Nate Oats has wasted no time hitting the recruiting trail since coming to Tuscaloosa, and his efforts bore fruit last night as Findlay Prep (Henderson, NV) center Raymond Hawkins committed to Alabama. From BamaOnline:
“I’m going to the University of Alabama,” Hawkins told 247Sports. “A few weeks ago my mom, my brother and my step brother all visited coach [Nate] Oats and coach [Bryan] Hodgson at Buffalo. The culture between the players and coaches was unbelievable. The relationship just made me comfortable. I felt like I can trust them.”
It speaks volumes about the coach that a west coast kid was going to play his college ball at a midmajor school in Buffalo, NY despite offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, St.