By Gary Lloyd

Pierce Quick is living up to his last name.

The Hewitt-Trussville (Alabama) offensive lineman was the quickest Class of 2019 player to commit to the University of Alabama, making his pledge in April 2017. He remained the only Class of 2019 player committed to the Crimson Tide until December 2017.

Now, the floodgates are open, and the Tide is rolling in.

Quick, from Trussville, Alabama, is leading the charge for the 2019 recruiting class for the Crimson Tide. As of this post, Alabama holds thirteen commitments and the No. 1 class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.

“With this 2019 class, I want to build the most well-rounded class Coach (Nick) Saban has ever had,” Quick said. “And I feel like we are on the right track to do it.”

Quick, an avid baseball fan, knows how to build a roster. He has been actively recruiting high school prospects from across Alabama and the country to take their talents to Tuscaloosa. It’s working. Of the thirteen Crimson Tide commitments, three are offensive linemen, two are defensive ends, two are quarterbacks, two are linebackers, two are defensive tackles, one is a cornerback, and one is an athlete. Six of the thirteen hail from Alabama, while the remaining seven commitments come from New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Alabama’s average rating for the 2019 class is 0.9437, better than any other class in Saban’s tenure. Alabama finished first in the 247Sports Composite rankings every year from 2011 through 2017. The Crimson Tide finished sixth in 2018.

“I think in the great classes in the past the reason they were great is because they did have someone recruiting like I am,” Quick said.

Quick is Tweeting at fellow recruits and texting the ones he knows. He may be pestering them as much as college coaches and recruiting reporters, who hound prospects about official visits and commitment timelines.

“I never really had a problem with any reporters through the whole process,” said Quick, who shut down his recruitment in March 2018 to focus on building the 2019 class for Alabama. “I understand it’s their job to try and break stories before anyone else.”

Quick has also mastered the art of the news tease. He recently responded to a recruiting reporter’s Tweet asking for Alabama recruiting questions by posting, “Will Bama fans be as excited as I am about this next commit?”

Quick earned twenty-four scholarship offers during his recruitment. At one point, he was receiving an “unreal” amount of at least twenty letters per day from universities. That is an overflowing mailbox.

“I have a huge box just filled with most of them right now,” he said. “And the phone calls were unreal, too. Some of my friends would always get mad at me because no matter what everywhere we went I was always having to call a coach.”

Despite all those offers, Quick knew that if an offer came from Alabama, he was headed to Tuscaloosa.

“I knew it was Bama just because of the fact that it’s always been a childhood dream of mine to play there,” he said.

Through the recruiting whirlwind, Quick said focusing on his Hewitt-Trussville High School team was easy because of his love for the game. Focusing on school proved difficult, as it does for most teenagers. Quick keeps his priorities straight, though.

“The most important thing to me is my faith and my family because that is what got me where I am,” he said.

Now, he has a senior season to play, on one of likely to be the best Hewitt-Trussville High School teams in school history. This year’s team includes seven players with scholarship offers from Southeastern Conference schools. Three – Quick, quarterback Paul Tyson, and wide receiver Dazalin Worsham – are committed to the Crimson Tide.

It’s hard to go against the Tide.