The story of the day Monday was North Atlanta running back Justin Taylor saying he'd been told by Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban that he couldn't sign with the team's 2012 class on signing day and would need to wait until a future semester. Taylor had been committed to Alabama for so long that he was commitment No. 7 in the 25-man class, but said he was told by Saban that he'd become commitment No. 27 somehow.
Justin Taylor Changes Mind On Alabama, May Have Re-Opened Recruiting
Justin Taylor, a three-star running back from Atlanta who’d long been committed to Alabama, had originally agreed to coach Nick Saban’s request that he sign with the Tide later than expected.
All this after he said he was told by Saban three months ago that his spot in the class was assured. Much was also made of Saban allegedly telling Taylor he’d sign a non-binding contract and find him a summer job. But who could really get all that worked up about it when Taylor himself was fine with the whole arrangement?
Turns out he’s no longer fine with it. Taylor has told multiple local outlets he’s going to commit to another school this signing day, but he’s also said he’s still committed to Alabama for the time being. Purdue, for one, has thrown its hat in the ring.
“At first I was cool with it but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it,” Taylor said in a phone interview. “I have already missed an entire season of football because of my injury. I decided I just can’t miss another season. It’s no hard feelings against Alabama but I just decided it’s best for me if I go somewhere that I can be at least practicing with the team this year, even if I have to redshirt. I haven’t talked to any other schools yet but I will start looking right now.”
Even though Taylor would rank on the lower end of Alabama’s top-ranked 2012 class, he’d be a fine catch for just about anybody else. While he still has injury rehab ahead of him and is likely to redshirt no matter where he goes, he’s still a 5-foot-10, 206-pound back who earned offers from most of the SEC, plus Oklahoma and Georgia Tech.
The whole ordeal has raised the issue of oversigning yet again, though this isn’t quite oversigning, a practice that was essentially neutered by new SEC rules. It’s overcommitting, certainly.
For more on the Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll.
