A pair of ESPN 150 prospects made their intentions known Monday night as linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) committed to Alabama and running back Alex Collins (Plantation, Fla./South Plantation) chose Arkansas. The pair made the announcement on Fox Sports South.
Foster is the nation's No. 1 inside linebacker and No. 16 recruit in the ESPN 150, while Collins is the No. 7 running back and No. 57 recruit.
Foster, who originally committed to Alabama two years ago before decommitting this past July and committing to Auburn, has once again picked the Tide after making a second decommitment in December.
His recruitment has been one of the more intriguing stories of the 2013 recruiting cycle, including moving out of Georgia to Auburn, Ala., getting an Auburn tattoo, taking official visits to West Coast programs Washington and San Diego State, and, most recently, reportedly leaving his official visit to Auburn a day early to take an unofficial trip to Alabama last weekend.
In adding Foster, Alabama has regained the services of one of its top commitments in the class, giving Nick Saban the No. 1 in-state prospect and moving the Crimson Tide even closer to another No. 1 recruiting class.
In getting Collins, the Razorbacks pulled off one of their biggest recruiting victories of the past few years. Collins was committed to Miami for several months but opened things back up in November. He took official visits to Wisconsin, Florida State, Florida, Miami and Arkansas. The Hurricanes were hoping to get him back, but in the end, Arkansas won out.
With the possibility of starting the 2013 season with only three running backs, Collins helps fill a huge need for Arkansas in this class. Getting a prospect who was coveted by all three in-state programs has to be considered a huge coup for the Razorbacks, and they likely will try to take advantage of that when recruiting in the Sunshine State in the future.