Alabama Football Recruiting: Position of need, cornerback

Cornerback is the position of greatest need for 2018 Alabama football recruiting. Check out the latest on the Tide’s highest priorities.

In the 2018 Alabama football recruiting cycle, defensive tackles and cornerbacks are needed in numbers. Of the two positions, the greatest need is for cornerbacks.

In 2017, Alabama football signed some highly valued defensive backs but did not sign a true cornerback. Among the current 15 scholarship defensive backs, five or six are in their last college season. Anthony Averett, Tony Brown, Hootie Jones and Levi Wallace will exit.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is expected to exit early for the NFL. Ronnie Harrison might join Minkah in going pro early. If so, only Trevon Diggs will have significant game experience going into 2018.

In 2018, Shyheim Carter may replace Tony Brown at Star. 2017 signees, Daniel Wright and Xavier McKinney are expected to step into key roles at safety. Alabama football must replace Averett at cornerback. The two current roster possibilities are Aaron Robinson and Nigel Knott. Both of whom are still learning to play the position.

In the 2018 recruiting class, Alabama football needs to sign three or four cornerbacks. Here are the ones to watch closely. The recruiting stats are compliments of 247 Sports.

Verbal Commits

• Jalyn Armour-Davis, Mobile, AL; CB; 4-Star; No. 15 rated CB in the nation. Tide coaches think Jalyn can play multiple positions and hope he is another Minkah Fitzpatrick. At a current 160 pounds,  he will need to add weight to fill those shoes.

Priority Recruits

• Tyson Campbell, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; CB; 4-Star; No. 3 rated CB in the nation.  The Tide is battling Miami and Ohio State for Campbell. LSU and Clemson are also factors. Campbell is a high priority for Alabama.
• Issac Taylor Stuart, San Diego, CA; CB; 4-Star; No. 5 rated CB in the nation. USC leads for Stuart at this point.
• Jaycee Horn, Alpharetta, GA; CB; 4-Star; No. 23 rated CB in the nation. Horn was scheduled to announce on July 15. He is now expected to delay his announcement. It is not clear if the Tide will accept his commit yet, possibly holding out for a couple of other guys. The main competition for Horn is South Carolina.
• Josh Jobe, Miami, FL; CB; 4-Star; No. 10 rated CB in the nation. Jobe is committed to Miami but remains in regular communication with Alabama football. Jobe is a high priority for Alabama.
• Kelvin Joseph, Baton Rouge, LA; CB; 4-Star; No. 7 rated CB in the nation. Joseph is committed to LSU. He remains in contact with Alabama.

Alabama football continues to pursue 5-Star cornerbacks Patrick Surtain and Anthony Cook. Surtain is the top CB in the nation. LSU and FSU lead for his signature. Odds appear even slimmer for the Tide to sign Cook, His leaders are Ohio State and Texas, with LSU and Clemson ahead of Alabama.

Next: 30 Great Tide Players who were 3-Star Recruits

In the FWIW category, a couple of knowledgeable sources state the Tide is in great shape with Campbell and Jobe. It will be very interesting to see how many of the prospects make the trip to Tuscaloosa for the Champions Cookout on July 21.