Tag: Qua Russaw

Recruiting expert favors Alabama to land two elite 2023 targets

Alabama has put themselves in a good position to land 2023 LB Qua Russaw and 2023 DT James Smith.

Alabama has been in hot pursuit of two defensive prospects for the 2023 recruiting class in five-star prospects Qua Russaw and James Smith. On Wednesday, On3’s Chad Simmons spoke on their recruitments and where he could see the both of them land come December on Early National Signing Day. He predicted that Alabama was the favorite to land both Russaw and Smith.

Simmons also mentioned two other schools that will likely be in the mix until the end in Florida and Georgia. The two Carver High School teammates made official visits to both schools over the summer. However, neither made an official visit to Tuscaloosa. Nonetheless, the Alabama coaching staff remains in constant contact with the two and is all-in on trying to land both of them for the 2023 recruiting class.

Russaw is a freak athlete at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds. It is possible that he plays either off the edge or in the box. He is in a good spot heading into his senior season. Last season, he recorded 130 tackles, 16 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss.

Smith is a large specimen at 6-foot-4, 310 pounds. He will likely play either nose tackle or defensive tackle at the next level. He already has phenomenal measurements for a rising senior. Alabama landed Jaheim Oatis in last year’s recruiting cycle.

Russaw and Smith are looking to team up again at the college level. It will be interesting to see how their recruitment unfolds in the coming months.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow both recruits and other Alabama football recruiting news.

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Alabama listed in top six for 2023 OLB prospect Qua Russaw

Alabama made the top six for 2023 OLB Qua Russaw out of the Montgomery area. This would be a massive pickup to land the projected UGA commit.

Alabama has done well over the years in recruiting the state of Alabama. One of the more specific regions in the state has been the Montgomery area. Players like Henry Ruggs III, Mack Wilson and Anquin Barnes have all been recruited from that area. Two of the three went on to play in the NFL. Barnes is currently a defensive tackle at Alabama.

The Montgomery area still has an abundance of talent. Recently, 2023 outside linebacker Qua Russaw released his top-six schools. Alabama was one of the schools listed. His teammate, James Smith, also released an identical top six schools. It appears that the two will be teaming up at the next level.

Russaw is a premier edge rusher at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. He possesses great versatility and length for the position. The good thing is that he still has a whole year to develop before arriving at whichever school he chooses to attend in the fall. At the moment, On3’s RPM gives Georgia a slight lead at 45.8% likelihood. However, a decision likely won’t come until early signing day in December. Florida, Alabama and Auburn all remain heavily in the mix at this time.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down Russaw’s recruiting profile below.

Florida made the latest cut for this 5-star edge rusher

The Gators impressed five-star edge rusher Qua Russaw on his July visit to the Swamp, and now Florida finds itself in his top six.

Those hoping that Florida will land a five-star recruit in the class of 2023 received some good news on Friday.

Five-star edge rusher [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag] narrowed his list of schools down to six programs and the Gators made the cut. Along with UF, Russaw is still looking at Alabama, Alabama State, Auburn, Georgia and Ohio State. The first three will all enjoy a home-state advantage while recruiting the Carver (Montgomery, Alabama) product, with Alabama State having the extra upside of being an HBCU.

Of course, many are expecting Russaw to end up in the SEC and Florida might be third or fourth on that list. Each school has a group of coaches that Russaw says he likes, according to 247Sports, so it will be tough for one team to stand out. The Gators impressed him in July on an unofficial visit, and that might be what’s kept UF alive to this point.

ā€œMy last impression really was Florida,ā€ Russaw said. ā€œI didnā€™t think the coaching scheme was going to be like that. They really impressed me when I went down there.ā€

The plan is for Russaw to visit Florida for the LSU game, but nothing is locked in at this point. He also hopes to see Ohio State and Michigan square off and should be by Alabama as well.

Russaw’s not the only Carver five-star interested in Florida. James Smith, Russaw’s teammate who is ranked No. 13 in the class, included the Gators in his top six as well. The two are not a strict package deal but they could end up at the same university when all is said and done.

The 247Sports composite ranks Russaw No. 26 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 3 among edge rushers.

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Ohio State makes the cut for possible packaged pair of five-star recruits

Could Ohio State get a two-for-one deal? #GoBucks

Jim Knowles and the Ohio State defense received good news recently. A pair of five-star recruits have put the Buckeyes on their shortlist of destinations. While there are no guarantees, most believe Qua Russaw and James Smith are a package deal and will land at the same school.

