Decision Day: Will Alabama land a pair of five-star prospects?
Two of the nation’s top prospects will announce their college decisions in a few short hours. James Smith and Qua Russaw, the No. 1 and No. 2 senior recruits in the state of Alabama, will reveal their college decisions on Wednesday afternoon.
Alabama Crimson Tide Early Signing Period Recruiting Central
Checking in as top-20 prospects on the On3 Consensus, the dynamic duo out of Carver High School in Montgomery (Ala.) are expected to sign with the same college later today. The five-star tandem has taken most of their official and unofficial visits together throughout their recruitments.
Here are the details for their joint announcement, as well as an assessment of where they are currently trending.
Commitment Date: Dec. 21
Finalists: Alabama, Alabama State, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio State
Where: Carver High School
Time: 1:00 p.m. Central
How Russaw and Smith will announce: Russaw and Smith will announce their college decisions live on ESPN2.
Discussion: Talk of Champions Message Board
Who is trending for Alabama-based prospects James Smith and Qua Russaw?
It’s been a steady approach for James Smith and Qua Russaw throughout their recruitments.
Both of them released nearly identical top 11 schools lists before narrowing it down to the same six colleges in August. That list was released after they took official visits to Auburn and Georgia in June, as well as an unofficial visit to Florida at the end of July.
UGA, at one point, was seemingly in a really good position with the elite prospects out of Alabama. Florida also caught their attention as they hosted them for an official visit in the middle of October.
As their recruitments started to approach the finish line, however, Alabama and Auburn appeared to separate themselves from the pack. Both schools got them on campus for multiple game day visits this fall, with Bama rolling out the red carpet for an official visit from Dec. 9-11. Auburn welcomed Smith on campus this past Saturday, though Russaw did not accompany him.
With a few hours left to go, one school has emerged as the favorite to land Russaw and Smith.
According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Alabama leads for both Russaw and Smith. The Crimson Tide are given a 91.9 percent chance of landing Smith, and a 90.9 percent chance of signing Russaw. There are three On3 expert predictions in favor of Bama on each of their profiles.
Although Smith has not spoken with the media about Alabama in recent months, Russaw did open up with On3’s Chad Simmons after his previous two visits to the school. During their conversation after the Iron Bowl, Russaw had the following to say about the Crimson Tide.
“I like the whole program,” Russaw said. “What coach Saban has done with the program. I know people are saying they need dogs on the team, but they lost two very tough games on the road by four points… it’s just the program. It’s great.
“The opportunity to come in and play,” Russaw said of Alabama’s message. “The depth chart is going to be low. Guys get hurt. Kind of thin at the linebacker position with different players. Basically that.”
Whoever lands the expected five-star package deal today will be getting two of the top recruits in the country. Per the On3 Consensus, Smith is tabbed as the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2023 class, as well as the No. 2 defensive lineman and the top-ranked player in Alabama. Russaw is the No. 19 overall recruit, the second-ranked linebacker, and the No. 2 senior in the state of Alabama.
If Russaw and Smith commit to Alabama, then they’d be adding to what is currently the top-ranked class in the country. Stay tuned this afternoon to see if the Tide will come out on top and earn commitments No. 26 and No. 27 in their 2023 class.
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