Gather ‘round young chil’ren and let me tell you about the time when the February National Signing Day was a wild and wacky day of commitment flips, hat switcheroo press conferences, and grown-ass men biting their nails off over the college choice of teenagers. Yes kids, before the NCAA came along and started haphazardly shuffling around the college football calendar for no reason, the first Wednesday in February was THE National Signing Day, nearing national holiday status. Now, it is nothing but a day on a calendar in Indianapolis.
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Your humble narrator has covered Alabama football recruiting for over a decade and today is the first time that there is absolutely nothing to report. With the onset of the December Signing Day and the dearly departed novelty of recruits graduating high school early in order to enroll in college in January becoming the norm, basically every major prospect has already chosen a college, signed, and in most cases enrolled at their school of choice.
There are still a few guys who are still hanging onto the old ways. 4-star Louisiana defensive lineman Dylan Berymon is probably the most significant one – though he is set to decide between Nebraska and Kentucky. Whoop-de-doo.
As for the Crimson Tide, there is a chance that they sign a few guys today. With the D-I football scholarship limit going back up to 105 for the first time since 1992, teams have the luxury of taking flyers on lower ranked guys. Most of these guys may never see the field until the Tide plays Western Utah Tech Nursing College in their senior season, but it is never a problem to have too many warm bodies at practices. However, there is a chance that they acquire a prospect who is unpolished or hasn’t hit that growth spurt yet with the chance of transforming into a Levi Wallace or a Rashad Johnson.
As you may have read in today’s Jumbo Package, the Tide signed 3-star ATH Amari Sabb. He is the younger brother of starting Bama safety Keon Sabb and more importantly older brother of 2027 prospect Xavier Sabb who Alabama has been recruiting since back when a guy named Nick Saban was in charge of the program. Amari is listed as 5-9 and 155 lbs (and that might be generous) which is way too small to play anywhere in defense, but he might work out on offense as a slot receiver or on special teams. Once upon a time, Alabama had a dude named David “The Deuce” Palmer who was listed at 5-8/173. He went on to become a consensus All-American (1993) and spent seven seasons in the NFL with the Vikings (1994–2000). [Pepperidge Farms remembers.]
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Yes, the expanded 105 scholarship limit is a chance for less talented or less developed guys to come into Tuscaloosa, don the crimson and white in front of 100,000 screaming fans and perhaps blossom into an All-American. Or, it could be a great story to tell their grandchil’ren some day.
