Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Junior offensive guard Damien Mama (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco) was in the middle of speed training when his head coach informed him that Alabama had called and wanted him to call back. That got the 6-foot-5, 340-pound prospect pretty excited.

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Many high-profile recruits will say they like to do their talking on the field, rather than off it, but few carry out that practice as well as Tyler Luatua (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada). The physically-gifted 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end would seemingly rather take a blindside hit from a safety than a softball question from the media, though it has far more to do with his quiet, understated nature than any desire to keep his distance from anybody.

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Many high school prospects are evaluated for months or even years before a college program extends a scholarship offer. Highlights from sophomore seasons are compared to those of junior seasons to see progression and potential. Players who make a name for themselves as juniors are visited as seniors to gauge their possible impact at the next level. And then there are prospects like Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) for whom the entire process takes three or maybe four days.

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The cat seemed to get out of the bag early, but that didn’t lessen the impact of defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes (Auburn, Calif./Placer) announcing on Wednesday evening that he will sign with Notre Dame.

There was a small hiccup earlier in the day when Vanderdoes’ name appeared on a Notre Dame news release announcing the 2013 recruiting class for the Fighting Irish before the nation’s top defensive tackle had signed his letter of intent. On the next news release, it won’t be a mistake.

This is a huge win for Notre Dame, which adds to a stellar class by landing California’s lone five-star prospect and a former USC verbal commitment.

The 6-foot-3, 310-pound defensive tackle originally committed to the Trojans over the summer, when scholarship spaces in USC’s top-ranked recruiting class were dwindling. But Vanderdoes opened up his recruitment in December and programs from across the country pounced.

Vanderdoes took official visits to UCLA, Washington, USC, Notre Dame and Alabama -- his five finalists -- and was left with a very difficult decision that wasn’t finalized until late in the process.

He was seemingly linked to all five schools through various reports, though he maintained his uncommitted status through the final few weeks, eventually committing to and signing with Notre Dame on Wednesday.

Vanderdoes tallied 72 tackles and nine sacks as a senior, leading Placer to 11 wins on the season.

What is the impact of Vanderdoes' decision?

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The O-zone will be released on Tuesday this week with analysis and predictions on where Alabama’s remaining targets will land on signing day, but with Reuben Foster’s decision on tap for Monday night, we wanted to break down his pending decision a day early.

The recruit

LB Reuben Foster: There hasn’t been a recruitment quite like Foster’s -- maybe ever. The ESPN 150 linebacker originally committed to Alabama the summer before his junior year. However, when he moved from Georgia to Alabama last spring and transferred to Auburn High School, that changed everything. Just months later, Foster flipped his pledge from the Tide to the Tigers and went as far as to get an Auburn tattoo on his arm. Still, it was far from over. Both Alabama and Georgia continued to recruit him, and when former AU coach Gene Chizik was let go along along with his staff, Foster opted to reopen his recruitment. Since then he’s taken all five of his official visits, including trips to San Diego State and Washington. At 9 p.m. CT on Monday, he’s expected to choose between Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.

The finalists

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A former Lagrange (Ga.) Troup standout, wide receiver Christian Cumberlander enrolled at Jireh Prep last year in Indian Trail, N.C., and had a solid season, with 38 catches for 708 yards and six touchdowns in eight games.

Double-digit offers have come in for Cumberlander, who says he is now fully qualified -- but two offers seem to stand out at the moment. And the possibility of another offer has another prominent school heavily in the mix to land the 6-foot-2, 190-pound wideout.

Two of his three top schools also stand out for his close friend Reuben Foster, the No. 1 ILB in the nation.

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The No. 16 prospect in the nation was in Athens, Ga., over the weekend, as Reuben Foster (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) took his third official visit, this time to the University of Georgia. The 6-foot-1, 242-pound linebacker has visited Georgia many times, but this time there was something different about the campus.

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On the heels of his first official visit to the University of Washington, ESPN 150 linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) was met by two sets of coaches at his school. It is coming down to the final stretch for the 2013 recruiting cycle, so programs are not holding back any longer.

For Foster, that means a steady stream of high-profile visitors all telling him exactly what he wants to hear, he said. And that's not making things easy for him.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- When five-star defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes (Auburn, Calif./Placer) decommitted from USC last month, it didn’t take long for Alabama to reach out. The Crimson Tide offered Vanderdoes a scholarship back in February.

On Monday, Bama defensive line coach Chris Rumph paid a visit to the ESPN 150 star out in California.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- As signing day approaches, every weekend looms large. It gives the schools a chance to host recruits one last time. The University of Alabama enjoyed a bigger weekend than most as it hosted an impressive group of official visitors that included 10 players ranked in the ESPN 150.

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The University of Washington already has the makings of a potential Top 15 recruiting class for the 2013 cycle, with five commitments from ESPN 300 prospects, including three from ESPN 150 prospects. But the Huskies are aiming for more, and never was that more clear than in the headliner recruit in town over the weekend.

Linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn, Ala./Auburn), the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect and No. 16 overall prospect in the country, could play a big role in getting the Pac-12 program to the next level. While Washington is the only school outside the Southeast in the mix for Foster, he said following his official visit not to count out the Huskies by any means.

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SAN ANTONIO -- ESPN 150 defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes (Auburn, Calif./Placer) decommitted from USC days before arriving at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. As he and the rest of the players prepare for Saturday’s big game, he was asked about the seven players expected to announce where they would play college football during the game.

Vanderdoes, the nation’s No. 4 defensive tackle, then gave his opinion about him potentially being the eighth player to announce.

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SAN ANTONIO -- Wednesday was a day off for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl teams. Instead of working out and participating in drills, the players took in visits around the city -- including a stop at the Alamodome for photo opportunities and to see their game apparel -- and used the day to recover from two days of practice.

The teams will return to the fields on Thursday in arguably the most important practice of the week. Here are five things to keep an eye on for Thursday’s practice:

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SAN ANTONIO -- ESPN 150 cornerback Jalen Ramsey (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) has been committed to USC since July 16, but a lot has changed with the Trojans since then.

Chief among them, at least as it pertains to Ramsey, is the now vacant defensive coordinator position once held by Monte Kiffin. That has caused Ramsey to consider other options.

“One big holdback is that I don’t know who the defensive coordinator is,” he said. “I really need to know that because that is who I will be playing for. I know they will have them by my official visit and I will be able to talk to him multiple times. That’s huge, I’m not going to lie.”

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