Alabama lost an underrated — yet significant — commitment yesterday when three-star kicker Brandon Ruiz decided to open his recruitment back up to listen to other schools. That decision to remain uncommitted didn’t last long.
At approximately 10:53 am CT, Ruiz posted this on Twitter:
Proud to Announce That I Will Be Staying Home and Committing to Arizona State University! #ForksUp
The loss of Ruiz is a fairly significant hit for Alabama’s recruiting class. The team’s placekicker — Adam Griffith — finished his career at Alabama following the loss to Clemson in the national championship game. As of right now, there are no kickers currently on scholarship on Alabama’s roster — or in their recruiting class.
It’ll be interesting to see where the Crimson Tide turns to find their next placekicker. It’s the second time in as many seasons that Alabama has lost their highly recruited placekicker down the stretch — Eddy Pineiro flipped from Alabama to Florida at the last second around this time last year.
Ruiz, a native of Gilbert, Arizona, is currently the nation’s second best placekicker according to 247Sports. He is currently listed as a four-star prospect according to our very own rankings at Touchdown Alabama Magazine.
Clint Lamb is a columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
