Northeast athlete Ronan Hanafin impressed by Tide's efficiency

Ronan Hanafin, four-star athlete from Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, visited Alabama for the first time last Tuesday. He has juggled his visit schedule with his lacrosse season. He has been recruited by Boston native, Bill O'Brien, for a while. He received a scholarship offer from the University of Alabama during the visit.

"It was a great experience getting down there," Hanafin told BamaInsider after the trip to Tuscaloosa. "It was my first time really seeing any southern schools (also visited Clemson last week). Coach O'Brien has come up here a few times. I had to get down there to see him.

"It was great to be around Coach O'Brien. My head coach and him are really good friends. Obviously, with him being from up here it's a dream for him to recruit other Mass. guys. It was cool talking to him and just growing our relationship."

The standout athlete enjoyed watching the Crimson Tide practice. He has not seen a practice quite like the one in Tuscaloosa. He also had an opportunity to speak with a few former players including John Metchie.

"I really liked the way they were running practice," he said. "It was very efficient. They don't waste any time. I thought practice went very well. They were always moving. It was just so efficient.

"They were having a Pro Day the next day. A lot of guys were out there getting ready for it. It was cool meeting some of those guys. I talked to (John) Metchie. He's a great guy. It was really cool talking to him."

Hanafin, who measured 6-foot-3, 208-pounds, said he watched the receivers during practice, but went in the linebackers meeting room. Alabama is recruiting him as an athlete.

"They said they love my film and that I can play on both sides of the ball," he said. "They are not exactly sure where they want me to play yet. They offered me as an athlete. It was a great experience receiving the offer and talking to Coach Saban. He is a legend.

"I don't really have a preference. I'll do whatever I can to help myself get on the field. I've always played wide receiver. Linebacker is sort of new for me. I can also play strong safety. Early on most schools were talking to me about wide receiver or linebacker, but now most are offering me as an athlete."

Hanafin doesn't have any other scheduled visits at this time, but he expects to see several schools during the summer after lacrosse season. He mentioned Alabama, Boston College, Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin as the schools recruiting him the hardest. He added a new offer from USC on Wednesday.

“The campus is very nice," Hanafin said regarding Alabama. "It's a little different than some of the schools I am used to up here. It's a bigger campus. A little more spread out. It was really cool. My parents felt the same way about Alabama as me. They loved it. They thought it was really cool.

"I plan on getting back down there sometime during the summer. There are a lot of great people there; very genuine. They will tell you the good, bad and ugly straight to your face. It's a very efficient program. They win a lot of championships for a reason."

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