Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:35 pm EST
For the moment, the Nick stands alone

By Matt Hinton




LSU made a hell of a run, and even got the guy it wanted today. But if you believe in this kind of thing, Alabama is your recruiting national champion for the second year in a row: The Tide locked down top-ranked running back Trent Richardson and linebacker Tana Patrick, as expected, and went over the top with five-star cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. Well, it's either Alabama or the Atlanta Braves, depending on which direction Kirkpatrick is trying to go here:

If you don't believe in the gurus, Nick Saban says you can suck it, hater, because two straight bumper hauls puts Tuscaloosa in the rarified air occupied the last few years by Southern Cal and Florida as the nation's truly fearsome talent magnets. Bama has reeled in 40 players rated four or five-stars by Rivals over the last two Signing Days. By comparison, the only other schools with more than 30 are USC and Michigan, with 31:


Put it this way: In terms of total points over the last two years, No. 2 on that chart (Ohio State) is closer to No. 9 (Michigan) than it is to Alabama at the top. Even if you think recruiting rankings are worthless hype, I think you have to like those odds.

For the moment, the Nick stands alone - Dr. Saturday - NCAA Football - Rivals.com