College football Early Signing Day: Predicting where the top 10 unsigned 2023 recruits will land
Desmond Ricks will follow his brother’s path by starting his career at LSU
Another younger brother of a familiar face, Desmond Ricks is the kin of current Alabama cornerback Eli Ricks, but the latter began his college career at LSU and departed this past offseason after the coaching regime change in Baton Rouge with Ed Orgeron getting ousted and Brian Kelly making his way. But that doesn’t mean the younger Ricks won’t make his way to play for the Tigers to start his collegiate career too.
Not only is Kelly a proven recruiter and developer of talent, but the IMG Academy product would be staying relatively close to home — though that would be the case with any of his top three suitors in LSU, Alabama and Florida. With that said, after reclassifying from the 2024 class to 2023, the long, athletic cornerback took his final visit on Dec. 16 to Baton Rouge and my gut tells me he’s following his brother’s early footsteps.
Desmond Ricks is set to announce his commitment on Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports HQ.
Qua Russaw stays home as he signs with Alabama and Nick Saban
It’s kind of crazy that Alabama already had the No. 1-ranked recruiting class prior to this week and Nick Saban hasn’t let off the gas at all. He flipped Proctor to add another 5-star and now he can add another with Carver High School product Qua Russaw to keep one of the two in-state 5-stars remaining in the state at home.
At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Russaw played both on the edge and as a stand-up linebacker in high school and excelled at both with great burst and athleticism. He fits the mold of what Alabama has seen success with recently in terms of pass-rushers off of the edge, so it’d make sense in that vein.
The truth of the matter is that hell hath no fury like a Nick Saban who missed the Playoff. So to complete a near-record-setting recruiting class, Russaw will be another addition on Wednesday.
Qua Russaw has committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide.