The Alabama Crimson Tide have just won their 18th national championship in program history with a 52-24 victory over Ohio State this past Monday. The Tide ran the gauntlet and finished with an undefeated 13-0 record. The Tide outscored their opponents 630-252 in those 13 games combined. They were by far the best team in college football, they looked unbeatable. But none of this would’ve been possible without their 2017 high school recruiting class.
The Tide in 2017 arguably may have had the greatest recruiting class in history. The Tide had a total of 29 commits from that class. They had 6 5-star recruits which was the most in that year, 18 4-star recruits which was tied with Oklahoma for the second most in that year, and had 4 3-star recruits. Bama since that high school recruiting class has gone 51-4 appearing in the college football playoff 3 out of 4 of those times and have won 2 national championships. But who were the key players in that class that saw Alabama have some of its best years in program history? Let’s take a look at how stacked this class was.
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Najee Harris (5-star 0.9984)
Awards:
2020 Doak Walker Award (Nation’s Best RB)
2020 Unanimous All-American
2020 First Team All-SEC
2019 Second Team All-SEC
Alabama’s highest rated recruit in this class was Najee Harris. Harris coming out of high school was the 2nd highest rated player overall in the class and the #1 RB in the class.
Harris we’ve seen in his 4 year career at Bama be one of the best running backs in college football. Harris holds virtually every record for an Alabama running back, he holds the record for the most rushing yards in school history (3,843) and the most rushing touchdowns in school history (46). In terms of the SEC, he ranks 13th all time in career rushing yards and 4th in career rushing touchdowns.
Harris this season especially was a huge factor as to why Bama was able to have such a historical offensive season. He was that engine that really opened up a lot for this offense to have the season that they had and was a true bellcow/workhorse in that backfield. In the NFL, he looks to be a late first to early second round draft pick.
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Alex Leatherwood (5-star 0.9981)
Awards:
2020 Outland Trophy (Nation’s Best Interior Lineman)
2020 Jacobs Blocking (Best Blocker)
2020 Unanimous All-American
2020 and 2019 First Team All-SEC
2018 Second Team All-SEC
Alex Leatherwood coming out of high school was the 4th ranked recruit in the class and the #1 OT recruit in the class.
Leatherwood since his sophomore season, has been a staple on that Alabama offensive line. Leatherwood played mostly RG his sophomore season then kicked out to LT his junior season after Jonah Williams headed for the NFL. Leatherwood in his career has given up a total of 5 sacks on a total of 1,400 pass blocking reps according to PFF.
Leatherwood was a solid starting tackle for the Tide during this 4 year stretch. He was a bigger contributor in the run game than he was in the pass game, but Leatherwood was a mainstay for 3 seasons as the team’s starting left tackle. He is projected to be a first round talent in the NFL Draft.
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Dylan Moses (5-star 0.9922)
Awards:
2020 First Team All-SEC
2020 Third Team All-American
2018 Second Team All-SEC
2018 Second Team All-American
Dylan Moses was Bama’s best defensive recruit in this class. He ranked as the #2 OLB in the class and the 13th best recruit overall in the nation.
Moses in his freshman season flashed when he was on the field. He registered 30 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception despite playing only 188 total defensive snaps. Then really took a jump his sophomore season when he became a starter and totaled 86 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. It was looking promising for Moses heading into his junior season, but then one day at practice, Moses tore his ACL and missed his entire junior season. Moses opted to return for his senior year and although his production dropped off, he still registered 76 tackles, 6 TFL, and 1 sack.
Moses has been a constant contributor for this Bama defense for his 3 seasons of play. Moses before his injury was seen by scouts as an early first round talent but now that his production has taken a dip, he has been projected as being a late first to early second round pick in the NFL draft.
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Jerry Jeudy (5-star 0.9881)
Awards:
2018 Biletnikoff Winner (Nation’s Best WR)
2018 Consensus All-American
2018 First Team All-SEC
2019 First Team All-SEC
Jerry Jeudy was Bama’s top WR recruit in this class. He was the #3 WR in the nation and the #21 prospect in the nation.
Jeudy’s freshman season wasn’t anything special but his sophomore and junior seasons were very productive. Jeudy in his Biletnikoff award winning season caught 68 passes for 1,315 yards and 14 touchdowns and as a junior Jeudy caught 77 passes for 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Jeudy currently ranks 6th in receptions in school history (159), 5th in receiving yards (2,742), and 3rd in touchdown receptions (26). Jeudy was really the alpha wide receiver for Bama his sophomore and junior year. One of the best receivers in school history. Jeudy was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft where he went 15th overall to the Denver Broncos.
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Tua Tagovailoa (5-star 0.9843)
Awards:
2018 All American
2018 First Team All SEC
2018 SEC OPOY
2018 Maxwell Award (Best All-Around Player)
2019 Second-Team All SEC
Tua Tagovailoa in high school was the #1 dual quarterback in the nation and was the 32nd best prospect overall.
