Alabama Football Recruiting: A plus-two or plus-three weekend for the Tide

Good news is expected this weekend for Alabama football recruiting

It will be a big weekend for Alabama football recruiting. Alabama Crimson Tide fans will be tracking announcements on Friday and Saturday.

At least two needs should be addressed by the two most probable recruits to choose the Tide. Those position needs are defensive end and cornerback.

JUCO, Khyree Jackson from East Mississippi Community College is the cornerback prospect. JUCO players are rated differently from other recruits. Though he is listed as a 3-Star, Jackson is one of the nation’s top JUCO players. Some recruiting experts have Khyree as the No. 1, JUCO cornerback. He has great size at 6-feet-3 and close to 200 pounds. His size does not hamper his speed. Alabama football insiders believe Jackson would be a near-lock to replace Patrick Surtain II as a Tide starting corner in 2021. Jackson is from Maryland. The schools most mentioned, other than the Crimson Tide, are Oklahoma and Florida. South Carolina, Kentucky and Oregon also made Jackson’s six-team list of finalists.

A mid-July announce date was pushed back. There is near consensus among recruiting experts Jackson will announce for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Then again, there was near consensus Jackson would commit to Alabama football as far back as late June. No surprise is expected on Saturday but the delay in announcing a verbal has been somewhat troubling. If Jackson chooses Alabama football, Nick Saban will still add one, possibly two more cornerbacks. 5-Star Ga’Quincy McKinstry is the elite corner every major program in the FBS has chased.

The other key Alabama football prospect announcing Saturday is 4-Star, defensive end, Monkell Goodwine. Monkell is another Maryland prospect. He is fast enough to play linebacker but big enough to play defensive end. Goodwine is expected to be a pass-rushing terror in college. There have been rumors Goodwine has looked hard at Texas A&M. Even Arizona State has been mentioned as a major contender.

The third Alabama football prospect for the weekend has an announcement planned for Friday. 4-Star, wide receiver, Malcom Johnson Jr. of Alexandria, VA had been trending to the Tide until about a week ago. Recruiting experts are predicting Johnson is choosing Auburn. Other teams in the mix are Georgia and LSU. UPDATED: Malcolm Johnson verbally committed to Auburn Friday morning.

If the recruiting experts are correct, the Crimson Tide will still look for one more wideout. Keep in mind, the Crimson Tide has verbal commits from three of its top four wide receiver targets. Johnson would be fifth on that list. Rated higher, but thought to be trending to LSU is Brian Thomas Jr. Where will the Tode turn if no Johnson? A guess is the Alabama football staff will not give up, at least not before gaining another wideout commit.

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

Recruits choose schools for many reasons. A major factor is playing time. That is the only advantage Auburn could offer Malcolm Johnson. Otherwise, Gus’ offensive schemes are not an established springboard to the NFL.