Defensive back Patrick Surtain Jr., the No. 5 overall recruit on the ESPN 300, surprised many Wednesday when he committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide on national signing day.
The five-star prospect out of Plantation, Florida, 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, with Surtain Jr. visiting both schools in January.
The Crimson Tide are losing all five starters in the secondary and have been in search of replacements within the 2018 class.