Patrick Surtain Jr. and Tyson Campbell, the top two defensive backs in the ESPN 300 rankings, have been shutting down opposing receivers as high school teammates. They'll now be rivals in the SEC.
Surtain, the No. 5 overall recruit and top available player left on national signing day, surprised many Wednesday by committing to the Alabama Crimson Tide over LSU. Campbell, the No. 9 overall recruit in the ESPN 300, chose the Georgia Bulldogs.
Both players were five-star prospects at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida.
Surtain was down to Alabama and LSU, but seemingly had the Tigers in the lead for quite some time. Alabama and Miami came on late in his recruitment, and he visited both schools in January.
"Why Alabama? Because of the coach over there," Surtain said of Nick Saban. "They win championships. Over here, we're used to winning, so I want to be a part of that winning culture."
His father, Patrick Surtain Sr., played 11 NFL seasons as a defensive back for the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. The three-time Pro Bowl selection finished his career with 37 interceptions.
The Crimson Tide are losing all five starters in the secondary and have been in search of replacements within the 2018 class. Surtain is the third ESPN 300 defensive back commit for Alabama in this 2018 class, along with junior college top-50 prospect Saivion Smith.
The commitment gives Alabama two five-star commitments with Surtain joining defensive end Eyabi Anoma. Both prospects are also ranked within the top five of the ESPN 300 rankings and could help boost Alabama's class into the top three of ESPN's class rankings.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart bolstered his loaded class with Campbell, who chose the Bulldogs over Alabama and Miami.
The 6-foot-3, 181-pound cornerback gives Georgia three five-star commitments -- joining No. 1 overall recruit Justin Fields and defensive end Brenton Cox (No. 11).
"When I went to Georgia, I felt comfortable," Campbell told ESPN on Wednesday. "It was a place that I could see myself playing at. The coaches ... I feel like the great coaching staff could help better me to get to that next level. That's why I picked them.
"[Smart] showed me a bunch of love. I just felt he was keeping it real with me from the get-go. It's just up to me to put the work in if I want to get on the field early as a freshman."
Campbell is the No. 2-ranked corner in this class, behind Surtain, and is the 12th commitment for Georgia ranked in the top five at his position. The Bulldogs now have landed four ESPN 300 prospects from the state of Florida.
The Ohio State Buckeyes made a splash by landing Nicholas Petit-Frere, the No. 13 recruit who is the top offensive tackle in the Class of 2018.
Petit-Frere, whose recruitment was a complete mystery up until a few days before signing day, had been considering Florida, Alabama, Notre Dame and Michigan. He left everyone in the dark about where he was leaning until he notified coaches of his decision Tuesday.
"I felt like it was the place for me and where my heart wanted me to go," Petit-Frere told ESPN on Wednesday.
The Buckeyes had been looking for an offensive tackle in the class after missing on in-state prospect Jackson Carman, who committed to Clemson. The staff was in on ESPN 300 offensive lineman Rasheed Walker as well, but ultimately Petit-Frere decided to join the class.
The prospect from Tampa, Florida, will join Taron Vincent, who is the No. 1-ranked defensive tackle, as well as No. 1-ranked tight end Jeremy Ruckert and No. 1-ranked center Matthew Jones.
The Buckeyes came into the day ranked No. 2 overall with the second-most ESPN 300 commitments (17), behind only Texas (18). With the prospects on board, Ohio State will now finish with Urban Meyer's 12th top-10 recruiting class since 2006, which would be the most among FBS coaches.
Tanner McKee, the No. 76 overall prospect and top unsigned quarterback heading into national signing day, provided Stanford with a boost for the future as he won't actually enroll until the 2020 season.
McKee, the No. 5 pocket passer in the ESPN 300 rankings, will take a two-year religious mission after he finishes high school in Corona, California. He is planning to sign a national letter of intent, and will be bound to Stanford, but he won't impact the roster until he actually enrolls at the school.
The 6-foot-6, 219-pound McKee is joined in the class by ESPN 300 quarterback Jack West, who is the No. 100 ranked recruit out of Saraland, Alabama. With the two commitments, Stanford has two of the top-10 ranked pocket-passing quarterbacks in this class and was also able to build out the depth chart for future years.
It also gives Stanford four ESPN 300 quarterback commitments in the last three classes with K.J. Costello and Davis Mills.
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