EARLY SIGNING DAY: Pike Road stars Perry, Judkins SEC bound

By TIM GAYLE

PIKE ROAD -- It was a decision that carried into the early hours of signing day.

Khurtiss Perry couldn’t sleep, admitting he did not decide on a college choice until Tuesday night. 

It was actually Wednesday morning, Marbury offensive coordinator C.J. Harris said. Harris, Perry’s cousin, was on the phone with the Pike Road star at 3 a.m. as Perry tried to decide where to play college football. 

Harris said his only advice was for Perry to choose an in-state school, eliminating Central Florida, Clemson and Texas. Had Central Florida coach Gus Malzahn still been the coach at Auburn, it’s quite possible Perry would have chosen the Tigers. After all, he had built a great relationship with Malzahn and his main attraction to Central Florida was its head coach.

In the end, his relationship with Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach and Alabama’s ability to turn defensive standouts into National Football League stars were the Crimson Tide’s greatest assets as Perry made the Tide his choice at a signing ceremony at the school on Wednesday afternoon.

“Coming down to my last weeks in recruiting, it was tough,” Perry said. “I have major love for UCF, major love for Auburn, major love in Texas, Clemson. I built a great bond with those coaches. It’s been a pleasure just to meet great people.

“Will Anderson, the D-line coach, the defensive coordinator, everybody was there (at Alabama) for me. I just made the best decision for me and my family. I built a great relationship with Coach Freddie, Coach (Charles) Kelly, Coach Pete (Golding), Coach (Nick) Saban, everybody around there.”

Kelly, the Crimson Tide safeties coach, is the coach responsible for recruiting the Montgomery area and gave the Tide what appeared to be an early lead in the recruiting war for Perry’s services. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Perry, an often inconsistent performer at Park Crossing as a freshman and sophomore who blossomed into a star in the Patriots’ 3-4 scheme this season, kept recruiting services guessing as he continually praised each of his finalists, giving Auburn an edge in conversations after the Iron Bowl. 

What changed between then and Wednesday? Nothing. Perry often leaned in the direction people wanted him to lean as he continued to fight back and forth in his mind for the right choice.

“I just think I made the best decision for me,” Perry said. “It wasn’t about which school. It just came down to the end today, I want to go compete with the best, I want to go be the best.”

The school that can offer him the best competition and make him the best player for an NFL future, he said, is Alabama. 

“I see they produce (NFL) guys,” Perry said. “They get them ready for the real world. I see them producing guys each and every year, so why not ‘Bama?”

The four-star product was rated by some the fourth-best recruit in the state behind fellow Alabama signees Jeremiah Alexander of Thompson and Emmanuel Henderson of Geneva County, along with Florida signee Shemar James of Faith Academy. This past season, he had 76 tackles, 22 sacks and 30 quarterback hurries in leading the Patriots to the Class 5A state championship, generating 43 college offers in the process. 

“Khurtiss is really a good player,” Saban said. “He’s got great initial quickness, he’s a good pass rusher. The guy is very, very productive, he’s very instinctive, he runs well. We were excited to get him. We wanted to get some guys like that, that are athletic.” 

Perry, who said he plans to enroll at Alabama in January, was selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic in Mississippi last weekend, but then failed to show up for practice. 

“My body was banged up a little bit, just sore from the championship game,” Perry said. “I just wanted to protect myself in all ways and make the best decision for me.”

Judkins calls Ole Miss “home”

Quinshon Judkins never wavered, even as all the “experts” were predicting a departure from Ole Miss for head coach Lane Kiffin.

Judkins followed through with his mid-September commitment to the Rebels, signing with the school on Wednesday in a ceremony in the Patriots’ gym. Afterwards, he reflected on a tumultuous last month in which Kiffin’s name was linked to virtually every college vacancy. 

“It didn’t (concern me), because every time it was just the media portraying that he might go to this place, but I got a call from him every time they said it,” Judkins said. ‘“Hey, I’m not going anywhere, I’ll still be here at Ole Miss.’ The trust between me and him is very strong.” 

Judkins visited Oxford in mid-September and committed to the Rebels a week later, saying “it felt like home” as he entertained offers from Notre Dame, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Penn State and Tennessee, among others. 

“It was just the coaching staff, the relationship, the environment,” he said. “I had a great relationship with coach Kiffin and the team. I got along with them and learned a lot from them when I was there. I feel like I can come in and work immediately -- anywhere, not just Ole Miss -- but I enjoyed myself on my visit.”

Judkins earned only a three-star rating but is the top-rated running back in the state (Geneva County tailback Emmanuel Henderson is rated as an athlete) after rushing for 4,220 career yards with the Patriots, including 1,534 yards and 26 touchdowns this past season. As the featured back in a Pike Road offense that shifted from a pass oriented attack last year to one featuring Judkins in the Wildcat this season, he weighed his college offers by deciding what would be the best offensive system that fit his style. Despite offers from Penn State, where teammate Trey Wallace went last year, Auburn and offensive guru Mike Leach at Mississippi State, he quickly settled on Kiffin’s offensive attack.

“Coach Kiffin, being the great coach he is, is known as being an offensive coach,” Judkins said. “The way he uses his backs in the offense, he can throw to them, put them in the slot, use them in zone. No matter what it is, I feel like he’s a specialty coach when it comes to using the backs and it was a great fit for me.”

As the season progressed, Judkins was more satisfied with his pick as the Rebels compiled a 10-2 record, marking only the eighth 10-win season in school history and only the third since 1971.

“I’m excited,” Judkins said. “They had a great season, went 10-2 this year. I enjoyed it.”

After the Rebels capped the season with a win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, Kiffin ventured to Birmingham to watch his future running back earn most valuable player honors in the Class 5A finals against Pleasant Grove. 

“There’s no bigger moment than that,” Judkins said. “It was a great experience, scoring a touchdown in front of him and just playing my best game.”

After Perry signed on Wednesday, he remained in the gym to celebrate the signing of his teammate. 

“We might see each other in a couple of years,” Judkins said. “Khurtiss better be ready for me.”

Judkins plans to enroll at Ole Miss in January.