Alabama has had its fair share of junior college players come through Tuscaloosa and succeed while in crimson and white. Another big time player has committed to the Crimson Tide out of the JUCO ranks. Elliot Baker, a 4-star offensive tackle and a top ranked junior college player has picked Alabama over Georgia, Oregon and others. He announced his verbal commitment in a late night tweet after his visit to Tuscaloosa.
I'm proud to announce that I have verbally committed to the University of Alabama. #RollTideRoll 🐘 pic.twitter.com/avnbRtYCtq
— ebakez (@elliot_baker) June 7, 2016
Baker, the City College of San Fransisco product will be the third junior college offensive tackle to join the Tide in the last four years. Dominick Jackson who came to Tuscaloosa in 2014, started two years at right tackle and is now a member of the Detroit Lions. The next guy up was Charles Baldwin of ASA College in Brooklyn New York, who signed with the 2016 class and enrolled early, only to be dismissed from the team a semester later after violating team rules. Baker looks to step in right away in 2017 and compete for a spot.
The 6’7″,295-pound San Fransisco native is on his first visit to Tuscaloosa after receiving the official offer in April. The new Tide commitment did not hold an offer after high school, which led to him attending City College of San Fransisco and from there his stock began to skyrocket. Georgia was the first to offer him and seemed to be his leader for a long time. Offers began to pour in from the likes of Baylor, Auburn, Arizona, Alabama and Oregon and before he knew it, Elliot Baker was one of the most wanted players in the junior college ranks.
Baker is the tenth commitment in Alabama’s 2017 class and the second from California joining the nation’s number one player and Antioch native, Najee Harris.
Justin Wagner is the Lead Recruiting Analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at @jwag718.
