The Crimson Tide lost three valuable members of their coaching staff this season and each one played a vital role in Alabama’s 2019 recruiting class.
Mike Locksley, Brent Key and Josh Gattis reeled in their fair amount of recruits during their time in Tuscaloosa. Head college football coaches depend on the relationships that their assistant coaches builds with recruits and this is why many of Alabama’s top 2019 commits chose the Tide. Each one of these guy’s will leave their own unique hole in the program.
Locksley helped Alabama exploit a large talent pool in the D.C., Virginia and Maryland area. He helped the Tide reel in the likes of Shane Lee, Darrian Dalcourt and Keilan Robinson in the 2019 class. His familiarity with that area helped the Tide in many ways and he showed the ultimate respect to Saban by telling all the recruits from that area to stick with their commitment to Alabama after news broke that he was going to accept the Maryland head coaching job.
Gattis could leave possibly a hole in recruiting as well, despite only being with the Tide for a season. Everyone seen what impact Gattis had on the Tide’s wide receiver group on the field, but many didn’t pay attention to the relationship Gattis was establishing with some of the top wideouts in the nation. His relationship with 4-star wide receiver, John Metchie, was huge for the Tide as Metchie is the Tide’s only 2019 wide receiver commit.
The Tide was also most likely going to lean on Gattis’ knowledge and relationship to reload on wide receivers in the 2020 class. One of Alabama’s 2020 wide receiver commits, Dazalin Wosham, feels Gattis will be missed, but who Alabama hires next will have more of an impact on him.
“Coach Gattis was my guy,” Worsham said. “I know he has to do what is best for him and his family. It doesn’t affect me until I find out who the new wide receiver coach is.”
The top two wide receivers in the nation for the 2020 recruiting class, Julian Fleming and Rakim Jarrett, also felt a connection with Gattis.
Key will leave his stamp on Alabama’s program also. He has been with the Tide for three years and operated heavily within the state. He helped the Tide’s 2019 class add seven in-state recruits after landing only two in 2018.
Recruiting is only half the battle and reloading on coaches and players has become a normal job duty for Nick Saban. The veteran head coach will most definitely make hiring decisions that will help them keep their foot on the pedal on the recruiting trail. Touchdown Alabama Magazine will keep you updated on all hires.
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Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