Both young men are from Alabama and attend Carver High School, which might mean a tough sell to get them to come north. As a matter of fact, Ohio State was the only school north of the Mason-Dixon line to make the cut. Other schools to make the list were Alabama, Alabama State, Auburn, Florida and Georgia.

Russaw is theĀ No. 3 edge rusher in the nation and the No. 26 overall player according to 247Sports composite. In his junior year at Carver, Russaw tallied 130 tackles and 16 sacks. He is a versatile player who could line up in multiple positions on the defensive side of the ball.

Smith is the No. 2 defensive tackle and the No. 13 overall player in the country according to the 247Sports composite. Smith spent his junior season at IMG Academy in Florida but decided to come home for his senior year. The last five-star defensive tackle to land in Columbus was Taron Vincent in 2018.

Neither Russaw nor Smith have been to campus. But that could change with a visit this fall. And what better way to show recruits what you have to offer than a Saturday afternoon in the ‘Shoe?

Who knows how this plays out, but getting this dynamic defensive duo would be a huge win for Knowles and the Buckeyes.

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5-star edge rusher Qua Russaw names top schools

UGA football is in Qua Russaw’s top six.

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for five-star edge rusher Qua Russaw.

Russaw is a member of the class of 2023. He plays high school football for Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama. Russaw is high school teammates with another five-star recruit in James Smith, who has an identical top six to Russaw. The duo is expected to play together in college.

It is always tough to convince the best players in Alabama to leave the state. The Alabama Crimson Tide tend to dominate in-state recruiting, but Georgia has landed one commitment from a five-star recruit in Alabama this recruiting cycle.

The five-star outside linebacker is the No. 26 recruit in his class and the third-ranked edge rusher in the class of 2023. Qua Russaw’s the fifth-best recruit in Alabama per 247Sports. Russaw has improved his recruiting ranking significantly since the beginning of the 2021 high school football season.

Qua Russaw considers his tops six schools to be Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State, Florida, and Alabama State.

Russaw has to be impressed with Georgia’s defensive performance during the 2021 college football season and the Bulldogs’ record showing at the 2022 NFL draft.

The Carver High School star received a scholarship offer from the University of Georgia in Sept. 2021. The Carver star has recently visited Georgia, Auburn, and Florida.

Kirby Smart and Georgia have a top-five ranked recruiting class of 2023. The Dawgs have 18 total commitments in the class.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound edge rusher named his top six schools via Twitter:

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Auburn makes final six for in-state 5-star DL

James Smith is one of Auburn’s top targets and would be a massive get for Bryan Harsin.

The state of Alabama is producing a historic amount of recruiting talent in the 2023 recruiting class and five-star defensive lineman [autotag]James Smith[/autotag] is the best player in the state.

Smith, who is from Montgomery, Alabama, included Auburn in his final six schools Friday. The Tigers will be battling Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Alabama State for him.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Smith took an official visit to Auburn on June 24, and has visited the campus multiple times. He is ranked as the No. 13 overall player and No. 2 defensive lineman in the 247Sports composite ranking.

Something to keep in mind with Smith is that he is a package deal with five-star edge rusher [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag], who announced his top six schools Friday as well. The two both play for Carver High School and plan to sign to the same school in December.

Landing these two would be massive for Auburn’s recruiting class which currently has six commits and is ranked last in the SEC. However, each of them is ranked as a four-star prospect.

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Five-star EDGE target includes Auburn in final six

He hails from Montgomery, Alabama.

A five-star prospect from the state of Alabama has narrowed down his list of schools to six.

Qua Russaw, an edge rusher from the 2023 class from Montgomery, Alabama, included the Auburn Tigers in his list of final six schools. Four of the schools he chose ā€” Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Florida ā€” are SEC schools, with Ohio State and Georgia Tech being the odd teams out.

Despite being a 2023 prospect who is close to committing, Russaw does not have a Crystal Ball assigned to him by 247Sports. His last interaction with the Tigers was on June 2 of last year, when he unofficially visited the campus. Auburn offered Russaw on April 14 of 2021.

While it would be a huge win for coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] to land Russaw, Auburn’s track record with five-stars as of late does not look promising. The Tigers have yet to land one for the 2023 class, so they would really have to impress Russaw to get him to play for the Tigers.

