WATCH: What Nick Saban said about the Class of 2019
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama added three players to its 2019 class on National Signing Day, bringing its total to 27 signees. This year’s class includes three five-stars, 21 four-stars and three three-stars. The Crimson Tide finished with the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation as Georgia took the top spot, according to Rivals.com.
Georgia edged out Alabama 3,063 to 3,047 in terms of recruiting points. However, the Crimson Tide signed three more players than the Bulldogs and led the nation with a 4.0-star rating among its signees. Rivals awards points based on a player’s individual ratings. The highest possible rating a recruit can receive is 6.1, which is worth 150 points. A 6.0 player is worth 135 points, while a 5.9 player is worth 120 points and so on.
Of course, none of that matters to Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who left the day satisfied with his class.
“I think we’re excited and very fortunate to have the kind of class, the number of quality student-athletes that we have in this class and what those guys can contribute to helping us continue to have a successful program here, both on and off the field,” Saban said. “The opportunity that they have as individuals is outstanding and the relationships that we want to develop with them to help them grow and develop as people, students, and players is instrumental. Our focus is always on development of players.
“We want them to focus on what they have to do to be complete players at their position and believe the truth about what they need to do to improve. How they can prepare themselves so that they can go out there and create value for themselves when they do get an opportunity to play. Because everything is going to be performance based in their future.”
Alabama signed 24 of its student-athletes during the early signing period. Wednesday, the Crimson Tide added four-star running back Keilan Robinson as well as two four-star defensive linemen in Ishmael Sophsher and Byron Young.
Sopsher was viewed as the biggest get of the day as Alabama beat out LSU for the Amite, La. native. Sopsher, 6-foot-4, 334 pounds, is rated as the No. 3 defensive tackle and No. 72 player overall in this year’s class.
“I’m really proud of Ish,” Saban said. “We challenged him, and he accepted the challenge. We challenged him to come here and create value and compete against really good competition which is going to make him a better player, make him a better person. He’ll have a much better chance to be successful, develop a career off the field, develop a career on the field, play at the next level.”
The Crimson Tide also did well to hold off Ole Miss and Mississippi State for Laurel, Miss., native Byron Young. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman had been committed to Alabama since July of last year but experienced a late push from in-state schools. Young is rated as the No. 7 defensive tackle and No. 103 player overall in the class.
In Robinson, Alabama adds to an already loaded backfield. The 5-foot-9, 184-pound playmaker is rated is rated as the No. 5 running back in the class. The Crimson Tide landed the nation’s top running back in Trey Sanders during the early signing period.
It wasn’t all good news for Alabama on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide saw four-star defensive end Khris Bogle flip to Florida and four-star defensive back Christian Williams flip to Miami. Alabama also missed out on four-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o, who opted to sign with Tennessee.
Saban attributed some of those outcomes to a change in coaching staff as the Crimson Tide cycled through several new assistants this offseason. Still, the head coach is pleased with the effort his staff put forth, calling the day “an accumulation of a lot of hard work by a lot of people.
"Basically, two of the three guys that we signed today were committed to us before, so the coaches did a really good job of keeping those guys in the fold,” Saban said. “I do think there was probably a player or two out there that, because of the relationship change from the coach that was recruiting them to the new coach, may have been a little bit of a problem for them because those relationships are really, really important.”
In total, Alabama’s class includes six defensive linemen, five offensive linemen, five defensive backs, four linebackers, two quarterbacks, two running backs a tight end, a receiver and a placekicker.
“We’re certainly satisfied,” Saban said. “We wanted to recruit a lot of linemen in this class, and to get five offensive linemen and six defensive linemen was probably a really good thing. I felt like five defensive backs was a really good thing for us. A couple of running backs to replace the guys that we lost this year, a couple of quarterbacks that we’ll try to develop to see if they can create some competition at that position. So, there’s a lot of good things in this class.”