National Signing Day: Alabama finishes with No. 1 class for seventh straight year
The Crimson Tide are the kings of college football recruiting once again

Alabama is still the king of the college football recruiting trail, and National Signing Day 2017 isn't even officially over yet.
For the seventh year in a row, the Crimson Tide took the No. 1 spot in 247Sports' Composite team rankings on the big day.
Breaking: @AlabamaFTBL takes home the No. 1 recruiting class - again! https://t.co/VNZEXIbHTjpic.twitter.com/CbRynZj5zA
— 247Sports (@247Sports) February 1, 2017
Alabama began signing day with the No. 1 class per 247Sports, but it was fighting off the likes of Ohio State and Georgia for the top spot. That spot was claimed before 4 p.m. ET. Per 247Sports, Alabama's class, with 322.53 total points, "is the second-best we've ever seen, behind Florida's 2010 haul.
The big pushes came from five-star defensive end LaBryan Ray, Alabama's top in-state player, and four-star wide receiver Devonta Smith. In fact, Alabama's star-studded class was so packed it reportedly had to offer a grayshirt to four-star defensive end Jarez Parks, the No. 93 overall prospect in the country.
That's right, Alabama apparently doesn't have enough room for a top-100 player. Then again, nearly all of this year's class is of the four-or-five-star variety.
But whether Alabama finished first or second or fifth by a respective recruiting outlet, the important theme is the Tide are recruiting at a high level. Bringing in top-five classes consistently doesn't guarantee a national championship, but it puts teams in a much better position to compete for one.
No program knows that better than Alabama, which has three playoff appearances and a national championship in the past three seasons.