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Alabama Football: Cornerbacks are a major need in 2018 Signing Class

By Ronald Evans

TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 01: A general view of Bryant-Denny Stadium during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Kentucky Wildcats on October 1, 2016 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 01: A general view of Bryant-Denny Stadium during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Kentucky Wildcats on October 1, 2016 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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For Alabama football, the 2018 signing class must be filled with cornerbacks. Check out the latest on the top prospects.

The first NCAA Early Signing Period starts December 20th. Alabama football can entertain prospects on campus, in-person until the recruiting process reaches a Quiet Day on December 17th.

After the 17th, the December Dead Period begins and there can be no in-person contact between schools and players. The Early Signing Period is a 72-hour window, December 20-22.

Many experts believe up to 75 percent of the eventual 2018 class will sign in December. That estimate goes up to 90 percent for those players intending to enroll early.

UPDATED 12/16/17

Alabama football currently has 15 verbal commits: 2018 Verbal Commits. This week we are profiling the Tide commits and top prospects by position group. Previously posted was a breakdown of the defensive tackles, Defensive Tackle Recruiting a Tide Problem and defensive ends, Defensive End Recruiting a big plus.

All player ratings in this post are provided by the 247Sports Composite.

Most pressing 2018 need is cornerbacks

With the expected NFL early-entry departures of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison, Alabama football must replace its entire Dime secondary for 2018. Returning players on the Tide roster will be expected to make an impact in 2018. Unfortunately, those returning players are not only inexperienced, most are slotted to play safety, star or money.

For 2018, Alabama football needs at least four cornerbacks who can contribute. Trevon Diggs may be one. Jared Mayden and Nigel Knott are other possibilities. Deionte Thompson, Daniel Wright, Xavier McKinney and Kyriq McDonald may become top players but all are expected to play safety.

2018 Cornerback Verbal Commits

Alabama football is looking to sign four or five (possibly even six) secondary players in the 2018 signing class. Three 4-Star players are already verbal commits.

  • Jalyn Armour-Davis – 4-Star; No. 15 rated CB in the nation and the No. 122 Overall player. Davis has 15 offers and is heavily recruited by Auburn, FSU and Florida. Due to high school restrictions, he cannot enroll early and originally intended to delay signing until February. That changed recently and he will sign during the Early Signing Period.
  • Nadab Joseph – 4-Star; No. 18 rated CB and the No. 161 Overall player in the nation. Joseph has 22 offers and first committed to LSU. Some schools have Joseph projected as a safety but the Tide coaches have assured him of a first opportunity at cornerback.
  • Savion Smith – 4-Star; No. 1 rated JUCO CB and No. 2 Overall JUCO player in the nation. Smith played at LSU coming out of high school before transferring to junior college. Based on playing experience, he is certainly a player who could start at corner in 2018. Smith will sign early and enroll next summer.

Additional Top Targets

The remaining priority targets for the Tide include two highly rated recruits who will not commit anytime soon. Alabama football is expected to hold a spot for both of them.

  • Josh Jobe – 4-Star; No. 13 rated CB and No. 95 Overall player in the nation. Jobe is committed to Miami but he is visiting Tuscaloosa this weekend. Almost every recruiting insider expects Jobe to flip to the Tide. He is expected to announce either this weekend or shortly afterward. Jobe is expected to sign early. He will play either safety or cornerback in college.

UPDATED 12/16/17 – Josh Jobe flipped from Miami and committed to the Crimson Tide

  • Issac Taylor-Stuart – 5-Star; No. 2 rated CB and No. 25 Overall player in the nation. Tosh Lupoi had a recent in-home visit with Issac and he was scheduled to visit Tuscaloosa this weekend. He has canceled the visit because his high school team has a playoff game. He has talked about visiting in January.  The latest buzz has USC as his top choice.
  • Tyson Campbell – 5-Star; No. 3 CB and No. 26 Overall player in the nation. The Tide has been on Campbell for a long time and Derrick Ansley has made a great impression. He is scheduled to visit Tuscaloosa in January but not expected to choose a school until February. Georgia, Ohio State and Miami are the biggest threats to the Tide.
  • Patrick Surtain Jr. – 5-Star; No. 1 CB and No. 5 Overall player in the nation. Patrick is a teammate of Tyson Campbell and like Campbell, Surtain Jr. will have an Alabama slot until NSD in February. His favorite school to-date is LSU, followed by FSU, them Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson. He will visit in January and the Alabama coaches are quite confident in signing either Surtain Jr. or Campbell.
  • Jaycee Horn – 4-Star; No. 21 CB and No. 203 Overall player in the nation. Tide coaches believe Horn has much potential. He may need a season to mature physically but some compare him to an Eddie Jackson coming out of high school. He has over 40 offers and was once a Tennesee commit. Only because of Campbell and Surtain Jr. is Horn not a current take for the Tide. He plans to visit Tuscaloosa in January.

Tide coaches continue to communicate with additional options but none of them can commit at this point.

Next: 30 Great Crimson Tiders who were 3-Star recruits

Our next detailed recruiting update (on Dec. 14th) will cover quarterbacks and running backs, followed by the other position groups as we work down to Dec. 20th. All position group, detail posts will be updated with new information as it becomes available.

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