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Alabama tops most recruiting lists

Hillcrest High School running back Brian Robinson wears a University of Alabama sweatshirt as he gets set to speak with the media after committing to the Crimson Tide on national signing day.
(Gary Cosby Jr. / Associated Press)
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Assistants come and go at Alabama, but as long as the head coach, Nick Saban, sticks around, it’s very hard to beat the Crimson Tide in high school football recruiting.

Alabama was ranked No. 1 again after Wednesday’s national signing day. Major recruiting services 247Sports, ESPN, Scout.com and Rivals.com put Alabama at the top of their team rankings. Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan also came away with highly regarded recruiting classes.

Alabama took away high school and junior college players from Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, California, Mississippi, Kentucky, Texas and Hawaii.

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California’s No. 1 running back, Najee Harris from Antioch, joined the Crimson Tide. So did Hawaii’s top quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

Ohio State did well, securing, as expected, highly regarded Bellflower St. John Bosco tackle Wyatt Davis.

As usual, not everything went smoothly. Donovan Winter, a defensive end from Orlando, Fla., was supposed to sign with Michigan State.

Instead, he was in Seminole County jail part of the day after being arrested Monday night and charged with armed burglary and theft of a firearm, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Illinois State received lots of attention via Twitter with the announcement that it signed 6-foot-7, 285-pound Kobe Buffalomeat from Kansas.

Then there were the videos created of players making announcements. One player, Chaz Ah You, a safety from Utah, announced his commitment to Brigham Young while taking a helicopter ride.

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Jarez Park, from Florida, starred in a pre-recorded video, signing with Alabama at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

However, there was a problem with that pre-recording: The Crimson Tide apparently ran out of scholarships and Park wasn’t on their signing list. He reportedly may “grayshirt,” joining the program next January.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: latsondheimer

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