Tide picks up two commitments

Ken Rogers
Media General News Service
Published: July 23, 2008

Alabama got some momentum for its 2009 recruiting class when two defensive prospects committed on the eve of SEC Football Media Days.

Defensive end William Ming from Athens and cornerback Gerald West of Mobile told Alabama coach Nick Saban they were committing Tuesday.

Ming is 6-4, 250 pounds and is the ninth-rated defensive end prospect in the country, according to Rivals.com. The four-star prospect picked Alabama over Auburn, LSU and Oklahoma.

West is not quite as touted as Ming, but the 5-11, 160-pound defender is the first cornerback to commit to the Tide for next year. He is the son of former Mississippi State running back J.J. Johnson. He had played at Davidson but transferred to Faith Academy.

Alabama now has 10 players committed to next year’s class, four of those judged four-star prospects by rivals.com.

Auburn and Mississippi State have been much more active early in the process.

Auburn has 20 players verbally committed, including four four-star commitments.

MSU coach Sylvester Croom said he’s got commitments from 19 players. It’s not a strategy, he said, it’s just how events have unfolded.

“I was one of those guys that didn’t want to offer a scholarship until after guys started playing their senior year,” Croom said Wednesday. “If you wait that long, you won’t get any.”