Alabama football: New information on 2018 quarterback prospects

Alabama football has strong interest from two 5-Star quarterback prospects. Check out the latest information on Justin Fields and Matt Corral.

Alabama football knows well that 5-Star prospects are sometimes a bust. In recent years 5-Star Tide recruits Tyler Love, B.J. Scott, Eddie Williams, and Phil Sims were Alabama football busts.

Even perceived elite quarterbacks sometimes fail to prosper at the college level. Mitch Mustain at Arkansas, Ryan Perrilloux and Russell Shepherd at LSU, and James Banks at Tennessee were all 5-Star ‘can’t miss’ guys going into college.

Each year the recruiting process takes a universe of about 300,000 players and bestows less than 3300 FBS scholarships. Those fortunate scholarship players represent slightly more than one percent of each year’s high school seniors.

Of those roughly 3300 scholarships, only around 30 are awarded to players rated as 5-Stars. The process of rating 300,000 players into 30 elite-rated player slots suggests those 30 or so 5-Stars should be ‘can’t miss’ players.

Despite the explosion of data analysis, success in sports is more alchemy than science. Since teams can never ‘know’ how a prospect will ultimately perform, every team wants to sign at least one quarterback in every recruiting cycle.

So far, Alabama football does not have one for 2018. Alabama football’s current young roster of QB’s does not change the need for a 2018 quarterback, though it can make it harder to sign one.

Over the last week, two 5-Stars, Matt Corral and Justin Fields have shown expanded interest in the Tide. After decommitting from USC, Corral lists Georgia, Florida and Alabama as his options. Justin Fields has been making unofficial visits to schools after decommitting from Penn State. Fields says he does not have a favorite but is considering Florida State, Florida, Georgia, Auburn and Alabama.

Until this week, Georgia was believed to have a lead for Corral, followed by the Tide. Until a recent visit to Tuscaloosa, Alabama was not high on Fields’ list.

All of that has changed. Both players cite Brian Daboll as a major reason for their interest in Alabama football. Daboll has been showing recruits a photo of Tom Brady and five Superbowl rings.

As reported by SEC Country, Matt Corral said,

"“Tom Brady was his guy, if I want to be as good as I want to be, I’m going to learn under Coach Daboll.”"

Quoted by SEC Country, Justin Fields had similar Daboll praise,

"“I just love the way Coach Daboll coaches. Of course, they are going to contend for national championships every year. They also have most of the best players in college football. Just getting to practice with those guys every day is going to get you better.”"

What all this means for Alabama football is unclear. There are additional points to consider. Fields is a dual-threat QB and Georgia so far is built for a Pro-Style QB. Corral is a Pro-Style QB.

Corral is looking to make a decision this summer. Fields is in no hurry and has said he is not concerned about the Tide’s young QB roster.

If Georgia can rein in Fields, who is from Kennesaw, and speed up his decision, Alabama football would be in a good position for Corral. Corral has stated he will not choose the same school as another 2018 elite quarterback.

Next: Five Greatest Threats to a 2017 Championship

Check in with us often and we will update 2018 recruiting anytime we learn something new.