Alabama Steals Mississippi WR Nigel Knott away from Mississippi State and Ole Miss

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The Alabama recruiting train continued to steamroll forward despite a little bad publicity after asking in-state Oneonta High School linebacker Riley Cole to grayshirt just days before National Signing Day. On Monday, Alabama snuck into the state of Mississippi again to steal away cornerback Nigel Knott after pulling defensive tackle Raekwon Davis.

Knott, like Davis, is a 4-star recruit Mississippi State, perhaps more than Ole Miss, was really hoping to land. The Germantown talent had nearly 30 Division-I college football offers taking an official visit to Oregon on Sept. 18, MSU on Jan. 15, Alabama on Jan. 22, and Ole Miss on Jan. 29. As familiar all too many times in the SEC West, the Crimson Tide wins again.

The Madison area talent jumped on the recruiting scene in 2014 coming up with 112 tackles, 16 pass breakups, and four picks. Playing almost exclusively at corner on defense during his senior year, Knott (6-0, 170) had 51 tackles, four pass deflections and three picks playing his way into an Under Armour All-American Game selection.

An added bonus for Knott, Monday, Feb. 1 is his birthday.

The Tide is loading up for another big recruiting haul already with two 5-star recruits, OL Jonah Williams (Folsom, CA) and OL Charles Baldwin (Brooklyn, NY), and eight 4-star rated prospects. Alabama could land 5-star linebackers Ben Davis (Gordo, AL) and Lyndell Wilson (Montgomery, AL) along with No. 1 overall rated defensive tackle Rashan Gary (Paramus, NJ).

Photo credit: caneswarning.com; Nigel Knott.