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Top 5 in-state prospects who are uncommitted

The state of Alabama’s crop of talent in the class of 2023 is elite. Let’s take a look at the top five prospects who have yet to commit.

The 2023 recruiting cycle has provided plenty of storylines so far in July and August appears like it will be much of the same.

The in-state crop for the class of 2023 is as good a group as I can remember and several have already made their college decisions but there are still plenty left uncommitted.

In fact, there are still two five-star prospects from the state of Alabama that have yet to decide on their college futures in Carver High School teammates James Smith and [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag].

Considering how much talent remains available within the state, I thought we could quickly go over the top five remaining prospects who are currently not committed to a university.

Let’s get right to it!

A pair of 5-star recruits will be at Florida’s July cookout

Florida’s recruiting cookout at the end of July is shaping up to be a high-profile event.

It’s never too late to get into the race when it comes to recruiting. Florida will host a pair of five-star teammates, edge rusher [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]James Smith[/autotag], among several other elite recruits during the July 30 cookout, according to Gators Online.

It will be both recruits’ first visit to the Swamp after defensive line coach [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag] made contact on a visit during the spring evaluation period. Both players named a top 11 on Mother’s Day, May 8, that featured UF, and Smith says there’s a “70-75% chance” that the duo ends up with the same program.

Florida is still relatively new to them, but Russaw said that the Gators’ reputation of putting edge players in the league kept them in the race for now.

ā€œIā€™m excited. They have been wanting me to get down and I have to get down there. Iā€™m ready to see it,ā€ Russaw said of Florida. ā€œThe coaches have been contacting me hard. Iā€™m trying to just get on the same level and get down there.”

Russaw is the No. 23 overall player on the On3 consensus and the No. 3 edge rusher in the class of 2023. Right now, Georgia and Alabama are the favorites to land him, per the On3 recruiting prediction machine, with Auburn and Texas A&M holding on to some hope.

Smith is the No. 6 overall player in the country in and the top-ranked defensive lineman on the On3 consensus. ‘Bama and Georgia are the two main players once again.

Both players have taken official visits to Auburn and Georgia so far. One would expect them to hit Alabama and two other schools over the fall. Florida has a lot of work to do to earn one of those OVs, but a successful introduction to the staff could go a long way at the end of the month.

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Tigers cap off this past weekend with some star-studded official visitors prior to dead period

The Tigers hosted several official visitors this past weekend and we breakdown why these visits were so important.

This past weekend was a huge one for the Auburn coaching staff. It was the last chance for the coaching staff to bring in recruits before the dead period that begins on June 27. The dead period prohibits recruits from having face-to-face interactions between both coaches and players.

This past weekend the Tigers saw four recruits come in for official visits. A tandem from Montgomery, Alabama headlined the group. That is four-stars James Smith and Qua Russaw. Recently, the two recruits released their top eleven schools. Both Smith and Russaw had the Tigers in the mix. In all likelihood, the two will continue to play with one another in college. With that being said, it was essential for the Tigers to get them both on campus for official visits.

The two of them really seemed to enjoy their visit this past weekend. Just a week earlier, the two made an official visit to Georgia. Although those two schools seem firmly in the mix, Alabama is also heavily recruiting the two of them as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes down to those three schools in each of their recruitments.

Another key visitor from the weekend was three-star linebacker Phil Picciotti. The Pennsylvania native is one of the Tigers’ top defensive prospects. The coaching staff will likely have their hands full in his recruitment as other schools like Penn State and Oklahoma have also received official visits. It was Picciotti’s first trip to the Plains, so he was able to see what Auburn is all about. He has been predicted for months to commit to the Sooners, but we will see how his recruitment unfolds.

Another interesting visitor was Ohio State commit Cedric Hawkins. He has been committed to the Buckeyes since January and he seems unwavering with his commitment. Jeffrey Lee of On3 reported that he remains firm to the Buckeyes. His visit doesn’t give the Tigers hope in his recruitment. It seems as if he was just trying to get a feel for the school without actually having extensive interest.

The Tigers certainly hope that the other three official visitors will evaluate their options and keep the program in contention. All three are top-end recruits that the coaching staff would love to add to the recruiting class. It will be interesting to see if any of them elect to return to the Plains for a visit in the fall.

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