'Bama, Saban keep coming out on top
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Alabama's recruiting is going the same way as the team's fortunes on the field. The Crimson Tide keeps ending up No. 1.
Coach Nick Saban put together another stellar recruiting class that is ranked No. 1 in the country by most scouting services and recruiting gurus. Rivals.com ranked Alabama's class of 27 players No. 1 for the fourth time in five years.
On the field, Alabama has won two of the past three national championships.
"The thing about Nick Saban and recruiting is there are never any surprises with him," said Allen Wallace, publisher of Super Prep magazine and national recruiting editor for scout.com. "He plans so well. I don't think he would be surprised at his own birthday party."
Alabama landed five of Super Prep's top 50 players in the country. Eight of Alabama's recruits already are enrolled at the school for the spring semester.
Texas, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan and Florida were some of the other big winners in recruiting this year. Urban Meyer had a gigantic impact at Ohio State after being named coach.
"The two smartest coaches in a lot of different areas, including recruiting, are probably Nick Saban and Urban Meyer," Wallace said. "Ohio State went from probably having one of its worst classes ever to one of the top classes after Urban Meyer took over."
Ohio State landed a terrific group of defensive linemen, led by Harrisburg Bishop McDevitt defensive end Noah Spence and defensive end Adolphus Washington of Cincinnati.
Wallace said two of the biggest surprises in recruiting this year were UCLA and Rutgers. UCLA benefited from Jim Mora becoming coach, and Rutgers wasn't hurt much by Greg Schiano leaving to become coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Rutgers was able to keep some of New Jersey's top players at home.
"UCLA might be the biggest surprise in the country," Wallace said. "They went from having a class in between 30 to 40 to No. 12."
One of the craziest recruiting stories in the country was the saga of receiver Jordan Payton of Westlake Village, Calif. He committed to Southern California as a junior, committed to California a few weeks ago, committed to Washington on Tuesday and signed with UCLA on Wednesday.
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
