The ones who got away: All the Alabama/Clemson players who hail from B1G country

While it’s still the same teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship, a lot has changed since these teams first met 3 years ago.

Well, at least they have in roster construction. Back in 2015, Clemson apparently wasn’t on board with the idea of rounding up players from B1G country. The Tigers only had 2 players who hailed from B1G country. That number has since tripled.

That’s still not on the same level as Alabama, which boasts 10 players from states that have a B1G school, but still. A total of 16 players listed on national championship teams turned down local B1G schools to play for Alabama or Clemson.

Here they are:

ALABAMA

Trevon Diggs, CB

From: Gaithersburg, Md.

Diggs won’t be active on Monday night after suffering a season-ending injury back in October. Some could argue that he’ll be Alabama’s top absence, though the secondary has been without the DMV native since the beginning of October. The younger brother of former Maryland star and NFL standout Stefon Diggs rolled with Alabama instead of staying local.

In hindsight, picking Nick Saban over first-year coach DJ Durkin was probably a wise move.

Eyabi Anoma, DE

From: Baltimore, Md.

There’s a noticeable trend here. That wall around the DMV that Durkin talked about didn’t exactly take shape the way he hoped, and probably for good reason. Anoma was the No. 4 recruit in the entire 2018 class. The defensive end was recruited by, you guessed it, Mike Locksley. Anoma gave Maryland and Michigan late official visits, but Alabama was considered the heavy favorite after the Crimson Tide offered the late-rising recruit in January before his senior season.

Anoma earned SEC All-Freshman honors for his play as a backup, though the true freshman figures to be in for a much greater role beginning next year.

Terrell Lewis, LB

From: Washington D.C.

Lewis won’t play against Clemson after suffering a torn ACL earlier in 2018 (though he tried to come back), which has kind of been par for the course for the injury-riddled start to his career. The former 5-star recruit was one of many on this list who had Maryland in his finalists, but it was actually Ohio State that originally landed the blue-chip edge rusher. Lewis dropped his commitment and picked Alabama on signing day.

There’s still massive potential for Lewis, who flashed it on the bookends of the 2017 season. But missing 25 games the last 2 seasons has cooled some of the buzz on the highly-touted linebacker…who remains a specimen.

Alabama LB Terrell Lewis works out. pic.twitter.com/BhNMytFTzI

— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) March 22, 2018

Emil Ekiyor Jr., OL

From: Indianapolis, Ind.

A big-time whiff for the B1G, Ekiyor was originally committed to Michigan. In late October 2017, the 4-star offensive lineman announced he was dropping his Wolverines pledge and giving it to Alabama. During a 2017 season in which Michigan struggled, especially up front, Ekiyor’s flip was a tough pill to swallow.

Ekiyor appears to be utilizing the new redshirt rule having played in 4 games this year. In other words, don’t expect to see him on Monday night, but expect him to be part of that bruising Alabama offensive line for years to come.

Christian Barmore, DL

From: Philadelphia, Pa.

Barmore hasn’t seen any action yet waiting behind that loaded defensive line, but there’s plenty of potential in the former 4-star recruit. Barmore was actually a former Temple commit who exploded his senior season after sitting out as a junior to focus on basketball. He actually didn’t really favor many B1G schools (Maryland got an unofficial visit) before picking Alabama. Though he’s redshirting this year, Barmore was a scout team player of the week a whopping 9 times. So yeah, look out.

Ross Pierschbacher, OL

From: Cedar Falls, Iowa

Look away, Iowa fans. It’s an annual occurrence for me to write about Pierschbacher getting out of the Hawkeye State and picking Alabama. The former Iowa pledge was the top guard recruit in the 2014 class, but he ultimately flipped to Alabama and that was all she wrote.

The dude has 56 career starts, including 14 at center this year. He might not be as talented as Jonah Williams, but Pierschbacher is the heart and soul of that group. Playing in his fourth national championship and final college game, few Alabama offensive linemen have had careers as prolific as Pierschbacher. There’s no doubt that Kirk Ferentz will watch the national championship and once again think about what could’ve been with Pierschbacher in the middle of his offensive line.

Richie Petitbon, OL

From: Annapolis, Md.

A reserve on Alabama’s offensive line, Petitbon was a Maryland legacy. His dad, also Richie, played for the Terps, but the younger Petitbon picked Alabama over Iowa, Kentucky, Boston College and Florida State. In typical Alabama fashion, the former No. 1 player in the DC area in 2015 only played in 10 career games so far. But hey, Petitbon might not be the one who got away after all. He’ll reportedly transfer for his final season of eligibility, which could end up being close to home at Maryland.

Derek Kief, WR

From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Stop me if you’ve heard this before — 4-star recruit goes to Alabama and never starts a game. It’s not really a knock on Kief, who still contributed in a reserve role and as a key special teams player. Still, it’s amazing how many stories there are like his. Kief turned down the in-state Buckeyes, as well as Kentucky, Northwestern and Notre Dame.

On the bright side, announcing your commitment with your baby sister is still pretty awesome:

CLEMSON

Shaq Smith, LB

From: Baltimore, Md.

Smith is technically from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., but he’s originally from the DMV. He was the No. 3 inside linebacker in the 2016 class with offers from virtually everywhere. Maryland made a late push, but Smith committed to Clemson instead of Auburn and LSU. Clearly, the guy just wanted to be a Tiger.

In a reserve role, Smith is still trying to live up to his blue-chip status. The redshirt sophomore has 30 career tackles, but he’s without a collegiate start.

Justin Falcinelli, C

From: Middletown, Md.

Before Clemson’s man in the middle was an All-ACC center, he was a 3-star recruit from Maryland. He picked the Tigers over Stanford, and is probably one of the more underrated gems of Clemson’s recent dominance. A 2-year starter, few Tigers have been more reliable the last couple seasons than Falcinelli. Not only did he help pave the way for Travis Etienne’s standout season, but he also helped keep a freshman quarterback upright (Trevor Lawrence only took 11 sacks all year). Watching him defend Quinnen Williams will be one of the key matchups of the night.

Matt Bockhorst, OL

From: Cincinnati, Ohio

Bockhorst was rare in a variety of ways. He was Clemson’s first recruit from the state of Ohio in 6 years. The fact that Dabo Swinney went into Urban Meyer’s territory to get him early in the cycle had to be frustrating for the Buckeyes. He redshirted in 2017, which basically meant he was sidelined for 2 seasons because he was injured for all of his senior season after suffering an injury at The Opening. But in his first active season, Bockhorst has been part of the rotation at guard for the Tigers. The redshirt freshman figures to get some work against that relentless Alabama front.

Jackson Carman, OL

From: Fairfield, Ohio

I might’ve saved the best for last. Well, “best” is a relative term. For Ohio State, nothing about Carman’s choice of Clemson was positive. Not only did the 5-star recruit spurn the Buckeyes, but he made national headlines on signing day when he said Swinney told him that Meyer was “on the back end of his career.” Swinney’s negative recruiting raised eyebrows at the time, but that obviously proved to be spot on.

Carman has since earned a spot in Clemson’s offensive line rotation as a true freshman. The former No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2018 class epitomized the Tigers’ rise as a national brand. There’s no way Carman’s recruitment unfolds like that back in 2014.

Walk-ons

Alabama

• WR Jalen Jackson, Walforf. Md.
• WR Chris Golden, Germantown, Md.

Clemson

• WR Ryan Mac Lain, Plymouth, Ind.
• LS Patrick Phibbs, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.