Alabama Football: Tide picks up 3rd verbal in 24 hours, top JUCO CB
By Ronald Evans
Alabama football received great news Wednesday afternoon as the nation’s top JUCO CB, Saivion Smith announced his commitment to the Tide.
Alabama football recruiting is on a roll. Wednesday afternoon, the Tide received its third 2018 verbal commit in the last 24 hours.
Saivion Smith is rated as a 4-Star based on the 247Sports Composite. Smith’s value to the Tide is comparable to the best 5-Star high school player. Given his experience beyond high school, Smith will not have the normal learning curve even 5-Star recruits must face.
ICYMI: 2018 Verbal Commits List
The former LSU player is the No. 1 rated CB and No. 4 rated JUCO player in the nation. Smith was one of the top players in the nation coming out of high school. It is believed Smith will likely start in 2018, replacing either Anthony Averett or Levi Wallace.
The 2018 recruiting plan for Alabama football has been to bring in up to five defensive backs in the 2018 class. The current number is three, including Jalyn Armour-Davis and Nadab Joseph.
The Tide is very much in play for 5-Stars Patrick Surtain Jr. and Tyson Campbell. 4-Star Josh Jobe, currently committed to Miami, is believed to be close to flipping to the Tide.
It had been rumored for several weeks that Smith was a silent commit to the Tide. Nick Saban is cautious in accepting commitments and even highly sought players are counseled to not commit until they are certain of their decision.
Saivion chose Alabama over Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas Tech and others. Smith is expected to sign on December 20th and enroll in January.
Could be the 2018 signing class will be larger than expected
It is impossible for anyone outside the Tide coaching staff to know the final class size. However, some insiders believe the Tide will not turn away any in the trio of Jobe, Surtain Jr. and Campbell. Should the Tide choose to include six defensive backs in the 2018 class, the overall class number will not stop at 22.
Adding Jobe and either of Surtain Jr. or Campbell would make the 2018 group the best defensive back class ever signed by Nick Saban. The primary recruiter for Smith is Tide secondary coach Derrick Ansley.
Next: How the Tide will battle the Clemson defensive front
With the flurry of commitments, Alabama football is now No. 10 in the 247Sports team rankings. All the teams above the Tide on the 2018 team list have many more commits than the Tide’s current 14 verbals.