The True Importance of the 2008 Recruiting Class

Unless you've spent the majority of the last few months under a massive stone or, like a normal even-keeled person, away from sports information sites, it's quite likely you have heard about the abnormally successful recruiting class Alabama gathered this past season. First, make no mistakes about it, this class IS abnormally good. Why is that? Well, for several key reasons.

1.) Alabama is a school which has been dominated by its instate rival for a substantial period of these young men's lives. Players like Julio Jones, Mark Barron, Burton Scott, and the rest of the outstanding instate crop of recruits have spent their entire teenage formative years knowing Auburn as the victor in the Iron Bowl.
2.) Over this same period, Alabama has accumulated approximately zero "meaningful" hardware, aka championships. Winning the Cotton Bowl in 2005 was cool, but that's it: a nice surprise for a well-deserving class of hardy seniors.
3.)The turnover and turmoil at the top for Alabama is unprecedented for a Conference USA team, much less a traditional powerhouse and representative of the entire Southern kingdom of college football.
4.) Quite honestly, to those who didn't grow up Alabama fans, the name "Alabama" does not carry the same meaning. I myself was five when the Crimson Tide last won the national championship, and like my fellow young ones, can only remember the days of DuBose, the short spring of Price, and the plethora of mediocrity known as Mike Shula.

Even with Alabama contracting the star power of a name like Nick Saban, this class carries a weight of unprecedented importance, the least of which is the instant update in competition once the fall rolls around. To me, and I think to everyone else who follows the Tide with my same passion, the best part of this class is simply defined;

'Bama is cool again.

Simply look at this past Signing Day to find the answers. On a day usually held in infamy for 'Bama fans (see Fred Rouse, Ricardo Wright, and Peanut Whitehead for examples), Alabama walked away with the number one wide receiver, the top linebacker in state, and a critical sleeper at defensive tackle in Julio Jones, Jerrell Harris, and Marcel Dareus respectively. This is a massive achievement in itself, but when asked about their reasons for choosing the Tide, each had several different ones, but also one in common, the same one shared by several other late additions to the class. It went a little something like this,

"Coach Saban is bringing a great class to Alabama, and I wanted to be a part of it."

This simple line incorporates so many wonderful signs for the future of our beloved program. It indicates a firm confidence in the leadership Saban brings. It reattaches the name of "great" to Alabama once again. And most importantly, especially to those who have reacted negatively to the "me-first" attitude of several players in the program both gone and remaining, it brings back the denomination of "team". The great teams of Bear Bryant had some incredible players, but their dominance always resulted from the idea of a team effort, working together to achieve something greater than themselves. If this class is any indication, the future of our team looks very bright indeed.