One of the nation’s top quarterbacking recruit for 2015 will not be headed to Alabama.
Ricky Town announced on Twitter on Saturday that he had decommitted from the Tide, and given his pledge to USC.
Today I have de-committed from Alabama. It was an honor to get to know Coach Saban and the Alabama fans. Thank you!
— Ricky Town (@RickyTownQB) January 25, 2014
Town, a 5-star gunslinger from Ventura, Calif., had his eye on the Trojans from the beginning and sent out a statement following his commitment Saturday night.
"I'm proud to be a part of the Trojan Family! I've seen many of the top programs and what they have to offer. However, when I had the chance to get on the USC campus last week and spend time with Coach Sarkisian and his staff, I knew after those meetings that USC is where I want to be.
"The coaches are upbeat, focused and committed to winning and I completely believe in them. I chose USC because of the tradition, the academics and the incredible coaching staff. This is an amazing opportunity to be a part of something really special.
Fight On!"
Town is the Trojans second quarterback for the 2015 class joining David Sills out of Maryland.
According to Cecil Hurt of TideSports.com, Town might have reneged on his commitment in part because of newly-hired offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.
The leading suspect, as the theories go, is the Crimson Tide's new offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin. Town hasn't said anything on the issue but a lot of people think he passed on USC because Kiffin was there, and will now bypass Alabama and end up a Trojan.
Others say it isn't Kiffin's presence so much as it is Doug Nussmeier's departure. Others, perhaps wiser, realize it could have been any of a hundred things that cross the mind of a 17-year old, a part of the growing trend of de-commitments around the country.
While this has been construed as a major blow to Alabama’s 2015 recruiting efforts, Alabama fans shouldn’t lose hope quite yet. The Tide recently won the services of Jacob Coker, who was in a heated battle with Jameis Winston at Florida State prior to the 2013 season. Coker will stay at Florida State this spring and graduate, making him immediately eligible to compete for the starting job in 2014. He’ll be a junior with two seasons to play.
Also, as AL.com noted, coach Nick Saban met with five-star California quarterback Josh Rosen, who is the top-rated player at his position.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday