Alabama nets two highly rated JUCO linemen for 2017

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama officially netted the first two members of its 2017 class Wednesday, as junior college offensive lineman Elliot Baker and junior college defense end Isaiah Buggs both signed their National Letter of Intent as part of Junior College Signing Day. The two players will enroll at Alabama next month.

Baker, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound offensive tackle from City College of San Francisco, is rated as a four-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is listed as the No. 4 JUCO player in the nation and No. 1 JUCO offensive tackle.

With the likely departure of starting left tackle Cam Robinson to next year’s NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide will have a big hole to fill on its offensive line. Alabama will most likely move freshman right tackle Jonah Williams to the left tackle position next season, which would open up a spot at the other end of the line.

Baker is part of Alabama’s highly-touted offensive line class, which also includes Alex Leatherwood (five-star, Pensacola, Fla.), Jedrick Wills (four-star, Lexington, Ky.), Kendall Randolph (four-star, Madison) and Hunter Brannon (three-star, Cullman).

Buggs, who committed to Alabama on Tuesday, is rated as a four-star recruit and is listed as the nation’s No. 2 JUCO player and No. 1 JUCO defensive end. The 6-5, 280-pound defensive lineman from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is the Tide’s only defensive end in the class and could be instrumental in helping the Tide fill the hole of starting senior defensive lineman Jonathan Allen next season.

Buggs finished the season with a team-high 75 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks for MGCCC.

Tide has three unanimous All-Americans

Three Alabama players became unanimous All-Americans on Wednesday, as the final of five official All-American teams was announced. The five teams are the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News and Walter Camp.

The three Tide players to be included in all five lists were Allen, Robinson and linebacker Reuben Foster.

This marks the third straight year Alabama has had multiple unanimous All-American selections. Last season, running back Derrick Henry and linebacker Reggie Ragland earned unanimous All-American honors for the Tide. In 2014, wide receiver Amari Cooper and safety Landon Collins accomplished the feat.

"We're really happy for our players. It's like when your children do something to make you proud,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during a news conference Monday. “You're happy for what the guys have contributed to the team and you're always extremely pleased and proud when they get recognized for all the hard work and contributions that they've made.”

Alabama returns to practice Friday

Alabama will return to practice Friday for the first time since beating Florida 54-16 in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3. During his news conference Monday, Saban said the team has used the time off to rehab injured players.

Perhaps the most pivotal of those players is starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who did not play in the SEC Championship Game after suffering an apparent hamstring injury to his right leg against Auburn the week before.

“Marlon would be one of those guys that we're trying to get back,” Saban said. “With the type of injury he has, I'm not sure that we'll know for sure what his status will be until we start practicing again. But we're hopeful that this is the type of injury that just rest will be very beneficial to him and he will able to participate fully when we get back to practice."

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Alabama nets two highly rated JUCO linemen for 2017."