Tua, in the eyes of many people, is believed to be the greatest quarterback in Alabama history. Which is a fair assumption when you look at what he was able to do. Tua back in his freshman season made a name for himself when he came in for the struggling Jalen Hurts in the national championship game and was able to lead the Crimson Tide to a victory over Georgia. Then Tua followed it up with two very good seasons where he took Bama again to the big game but lost against Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers, then the year after had Alabama in position to make it to the playoff once again but suffered a devastating hip injury that knocked him out for the rest of the season.
Tua holds numerous Alabama passing records. He has the most touchdown passes in program history with 87 over that stretch. He also holds the school record for the most passing touchdowns in a single season (43) and in a single game (6). Tua would end up getting drafted by the Miami Dolphins 5th overall in the 2020 NFL draft.
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Jedrick Wills (4-star 0.9831)
Awards:
2019 First Team All-SEC
2019 Second Team All-American
Jedrick Wills in high school was rated as the #7 offensive tackle recruit in the nation and rated as the 34th best recruit overall.
Wills was a two year starter for the Crimson Tide where he didn’t miss a single game. He played as the team’s right tackle and held the responsibility of protecting Tua’s blindside. Wills in those two seasons, only gave up a total of one sack out of 936 pass block snaps according to PFF.
Wills, like Leatherwood, was a staple on this Tide offensive line that really made the lives of Tua and Mac Jones a lot easier by giving them enough time in the pocket. Wills was later drafted 10th overall by the Cleveland Browns back in the 2020 NFL draft.
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Xavier McKinney (4-star 0.9723)
Awards:
2019 First Team All-SEC
Xavier McKinney in high school was 6th ranked safety in the class and the 58th ranked player overall in the class.
McKinney as a two year starter was that do it all type of safety for the Tide. He played inside the box, as a free safety, and as a slot corner during his time with Bama. McKinney’s career totals saw him have 124 tackles, 7 sacks, 6 FF, and 5 INTs according to PFF.
The swiss army knife safety was constantly making plays for the Tide and took up a lot of responsibility on that Tide secondary. His play for his two years of starting for the Tide resulted in him being drafted 36th overall by the New York Giants in the second round.
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DeVonta Smith (4-star 0.9717)
Awards:
2020 Heisman Trophy Winner
2020 Maxwell Award Winner
2020 Biletnikoff Winner
2020 Paul Hornung Award Winner (Most versatile player)
2020 AP College Football Player Of The Year
2020 Unanimous All-American
2020 SEC OPOY
2020 First Team All-SEC
2019 First Team All-SEC
DeVonta Smith in high school was the 9th ranked receiver in the class and ranked the 62nd overall prospect in the class
Smith may be the most accomplished player to ever lace up a pair of cleats for the Crimson Tide. His 2020 season was so special considering how many records he broke. He holds virtually every Alabama school receiving record and holds virtually every receiving record for the SEC in general. Such an historic college career for Smith. From catching the game winner as a freshman in the national title game to now where he put up maybe the greatest season for a wide receiver of all time, without a doubt Smith’s impact has been crucial during this four year stretch.
Smith is looking to be the first wide receiver off the board in the 2021 NFL draft where he is projected to go inside the top 10.
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Henry Ruggs (4-star 0.9640)
Awards: NONE
Henry Ruggs was the 11th rated WR recruit in the class and the 75th ranked overall prospect in the class.
Ruggs may not have won any awards for his time with Alabama, but he was a crucial piece to that passing attack that opened things up because of his speed. He’s one of the fastest players in school history, he ran a 4.27 at the NFL combine. His speed necessarily didn’t make him a deep threat, most of his damage came from short passes that saw Ruggs take his passes to the house. Ruggs ranks 4th in receiving touchdowns in school history (24) and ranks 13th in receiving yards in school history (1,716). His speed and respectable contributions to the Alabama offense was good enough for Ruggs to be selected 12th overall by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Mac Jones (3-star 0.8815)
Awards:
2020 First Team All-SEC
2020 Consensus All-American
2020 Davey O’Brien Award (Best NCAA QB)
Mac Jones in high school was the 18th ranked pro style QB in the class and ranked as the 399th best prospect overall in the country.
Jones’ journey was definitely a tough road. He went from asking recruiting websites to put out his tape so he could get noticed, to being the starting quarterback for a national championship winning team. He didn’t get his opportunity to start until he was a junior when Tua went down. He from that point led Bama to a bowl victory over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl and earned his way to become the team’s starter where he went on this year as a senior to have a phenomenal season. Jones threw for the most passing yards in a single season in school history (4,500) and threw for the second most touchdowns in a single season in school history (41). Despite starting in 17 games in his career, Jones ranks 5th in passing yards in school history (6,126) and ranks 3rd in passing touchdowns in school history (56).
Jones looks to be a first to second round pick in the NFL draft, but I bet he’s played his way into first round consideration.
This recruiting class was so stacked, all the guys I mentioned are/will be first and second round guys in the NFL draft. We may not see another recruiting class like this one ever again, obviously there were guys in this class that didn’t work out but the ones that did I think you can see ended up paying off for Alabama. This is why they are able to be so successful because of their ability to recruit these kids that help to make Bama the dynasty that it is.