Texas Football Recruiting: Longhorns target RB Trey Sanders set on Alabama?
It’s not a lock yet, but it looks as if 2019 Texas football recruiting target running back Trey Sanders could be on his way to join Nick Saban and Alabama.
There are two big announcements from running backs on the first day of the Early Signing Period that the 2019 Texas football recruiting class was targeting and hoping to add to the mix. The only running back that signed down for the 2019 Texas football recruiting class so far was four-star Buford, GA, native Derrian Brown. It seems to have whiffed on IMG Academy running back Trey Sanders.
While Brown will be a nice addition to the offense of the Texas Longhorns, the backfield needs some added depth from the 2019 Texas football recruiting class. The loss of senior running back Tre Watson for the upcoming off-season is going to leave a hole on the depth chart that needs to be filled by more than one signee.
Moreover, if the Horns were just losing Watson, adding only one four-star running back would be something this program could swallow. The issue is that the Horns are losing two running backs to transfer during the off-season with junior Kyle Porter and sophomore Toneil Carter. That leaves only two running backs with any sort of relevant game experience returning next year.
All of the losses at running back meant that the 2019 Texas football recruiting class really needed to haul in another prospect before the conclusion of this cycle at National Signing Day in February. Texas lost a step in trying to haul in a running back on the first day of the Early Signing Period, when it lost the commitment of four-star IMG Academy standout Noah Cain to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The commitment of Cain to Penn State left the only major 2019 high school running back prospect that was announcing his decision on Dec. 19 as five-star Trey Sanders. The finalists for Sanders commitment on Dec. 19 included the Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, and the Horns.
A lot of the same teams that were in the mix for Cain are finalists for Sanders. At one point, it seemed as if the 2019 Texas football recruiting class could be the landing spot for Sanders. Alabama and Georgia pulled too far ahead of head coach Tom Herman and the Horns leading up to his decision date for them to make much of an impact.
According to the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions, Sanders is most likely to end up with head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. Georgia also has a good shot at nabbing his commitment. Head coach Dan Mullen and the Gators have an outside shot, but they seem to be pretty far behind its SEC foes Alabama and Georgia.
Hearing #Longhorns have been told they are out with #ESPN300 RB Trey Sanders. #UGA #Alabama #Gators is where decision will come from. #SigningDay
— Gerry Hamilton (@GHamilton_On3) December 19, 2018
It would make a lot of sense for Sanders to wind up with the Crimson Tide. Alabama loses its best running back this off-season, and Sanders would be the most talented in this recruiting class by far. He would be a nice follow-up for that running game to senior running back Damien Harris.
Next. 3 reasons Trey Sanders should choose Texas. dark
Alabama currently owns the No. 1 ranked class in the nation for the 2019 recruiting cycle. Landing the commitment and possible inked National Letter of Intent from Trey Sanders would most likely lock them up as the nation’s top class up until National Signing Day. Trey Sanders is a good fit for Alabama, if he doesn’t want to go outside the SEC.