Alabama Football Recruiting: One up, one down and one second-chance

Alabama football added one top 2020 recruit, lost another verbal commit and gave a player a second chance to join the Crimson Tide.

There is no musical chairs game in Tuscaloosa but the Alabama football recruiting bus has some new seat assignments. The Alabama Crimson Tide added one and lost one member of its 2020 verbal commits.

The added player was a big get for the Crimson Tide. He is 4-Star weakside-defensive end, Will Anderson. He is rated as the No. 5 WDE and the No. 91 player overall. He is projected as an outside linebacker by the Alabama football staff, who also value him as a key member of the 2020 class.

The lost commit is De’Rickey Wright. Wright is rated as a 3-Star Athlete. 247Sports rates Wright as the No. 26 ATH and the No. 390 player overall in the 2020 class. There has been much chatter of where the talented athlete was best suited to play for the Crimson Tide. Outside linebacker and safety were often mentioned. Apparently, the Tide staff though his best position would be at tight end. It is not known whether the Tide’s preference for Wright at tight end influenced his decision to de-commit.

Invariably, some Alabama football fans will suggest Wright was pushed out to make room for others. Numbers are tight, but we do not believe that was the case.

Still, the addition and the deletion to the Tide’s 2020 list of verbal commits is a net-plus for Alabama football.

Two more Alabama football recruiting notes

Multiple reports say Nick Saban has re-offered Nadab Joseph. Joseph was a target in the 2019 class. His grades made qualifying academically very doubtful. Insiders say the Tide would not accept a commitment to enroll early, fearing it would be an unused and wasted slot in the 2019 class. Joseph became convinced Georgia would accept him and he signed with the Bulldogs.

He did not qualify and spent last year at Independence Community College. He is now a 2020 prospect with three years of eligibility. It is believed he is currently a take for the Crimson Tide. Others will say different, but we doubt he is inclined to return to the Bulldogs.

Joseph is an elite athlete, generally rated a cornerback but well-suited to play safety. A few days ago we told you to look out for a commit from Will Anderson. Now we are saying, don’t be surprised if Joseph comes on board soon.

Lastly and most importantly, we recently suggested Jayson Jones might be looking at other schools because the Alabama football staff wants him to play offensive line, rather than defensive tackle. Jayson was kind enough to contact us. He told us on Monday, his conversations with Nick Saban have always been about playing defensive tackle. Thank you, Jayson, for keeping us straight and our apologies to all for the misinformation.

As always, the player ratings we cite in our Bama Hammer posts come from the 247Sports Composite. No offense to Rivals or ESPN, but the Composite is always a solid source.