Alabama Football: Can the Tide still land top 2020 recruiting class?
By Dakota Cox
Alabama football is currently behind Clemson in the recruiting class rankings. Can they pass the Tigers and earn the top spot in the 2020?
Recruiting has been the key to success for Alabama football in the Nick Saban era. Every year, they find five-star talents that fill needs on their roster, and they also find diamonds in the rough that turn into first-round NFL Draft picks. Whether it is Mark Ingram or Quinnen Williams, they seem to find stars all over the place. They are currently coming off of one of the most successful recruiting seasons in recent memory, landing 26 players that were at least four-star talents.
However, this season has some contention for the top recruiting class. LSU and Clemson are both in the top three alongside the Crimson Tide, and Clemson is currently ahead of the entire country. The Tigers usually aren’t one of the top classes, but Dabo Swinney has built a culture that encourages talent to commit for four years.
With Alabama behind the Tigers, they have some catching up to do if they want to recruit the top class of 2020. They are still behind Clemson despite having more recruits, so they have less room to work with in terms of scholarships.
If they want any chance of landing the top class, they will certainly have to land Zach Evans. He is the top running back in the class, and he recently named Alabama in his list of top schools. However, it will take more than that.
Clemson’s not done recruiting either. It will take more than Evans to solidify this class for the Tide. They will need to land some people they are in contention to get, including Darnell Washington. The Tide have a chance to land Justin Flowe, so that would be a nice piece to boost their odds.
The bad news for the Tide is that this might not be enough to catch up with Clemson. If they land only two or three more players in this class, the Tide have a great chance to catch up. However, Clemson doesn’t plan on signing only a few more players. They have high hopes.
If the Alabama football recruiting class manages to land Evans, Darnell Washington, and a few more top talents like Flowe, they shouldn’t worry about if they topped Clemson’s class. They just have to beat Clemson on the field, and that will come down to what Saban and Swinney can do with the players on the roster. Having the top recruiting class is a nice step in the right direction, but Alabama’s dynasty won’t end because Clemson got one extra player.