Prattville’s Nick Perry was one of 18 players to sign with the University of Alabama on Wednesday. (Staff Photo)

Combined Reports
(Feb. 4, 2010)

TUSCALOOSA – University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban announced today that 18 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play football with the Crimson Tide, joining 11 players who enrolled at the Capstone in January and will compete in spring practice later this semester.

“There’s a lot that goes into having a successful recruiting class,” Saban said. “I think first of all it starts with your assistant coaches and the job that they do, and this was a long process now, at least probably a year or more, in recruiting guys and getting started on recruiting younger and younger players, which makes it even more difficult on the coaches because you’re trying always to find the younger guy and get started on them earlier, earlier and earlier. It makes it more difficult to probably evaluate players and develop the kind of relationships relative to the rules.

“I thought our coaches did a tremendous job of identifying players, identifying talent and satisfying some needs that we had relative to some areas where we had a significant amount of graduation, establishing relationships with these guys and their families, but also our players do a fantastic job of hosting these players, developing relationships with them and helping us in recruiting, as our administration does.”

The 29 players, including 11 mid-year enrollees, come from nine states – Alabama (11), Georgia (7), Tennessee (3), Texas (3), Maryland (1), North Carolina (1), South Carolina (1), Virginia (1); Florida (1)

Alabama’s 2010 signing class is ranked third nationally by ESPNU, fourth by Scout.com and fifth by Rivals.com.

As listed by position, the Crimson Tide add to their roster six defensive backs, four offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, four linebackers, three wide receivers, two running backs, two tight ends, one quarterback, one athlete, one place-kicker and one punter.

Eleven players – PK Cade Foster, RB Jalston Fowler, DB John Fulton, DE Brandon Lewis, OL Chad Lindsay, OL Darius McKeller, DB DeMarcus Milliner, DL Anthony Orr, OL Austin Shepherd, QB Phillip Sims and LB Petey Smith – are already attending classes at the University. They all enrolled in January, began taking classes for the spring 2010 semester and will be able to participate in Alabama’s spring football practices. The other 18 players signed national letters of intent today. The Crimson Tide had four players enroll during the spring semester last season.

“(New enrollees)  have been here since school started and haven’t had to do much but lift weights, go to school, academically and socially adjust and adapt, learn how to use the academic support center and the services that are available to them,” Saban said. “We’re going to start the offseason program in a couple of weeks and we’re going to have spring practice, so they have a much better opportunity to learn and grow at a little slower pace than when they start in the fall. It takes us almost a week to go through three practices in spring practice and we do that in two days in fall camp. It’s a little easier transition for them I think academically, socially and athletically. It is an advantage to their development because they’ll be here in the summer, and when they go through it in fall camp next year it’s not the first time the go through it, it’s the second time they go through it.”

Among the 29 players are:

* 5 members of the EA Sports prep All-America team – Adrian Hubbard; Chad Lindsay; DeMarcus Milliner; C.J. Mosley; Phillip Sims

* 5 players participated in the U.S. Army prep All-America game – Cade Foster; Arie Kouandjio; C.J. Mosley; DeAndrew White; Jarrick Williams

* 7 players participated in the Under Armour All-America Game – John Fulton; Alfy Hill; DeMarcus Milliner; Adrian Hubbard; Chad Lindsay; Phillip Sims; Brian Vogler

* 3 members of the Parade magazine prep All-America team – DeMarcus Milliner; C.J. Mosley; Phillip Sims

* 9 players in the ESPNU 150 – John Fulton; DeMarcus Milliner; Alfy Hill; Adrian Hubbard; Chad Lindsay; Keiwone Malone; C.J. Mosley; Phillip Sims; Brian Vogler

* 5 players named to the Rivals100 – John Fulton; Alfy Hill; DeMarcus Milliner; C.J. Mosley; DeAndrew White

*  12 players named to the Scout.com Southeast 150 – DeMarcus Milliner; John Fulton; Jarrick Williams; Nick Perry; Alfy Hill, C.J. Mosley; Corey Grant; Jalston Fowler; Blake Sims; Brian Vogler; Keiwone Malone; Ronald Carswell

* 11 players named to The Mobile Press-Register’s Super Southeast 120 – DeMarcus Milliner; John Fulton; Jarrick Williams; C.J. Mosley; Adrian Hubbard; Brian Vogler; Corey Grant; Keiwone Malone; Jalston Fowler; Nick Perry; Blake Sims

* 7 players named to The Mobile Press-Register’s Elite 18 – DeMarcus Milliner; Jarrick Williams; C.J. Mosley; Corey Grant; Nick Perry; Jalston Fowler; Deion Belue

2009 Alabama Football Signees (18)

Player                            Pos.       Ht.          Wt.        Hometown/Previous School

Deion Belue        DB          6-0          170         Tuscumbia, Ala./Deshler HS

Ronnie Carswell    WR         6-0          180         Macon, Ga./Westside HS

Corey Grant        RB           5-9          186         Opelika, Ala./Opelika HS

Alfy Hill    LB           6-4          245         Shallotte, N.C./West Brunswick HS

Adrian Hubbard    LB     6-6          227         Lawrenceville, Ga./Norcross HS

Brandon Ivory    DL           6-4          335         Memphis, Tenn./East HS

Harrison Jones    TE           6-4          235         Germantown Tenn./Evangelical Christian School

Arie Kouandjio                  OL           6-5          335         Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic HS

Wilson Love                        DL           6-3          275         Mountain Brook, Ala./Mountain Brook HS

Keiwone Malone             WR         5-11       165         Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell HS

DeQuan Menzie               DB          6-0          195         Columbus, Ga./Copiah-Lincoln JC/Carver HS

C.J. Mosley                         LB           6-2          225         Theodore, Ala./Theodore HS

Nick Perry                           DB          6-1          193         Prattville, Ala./Prattville HS

Blake Sims                           ATH        6-0          195         Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville HS

Brian Vogler                       TE           6-7          242         Columbus, Ga./Brookstone HS

DeAndrew White             WR         6-0          180         Houston, Texas/North Shore HS

Jarrick Williams                  DB          6-1          203         Mobile, Ala./Blount HS

Jay Williams                        P             6-3          208         Thomasville, Ala./Thomasville HS

Already Enrolled at Alabama (11)             

Cade Foster                        PK           6-1          213         Southlake, Texas/Southlake Carroll HS

Jalston Fowler                   RB           6-1          245         Mobile, Ala./Vigor HS

John Fulton                        DB          6-0          178         Manning, S.C./Manning HS

Brandon Lewis                  DL           6-3          265         Pleasant Grove, Ala./East Mississippi CC/ Pleasant Grove HS

Chad Lindsay                      OL           6-2          288         The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS

Darius McKeller                OL           6-6          319         Jonesboro, Ga./Jonesboro HS                 

DeMarcus Milliner           DB          6-1          180         Millbrook, Ala./Stanhope Elmore HS

Anthony Orr                       DL           6-4          270         Madison, Ala./Sparkman HS

Austin Shepherd              OL           6-5          315         Buford, Ga./North Gwinnett HS

Phillip Sims                          QB          6-2          224         Chesapeake, Va./Oscar Smith HS                            

Petey Smith                       LB           6-1          245         Tampa, Fla./Armwood HS