Alabama Football: A look back at the loaded 2017 recruiting class

Alabama football landed the best recruiting class ever

We have seen some of the greatest recruiting classes ever since Nick Saban took over in Tuscaloosa. Out of them all, the 2017 class will be the best in Alabama football history. In fact, it has a chance to be the best recruiting class ever. Let’s take a look back at this historic class and see what exactly made it so special.

For starters, this class had more recruits than you usually see. They landed 29 prospects. Every recruit is a risk, so this was essentially 29 darts that could hit the bullseye. Thankfully for the Tide, many of these players panned out.

Offensively, this class was loaded at every position. Najee Harris was RB1 and the highest-rated offensive player in the 2017 class. Alex Leatherwood was OT1, and Jedrick Wills was OT7. Alabama landed 4 of the top 12 wide receivers, and three of those players have been all-time stars for Alabama football. Jerry Jeudy won the Biletnikoff, DeVonta Smith won the Heisman Trophy and Henry Ruggs was WR1 in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Obviously, Tua Tagovailoa was a top quarterback prospect. He reshaped the Alabama offense, and it will truly never be the same. He proved that highly-touted QB prospects could succeed in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama has landed some nice recruits since then.

Defensively, Alabama landed stars like Dylan Moses and Xavier McKinney. LaBryan Ray hasn’t lived up to his five-star status, but he still has a chance to prove himself in 2021. Isaiah Buggs was a great JUCO transfer, and Phil Mathis has developed into a strong defensive lineman.

This was also a great year for rotational players. Alabama recruiting snagged some fringe starters who have added key depth for the team in recent years. Markail Benton has played well on special teams, and Major Tennison has seen success at the tight end position. Both Daniel Wright and Brian Robinson played major roles in the 2020 season. Alabama also landed Thomas Fletcher, who became the best long snapper in college football.

However, the diamond in the rough was easily Mac Jones. Jones was a three-star quarterback who barely cracked the top 400. He still led Alabama football to a championship while shattering some of Tua’s records. He seems to be a lock to be drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and Tide fans will see him on Sundays.

The scary part is that not every player panned out. Stud recruits like Vandarius Cowan and Tyrell Shavers never lived up to the hype. If they had blossomed as well, this class could have been even better.

The recruits who stayed for four years bookended their collegiate careers with national championships. While most of these recruits are gone, Alabama will still have residual benefits from fifth-year players like Chris Allen and Phil Mathis.

When you go through the history of Alabama recruiting, you will never find a class that compares with what we saw in 2017.