Alabama did not have the best National Signing Day and it could have been a result of Alabama’s high competition level.
Early playing time is very important in the today’s college football world and more than ever guys want to make an immediate impact. Guys like Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm and Jalen Hurts have evolved the role of the freshman player. They have shown that one could come in and make an immediate impact like never before.
Alabama is stacked at almost every position except defensive back. This means that almost every freshmen will have to stratch and crawl to see the field for even a couple of snaps. That situation does not look very tempting for high school players that saw freshmen come in and shine on last season early and often.
Of course this is not the only reason Alabama had trouble in this recruiting class, but it is definitely a factor.
The most obvious reason Alabama struggle in this recruiting cycle is easily the coaching turnovers they had. It is difficult for new coaches to jump in towards the end of the recruiting cycle and build relationships with guys and it showed.
Although, Alabama did not have the best class when it comes to the recruiting rankings; it is some impressive talent in this class.
Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith