No state produces more elite talent than Florida, and many of those guys have a habit of ending up in Tuscaloosa.
This week BamaInsider is examining Alabama's recruiting success in some of the most important states in the country by reviewing which programs excel at signing the top-five prospects year-after-year in each state since 2015.
The cream of the crop
Offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood is Florida's only top prospect to sign with Alabama since 2015, but he wasn't the highest ranked guy nationally. That honor belongs to 2019 signee running back Trey Sanders who finished third overall.
2015
4. WR Calvin Ridley- Drafted 26th overall in 2018. Hauled in 220 receptions (second all-time) for 2, 781 yards (third all-time) and 19 touchdowns (fifth all-time) during his Alabama career.
2017
1. OT Alex Leatherwood- Started all 13 games on the offensive line. Graded out 80.8 as a pass-blocker and 72.3 as a run-blocker in 2019 according to Pro Football Focus.
3. WR Jerry Jeudy- Drafted 15th overall in 2020. The 2018 Biletnikoff Award winner hauled in 159 receptions (third all-time) for 2,742 yards (third all-time) and 26 touchdowns (second all-time).
2018
2. DB Patrick Surtain- Pro Football Focus graded Surtain out as Alabama's third best coverage defender behind only former teammates Trevon Diggs and Xavier McKinney. He earned that 84.6 grade despite playing a team-high 471 snaps in coverage.
2019
2. RB Trey Sanders- Yet to see the field due to injury, but expected to make a splash in 2020.
3. Evan Neal- Started all 13 games on the offensive line. Finished the season with a pass-blocking grade of 70 and a run-blocking grade of 70.1 according to PFF.
It might be come as a surprise now, but Jeudy is the only guy on the list that didn't finish as the top option at his position in Rivals final rankings. He's also the only one of the six to rank lower than ninth nationally. Jeudy finished 19th overall.
Florida also happens to be Alabama's second-most important pipeline state. The Crimson Tide has signed 23 total guys out of Florida since 2015.
Other noteworthy names out of Florida include:
- DB Ronnie Harrison (2015)
- LB Dylan Moses (2017)
- QB Mac Jones (2017)
- DL Timothy Smith (2020)
