It is kind of funny to say in mid-May, but Alabama finally got their quarterback. After watching many of their early offers (like Max Browne, Tyrone Swoopes, Brice Ramsey, and Malik Zaire) commit to other programs, the defending national champs landed four-star prospect Cooper Bateman.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Bateman is ranked as the No. 61 overall prospect by ESPN, who also lists him as their No. 6 quarterback in the class of 2013. The Salt Lake City native threw for 2,484 yards and 25 scores as a junior and has already been selected to participate in the Under Armour All American Game. Bateman also looked at Auburn, Washington, Florida, Arkansas, and Utah.
Another quarterback with an Alabama offer that decided to go elsewhere is Connor Mitch. The 6-foot-4, 213-pounder from Raleigh selected South Carolina. Mitch threw for 35 touchdowns and over 3,300 yards last fall and is the No. 13 quarterback in this year’s class according to ESPN. Along with the Gamecocks and the Tide, Mitch had scholarships waiting at LSU, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
South Carolina followed up the Mitch commitment by landing three other coveted recruits. David Johnson is a four-star outside linebacker from Lithonia, Ga. that will be heading to Columbia next year. The 6-foot-1, 254-pound Johnson had 94 tackles and seven sacks in 2011. He was listed as a defensive end at the recent Atlanta MVP camp, where he took home top defensive lineman honors. His other offers included Auburn, Louisville, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt.
Devin Washington is listed as a defensive end and he also chose South Carolina. Last fall the Orlando product had 55 tackles and 6.5 sacks for Jones High School. The 6-foot-3, 222-pounder also considered Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Illinois, and Missouri.
Finally, the Gamecocks added athlete Pharoh Cooper from Havelock, N.C. Cooper chose South Carolina over East Carolina and North Carolina State.
The other USC, the one out west, gained the commitments of two players from well outside their local area. Ty Isaac, the No. 6 running back and the No. 68 player regardless of position according to ESPN, hails from Joliet, Ill. As a junior, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Isaac was named Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year after rushing for 2,114 yards and 45 touchdowns. In a state championship game loss, Isaac went for an incredible 515 yards and six scores. His final three were USC, Michigan, and Notre Dame though Auburn, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, and Georgia extended offers.
Eldridge Massington is a big, 6-foot-3, 205-pound wide receiver that will leave Mesquite, Texas next year for Southern California. Massington is ESPN’s No. 20 receiver and caught 41 passes for 660 yards and six touchdowns in 2011. Massington’s offer list included the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Nebraska.
On consecutive days in early May, Oklahoma accepted commitments from two Tulsa natives. Stanvon Taylor, an athlete from East Central High School, pledged to the Sooners on May 4th. Taylor is a 5-foot-11, 170-pounder that has enough speed to make an impact at corner, safety, wide receiver, and on special teams. He went with Oklahoma over Texas Tech, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Houston.
The week after his commitment, Taylor visited Kansas State. Though he is still committed to Oklahoma, his recruitment may not be finished.
The next day, two-way lineman Dalton Rodriguez from Union High School in Tulsa became a Sooner. At 6-foot-6, 255-pounds, Rodriguez has the frame of an offensive tackle, but it is possible that he could play defensive end. He considered offers from Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Oregon State, and Arizona.
Texas picked up its 14th commitment when Anwtuan Davis of Bastrop, Texas decided on the Longhorns. ESPN rates the 6-foot-0, 180-pounder as the nation’s No. 147 best prospect and its No. 13 cornerback. He has the offer list to prove it too, with Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU, and Texas A&M among the schools that were pursuing Davis.
Football Recruiting
Notre Dame’s recruiting has gone very well so far and the Irish hope to continue the momentum heading into the summer and fall. While they have done very well at certain positions thus far, there are still recruiting holes to fill. One of those holes exists at linebacker. The Notre Dame coaching staff hopes to land several top prospects at the linebacker position is still evaluating prospects and issuing offers. Last week Irish Sports Daily spoke to two linebacker prospects, one newly back on the recruiting market and the other newly offered. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
As recruiting continues to speed up, one 2015 California prospect is already reporting an offer from Notre Dame while the Irish are checking in on other players who have only completed one season of high school football.
Tony Perry knows talent.
