Alabama's 2010 class features a boatload of talent, a No. 3 national ranking and ...
A Cinderella story in the making perhaps.
Defensive lineman Brandon Ivory (Memphis, Tenn./East) was a late commitment for the Tide, and it was a commitment that drew very little play on the national scene. Heck, there wasn't much fanfare in-state either.
The 6-foot-4, 335-pounder is what most would call a 'sleeper.'
Nick Saban, though, doesn't view him that way.
"I guess a player is considered a sleeper if the media doesn't advertise him as a top player," the Bama head coach said Wednesday.
With the way the recruiting process is so accelerated now, if a player isn't already considered a top prospect by the end of his junior year, he's liable to fall between the cracks -- no matter how good of a senior season he has.
That's basically Ivory's story. He was off almost everyone's radar going into his senior season this past fall. He had two offers. One of those was from his hometown university -- Memphis -- and that's the one he took.
But as the '09 season progressed, Saban started receiving a tip here and a tip there regarding an underpublicized player at East High School in Memphis who was having a big year. Even Bama commit Keiwone Malone, a Memphis area player, couldn't help but ask if Saban and Co. knew about Ivory.
Saban was able to obtain video of Ivory, liked what he saw, evaluated him based on what Alabama looks for in a prospect and made a trip to west Tennessee to check out the kid in person.
"I thought this was too good to be true," Saban said of his early thoughts on Ivory.
The whole situation reminded Saban of ...
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