Stalking recruits

Bama fans are not above stalking recruits, not by a longshot.  Example #1 is the case of Keenan Allen, the receiver/safety out of Greensboro, NC.  Allen is widely considered to be the Tar Heel State’s top recruit and Rivals has him ranked in their national top ten.

Allen was verbally committed to Alabama for quite some time, that is until his half brother Zach Maynard decided to transfer from Buffalo.  The pair want to play together, but Nick Saban doesn’t have room for both of them.

Beyond that, Maynard’s only a marginal quarterback, so it’s doubtful that Saban would have even gone with the package deal even if he had the room.  And I can’t really blame the guy for not wanting to waste a roster spot on a player who has little or no chance of contributing.

Cal, Clemson and Penn State, on the other hand, are all more than willing to give scholarships to both players.  Therefore, Allen’s pretty much not committed to Alabama at this point.

This is where the stalking comes into play.  The internet, namely the social networking corner of it, has given grown men unprecedented access to the high school recruits they want to see wearing their school’s colors.

Oh, this is NAMBLA-esque type stuff alright, and it makes for some rich message board fodder as well.  A change in a recruit’s Facebook status that’s related to his recruitment can literally cause an online feeding frenzy.

It’s one thing to track a recruit’s Facebook status, but it’s quite another to actually “friend” that player and post on his wall.  Check out this gem from Keenan Allen’s Facebook page that was forwarded to me earlier this afternoon:

Example #2 came a few weeks back when Auburn commitment Shon Coleman, the highly rated offensive tackle out of Olive Branch, MS, took his official visit to Tuscaloosa.

While eating out with some Alabama players, Coleman was photographed more than Paris Hilton by nutcase Tide fans who recognized him.  Here’s one of the pics that made the rounds on Bama message boards, that’s Coleman in the center with his mother to his right: