re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition

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Michael Bowman

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Christian Williams knows he’s wanted by Alabama

Alabama would like to add at least 3 defensive backs in the 2019 class, and one of the nation’s best resides in the state. Christian Williams, a 4-star cornerback from Daphne (Ala.) High School, is one of the Crimson Tide’s top priorities. Williams has been to Tuscaloosa numerous times since the start of his recruitment.

Former defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt was Williams’ primary recruiter when he was at Alabama, but the in-state talent has started to build solid relationships with new defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and new defensive backs coach Karl Scott.

“Since Coach Pruitt left for Tennessee, I’ve needed to build some new relationships and I feel like that’s going well,” Williams told SEC Country. “I wasn’t too close with Pruitt because I was young so the coaches really couldn’t talk to me much. But I feel like a big priority to them. The coaches are coming at me every day and just talking to me about everything. They’re really trying to get to know me.”

Alabama isn’t the only SEC school treating Williams like a priority. The nation’s No. 9 cornerback said Auburn and LSU, in addition to Alabama, are the schools coming after him the hardest.

At the Atlanta Opening regional camp last Sunday, Williams showed up wearing LSU gloves. He visited Baton Rouge in early March and has a solid relationship with Tigers defensive backs coach Corey Raymond. The same can be said with his relationship with Auburn assistant Marcus Woodson.

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“Those three are showing me more love than every other school,” Williams said. “They’re trying to actually get to know me and they have shown me that they actually care about me and are not just trying to get me to play football for them.”

In talking with several sources with knowledge of Williams’ recruitment, Alabama should be considered the early favorite. Williams grew up as an Alabama fan and has been to Tuscaloosa more than Auburn and LSU.

One thing working in Auburn’s and LSU’s favor is Williams said he’s planning on taking his recruitment all the way until either the early signing period in December or National Signing Day in February.

Williams also said that he doesn’t have a leader right now and has no official visits set. He mentioned wanting to take one to Oregon to see what the West is like, but it doesn’t sound like much more than that. Alabama will get one of his five official visits.

The 6-foot-1, 178-pound prospect said the message from Lupoi and Scott has been clear. “They think that I would be a really good fit for Alabama,” Williams said. “They really like long, big corners, and they said that I can definitely play the star position in their defense.”

My pick is on Williams choosing Alabama, and I believe that a commitment could come before the start of his senior season despite the plans discussed above.

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Official visit season is now open

Sunday marked the first day that Class of 2019 recruits can start taking official visits. This marks a seismic shift in the recruiting calendar.

Before this year, recruits needed to wait until the fall to start taking their official visits. Now, recruits can take their official visits up until June 24 or they could choose to wait until the fall.

Nick Saban has spoken out against this change.

“We typically, and to be honest with you, as hard as you think I work, I like the fact that from June 17 until July 15, our guys are on vacation,” Saban said at the SEC spring meetings last year. “So they’re not going to be on vacation, because we’re going to have people visiting and we’re going to be recruiting all during the summer. So I just don’t think these things have been really well thought out. I don’t think it creates a real advantage for anybody. There are some people that say that the student-athlete wants the chance to take these visits earlier on. I don’t know.”

I haven’t heard any recruit who is planning on taking an official visit to Alabama in the spring just yet. I’m not sure if the team will have many spring official visitors because Alabama usually relies heavily on its evaluations in the team’s summer camp.

We’ll see how many players the team plans on officially hosting this spring. My guess would be not many.

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Whenever there is a commitment this far before National Signing Day, there is at least some fear that a prospect will flip. Take into account  Kristian Story is from the Class of 2020 and has about 21 months until he can sign, and it might be easy not to get too attached.

Story, however, might not be a typical prospect. He seems certain this commitment will stick, although he’s not shutting down his recruitment. “It’s going to take a lot to flip me,” Story told SEC Country. “I don’t see myself flipping.” ... (read more)

Making John Emery Jr.’s Top 8

The news broke on Thursday but in case you missed it, the Vols made elite running back John Emery Jr.’s top 8. He told SEC Country he could see himself playing for the Vols one day.

RELATED: Elite RB John Emery Jr. on Tennessee: ‘I can see myself there’

This is a good development for the Vols. Pruitt has tried to build a recruiting pipeline into Louisiana.

RELATED: Tennessee trying to build recruiting pipeline to fertile Louisiana

This is a positive sign, but LSU probably still has the inside track to land the running back. Alabama and LSU have combined to land 68 percent of the top 15 prospects in the last three recruiting cycles. It’s not easy to go into The Boot and come away with big-time players.

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The nation's No. 5-ranked wide receiver, Theo Wease, took to Twitter on Easter Sunday to release his top five. Alabama along with LSU, Oklahoma, USC, and Texas A&M made the cut for the Allen (Texas) product.

A one-time Sooners commit, Wease picked up an offer from the Tide right before National Signing Day after UA head coach Nick Saban stopped in his school to evaluate the talented wideout. "I was speechless," Wease told BOL at the time. "Highly interested."

The four-star receiver plans to take an official visit to Tuscaloosa at some point. For now, official visits to Texas A&M (April 6), Oklahoma (April 14) and USC (June 22) are on the calendar.

As for a decision timeline: "I'm probably going to wait on my decision a little longer now," Wease told 247Sports' Brian Perroni last month. "I'm probably going to do it before the season, though, after I take my visits. I'm going to try and take all my visits this spring and summer."

At 6-foot-3, 194 pounds, Wease is rated the No. 5 receiver and the No. 31 overall player in the country, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rankings. He's currently trending to Oklahoma on the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

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