re: Sopsher the new No. 1 recruit in the country according to 247

So saban is getting the number one recruit in the country

Sop is all LSU. He’ll be in the class.

Going to be terrible watching this kid in bama jerseys

Lots I want to respond to so bear with me.

The "ins" and Bama have in Amite, while definitely there and effective, doesn't necessarily fall back on all kids. Palmers group has said no influence will be in their recruitment. We are in excellent shape. Lee, while Bama is involved, is pretty open to everyone. In words he wants to be recruited. We still are in good shape there, though a long way to go. Sopsher really likes O and Johnson. He isnt going in blind like some of the others have and that is a win in itself. Hes willing to be recruited, which is normal, and its on our defensive staff to show him we are his best fit. It mano y mano with both having the same basic defenses where both staffs are selling their program. Like its supposed to be.
Whether people want to admit it or not, Bama has some advantages in his recruitment. Just pure program advantages.
They win championships. No one can sell it better and they have trophies to prove it.
They funnel DL to the NFL. We do as well but theirs are high draft picks and have more of a track record in the system than our current staff does. We have a top 5 talent in this years draft that may fall out of the 1st if he doesn't interview well.
They have the depth chart advantage. That missed on kids they expected to land and they are very short on DL depth with a couple of losses coming after next season. They are gonna have a big class of DL but no one sells kids in large position groups better than they do(though our wr recruiting can come close). That are gonna take 6 or so DL. We have to stress to him being the guy for our DL class. We will likely take 4, more if the right guys.
The biggest is Saban. Like it or not, when he comes calling, kids have to listen. Even I, as a lock to LSU with no real interest, would listen to his initial pitch just to see what makes him so great. Why not.
None of those advantages can't be overcome. Its up to the whole group, O, Johnson, Aranda and whoever else we have that can help, to sell him. If they do everything in their power to get him, using every resource, then I can accept if we just get beat. It happens, especially when head to head with the greatest recruiting machine in history. Its just important to fill the rest of the class in a major way and replace him.
Not saying I wouldnt be pissed and bitch initially but as emotions wear off I would accept it. Especially if we win at an acceptable level. That will decide Os future. No recruit.

I cant accept your premise based on the grounds that one of the biggest reasons given for his hire was because he was a top recruiter who could get all the big fish in state and some out of state...

I will let slide what happened with Surtain, but by no mistake that was a huge embarrassing loss for a so called top rated recruiter, no matter how you slice it.

I wont let it slide if he loses out on the number one recruit in the nation in our own backyard that happens to be Coach O's specific strength--Defensive Line..

So, for me losing out on Sopsher makes me lose all faith he can get rhe bug fish. I more than hope he proves me wrong.

I know all to well how it goes. I accept that people are gonna feel that way and its not all unjustified.
The Surtain recruitment is one that is perfect example of the goods, the bads and the just getting beat aspects of recruiting.
I firmly believe the staff put every resource into his recruitment and at the end of the day he chose Bama. He bought into those program advantages I mentioned above. It wasn't effort that cost us it was the perception,or reality, of appearing unstable.
As for the unstable part comes the bads of recruiting. We had no backup plan and actually refused one and completely overplayed our hand. That's what pisses me off and changed my expectations of the entire staff. No less than 9 wins, productive wins with progress as a program, or I empty the whole building. I was extremely disappointed in the entire staff on that one.

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they were probably processed

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"five-star Alabama linebacker commit Quay Walker flipped and signed with the Bulldogs."

"Talented four-star defensive tackle Bobby Brown has flipped his commitment from Alabama to Texas A&M and has signed with the Aggies"



Yeah right, Bama only signed 19 players. These guys were big losses.

The articles are at the bottom of this page.

Hopefully KT will be spending plenty time in Amite

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There's no excuse for missing out on this guy. D-lineman, in state, that's O's wheelhouse

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Exactly