-star defensive end Khris Bogle flipping from Alabama to Florida. Long-time commitment Christian Williams, a four-star cornerback, followed suit by flipping to Miami, although Williams’ flip had long been expected since Saban chose to not make him a priority during the early signing period.

Alabama later missed out on a couple of top targets: three-star tight end Brett Seibert, who signed with Georgia, and four-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o, who signed with Tennessee.

The Tide held on to a couple of committed prospects, four-star defensive tackle Byron Young and four-star running back Keilan Robinson, and then pulled off a stunning win in LSU’s backyard by signing coveted four-star defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher, who had long been considered a lean to Baton Rouge.

Adding depth to the defensive line was one of the biggest keys in this recruiting cycle for Saban, particularly after the early departure of star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the NFL. Alabama lacked depth this past season, and then turned around and signed a loaded class of elite talent on the defensive front to combat those issues going forward.

The Tide will finish just shy of reeling in the top recruiting class in the history of the internet recruiting era, but it’s still one of the most impressive classes of all time. Of Alabama’s 27 signees, 26 were rated four-stars or better, with the lone non-blue chip prospect being the country’s No. 1 rated kicker.

Plenty of pundits have penned premature obituaries for the Alabama dynasty after the shellacking it took in the National Championship to Clemson, but there’s still a ridiculous level of talent at Saban’s disposal in Tuscaloosa with a new crop of elite players heading to the Capstone to restock the cupboards.

With Alabama being hit hard by early NFL Draft entrants, there’s going to be opportunities across the depth chart for some incoming freshmen to crack the two-deep.

Let’s take a look at five players with the best shot to earn early playing time in 2019: