A weird thing happened about a week and a half ago: Alabama's recruiting efforts were, shall we say, underwhelming. On at least five high-valued targets, the Crimson Tide came up empty. By the end of the holiday formerly known as national signing day, coach Nick Saban was in the unfamiliar position of not possessing the best recruiting class in the country.
For the first time since his hastily thrown-together initial signing class at Alabama back in 2007, Saban finished outside the top three of ESPN's Class Rankings. Instead, the Tide checked in at No. 6, leaving Saban awkwardly looking up at his former defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart, who had Georgia at No.