Uneasiness in Columbus over Emory Jones? More good news possibly coming for Alabama

Welcome to SEC Country’s daily Roll Tide-ings, a rundown of everything happening in Alabama Crimson Tide recruiting with Chris Kirschner. Today, we talk the latest with Ohio State quarterback commit Emory Jones and more. 

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Emory Jones to Alabama looking better? 

Emory Jones has been talked a lot about in this space for the past several months, and for good reason. He is a quarterback, after all.

He also happens to be the Tide’s likeliest quarterback addition in the 2018 class. Confidence in Jones eventually joining Alabama is growing. He took an official visit to Ohio State this past weekend when the Buckeyes rallied back to beat Penn State in a thrilling win. When home teams win games like OSU did in that kind of fashion, it usually does wonders for recruiting, because not only is the stadium filled with excitement but so is the city.

In Jones’ situation, he also got to see Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett complete his final 13 passes and throw the game-winning touchdown with fewer than 2 minutes left on the clock.

Despite all of that, it doesn’t seem like Jones gave any indication to OSU that his recruitment is over.

“Generally speaking, I think there’s still some unease in Columbus,” Land of 10’s Ohio State recruiting reporter Jeremy Birmingham told SEC Country. “Ohio State has invested years into Jones and they’d hoped this official visit would put an end to any and all concerns about the status of his commitment. That didn’t happen.”

Birmingham said that the vibe he received from people in Columbus concerning Jones’ commitment to Ohio State hasn’t been positive, “despite no one being able to say specifically why it’s not.”

SEC Country was told by a source close to the Alabama program that Jones was actually texting with Tide coaches during his visit to Ohio State, which certainly isn’t a negative for the team’s chances of flipping him.

There also remains the possibility of the Under Armour All-American returning to Tuscaloosa this weekend for Alabama’s best remaining home game.

“Right now, it’s very safe to say that things are up in the air, and if Jones returns to Bama for the LSU game this weekend, it could signal the end of his time as an Ohio State commit,” Birmingham said.

It needs to be noted that Ohio State has been upping its communication with Kentucky QB commit Jarren Williams. That certainly is a good sign for Alabama that the likelihood of Jones joining the Tide’s 2018 commitment list is growing.

Another commitment coming this week for Alabama?

The Tide landed their 12th commitment in the 2018 class this past Sunday when 4-star offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor flipped from Michigan to Alabama. The team’s 13th commitment should come by the end of the week.

Nadab Joseph, a 4-star cornerback from Miami Norland High School, is expected to announce his commitment by Sunday. Joseph has a top 3 of Alabama, Georgia and LSU. He told SEC Country earlier this month that he had a private leader. Alabama is likely the school on top, though he won’t say so publicly.

“That’s Alabama. That’s Nick [Saban], and the head coach works with defensive backs,” Joseph said. “They’re coming at 99, always hitting me up, and the head coach is calling me a lot. Alabama, you know, they’re telling they want me to come in and play now, and that’s what I want. If they say it, I believe it.”

Joseph de-committed from LSU in August. That didn’t come as a surprise. What did come as a surprise was him just not flipping to Alabama at that time. The Crimson Tide were trending for two months prior to him reopening his recruitment.

He still is strongly considering LSU and will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend to watch both teams, but Joseph had an interesting take when it comes to why Alabama may be a better option for him.

“Doesn’t Alabama have better wide receivers than LSU?” Joseph asked. “I know I’d get a better look at practice, and that’s what they’ve been talking about — that I can go against the Alabama wide receivers and they’re doing something right, and if I go against them in practice, that will make me better.”

Not many high school cornerbacks take that into account when choosing their schools. But Joseph makes a good point on why choosing a school with better wide receivers could be beneficial to him.

Cornerback is arguably Alabama’s biggest need in the 2018 class after not signing a true corner in the 2017 class and the team will lose Anthony Averett, Tony Brown and Levi Wallace after the season.

Confirmed official visitors for this weekend

More names may be added by the end of the week, but here’s a list of confirmed official visitors for the LSU game:

• Nadab Joseph, 4-star cornerback, Miami Norland High School (Miami)
• Brandon Kaho, 4-star linebacker, Reno (Nev.) High School
• Tanner McKee, 4-star quarterback, Centennial High School (Corona, Calif.)
• Saivion Smith, 4-star cornerback, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston, Miss.)
• Jaylen Waddle, 4-star wide receiver, Episcopal High School (Bellaire, Texas)

Miss a previous edition? Find every post of SEC Country’s daily Roll Tide-ings recruiting notebook right here.

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