Alabama Football Recruiting: Anthony Averett Commits To Tide

Anthony Averett, a defensive back recruit from New Jersey, committed to Alabama Saturday while visiting Tuscaloosa for the Tide's spring game, per SB Nation's Roll Bama Roll. Averett is a consensus four-star recruit and stars for Woodbury (NJ) Junior-Senior High School. Here are the thoughts of Roll Bama Roll:

As a prospect, Averett's commitment has taken off in recent weeks. He picked up several early offers from a variety of Big East schools and other smaller programs, but in the past six weeks he gained offers from Penn State, Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina and then ultimately Alabama. Keeping his commitment until the fax arrives on National Signing Day could be an issue given the distance factor here, but for the moment he seems very high on 'Bama, and with him already foregoing the Penn State offer it's hard to see another program closer to home that would cause him to spurn the Tide. And furthermore, in all fairness, college football is largely an afterthought in the northeast, where nearly all of the sports enthusiasm is absorbed by MLB, the NFL, and basketball, so it is very common for top prospects from the region to attend colleges far away.

Either way, as an athlete and a prep player it is hard to deny Averett's ability and it is relatively obvious why he garnered the offers that he did. He plays a variety of roles in high school, including defensive back, kick returner, and tailback, and was generally a standout at all three. Furthermore, Averett won the New Jersey Indoor 55 meters this past season and took home the state long jump crown. With that athletic background to go along with a 6'1 and 180 pound frame, Averett would figure to make a relatively quick impact in Tuscaloosa, and the size makes him a combo prospect who could legitimately play either cornerback or safety.

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