Tide turns with a top recruiting class in '05

The second-year Alabama football coach had just completed his first-ever college bowl practice, preparing his Crimson Tide for Friday's Music City Bowl against Minnesota.

Yet another key player - senior punter Bo Freelend - had limped off the practice field with a knee injury, a sprain that will leave him questionable for the trip to Nashville.

Still, Shula seemed exceptionally at ease while speaking with the usual crowd of reporters, microphones and television cameras.

Know why? For once in his two-plus year Alabama tenure, Shula is ahead of the curve.

A week before 2005, the Alabama coaching staff has 23 commitments, including three players - offensive lineman Drew Davis, cornerback Lionel Mitchell and quarterback John Parker Wilson - who are already on campus and practicing with the Tide.

Instead of rushing to fill its 25 scholarship slots, Shula's staff will be choosy during recruiting's homestretch, cherry-picking key commitments from blue-chippers and trying to sway a few already-committed players towards coming to Tuscaloosa next fall, building a class that could hold 28-30 signees when the dust settles on national signing day.

After a string of recruiting classes filled with high anxiety, small numbers and coaching changes, stability and recruiting success are finally buzzwords around Alabama football again.

"I think we're a little farther along than we were this time last year, knock on wood," Shula said. "And that's with more scholarships.

"We've got a lot of work to do, but we've got some guys that work really hard. It's so competitive out there. Everything in this conference is."

Alabama already has a solid class, featuring Los Alamitos, Calif., quarterback Jimmy Barnes, Moreno Valley, Calif., linebacker Prince Hall, Briarwood Christian tight end Charles Hoke and Pensacola, Fla., safety Clarence Ward (all ranked among the nation's top 25 at their positions by rivals100.com). Add in re-signing defensive linemen Brandon Fanney, a former standout at Morristown West, Lorenzo Washington and Travis McCall (key members of the Class of 2004 who worked on their academics this past season), and it's easy to understand why the Tide is ranked among the nation's top 25 classes by rivals100.com.

Only two schools in Rivals' top 25 (Texas A&M and Virginia) have more, a credit to what Shula considers hard-hitting recruiting by his staff and earlier home visits with prospects, since a head coach is allowed only one in-home visit with a prospect.

"It's interesting," he said. "It's a decision you make on when to go in on certain homes. We've been a lot more aggressive this year. There are more guys choosing early this year, all over the country."

This season marks the first time in four years Alabama has its full complement of 25 scholarships, thanks to the end of NCAA-mandated recruiting sanctions. It's also the first time since 1999-2000 that the program will start and finish two full recruiting cycles with the same coach, dating back to the end of Mike DuBose's tenure. Such stability - and sparkling new facilities - have made a difference, Shula said.

"I think it's a little bit easier," he said. "It's competitive. But I think there are less questions about our program. I think people have seen us out a couple years, people have seen our facilities, they know where we're coming from and where we're going. I think that's important to a lot of recruits."

Alabama needs several more high-caliber prospects for a truly great recruiting class; after all, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn and Florida have better classes according to rivals100.com.