Montel McBride, an big offensive and defensive line prospect, committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide Tuesday afternoon at The Opening in Beaverton, Ore.
The Opening 2013: Montel McBride commits to Alabama
The rich get richer as Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide picked up a sizeable lineman.
SB Nation Recruiting
OL Montel McBride (@blindside6955) of Plant City, Fla., tells me he has picked #Alabama. pic.twitter.com/6k70E1i2z1
— Keith Niebuhr (@Niebuhr247) July 2, 2013
McBride, out of Plant City (Fla.) High School, is rated as a consensus three-star prospect by the major recruiting services, but his impressive size could mean he’s underrated. The offensive guard stands 6’4 and weighs in at 329 pounds, and his reported 40-yard dash time of 5.61 seconds means he’s fairly quick for such a large specimen.
In addition to Alabama, McBride has offers from 14 other schools, mostly in the southeast. He chose the Crimson Tide over in-state rival Auburn, Florida State, Louisville and Mississippi State, among others. McBride is ‘Bama’s 15th commitment for the Class of 2014.
SB Nation recruiting analyst Bud Elliott says McBride has plenty of natural talent, thanks to his size, and he just needs to learn to use it properly:
McBride needs to work on using his God Given talents in a more consistent and efficient manner. Too often he bends at the waist and not at the hip and knee. When he does this, his power is negated, because he is coming off high and not low. Further, McBride does not yet have a great initial punch, and needs to use the power generated by his lower body to be a top lineman. For a player of his size, he does a good job chasing second level defenders.
