Eight hours before his National Signing Day press conference, Patrick Surtain was struggling to decide between his two top schools — Alabama and LSU.

Finally, after sitting around with his parents for a while and once again weighing the pros and cons of each school, the five-star cornerback became emotional and went to his room.

He was gone for 30 minutes.

Then, at about 1:30 a.m., he re-emerged and made an announcement: I’m going to Alabama.

“Tears were flowing for him,” said Surtain’s father, former NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain Sr. “He was emotional about it because he had built such a relationship with LSU and (defensive backs coach Corey Raymond), who we’re still good friends with to this day. He felt like he was disappointing people. But at the end of the day, you can only go to one school. And why not the best school in the country?"

Throughout the recruiting process, Alabama had hoped to land at least one of those great American Heritage cornerbacks.

Surtain was No. 1 on the Crimson Tide’s defensive back board. Right behind him was the other cornerback from that 2017 American Heritage High School defense, Tyson Campbell.

Ultimately, Alabama missed out on Campbell, who ended up with the team the Tide will face in the SEC title game on Saturday. Nevertheless, Crimson Tide coaches are happy with how everything worked out.

As great as Minkah Fitzpatrick was as a freshman for the Tide in 2015, at least some at Alabama think Surtain’s freshman season has been even better.

“He's physical, he's long, he plays very aggressive and he's obviously a very good football player, starting as a freshman for that football team,” Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm said of the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Surtain. “He's definitely a player to respect.”

Surtain could one day become the second member of his family to land a big NFL contract with help from Saban.

Back in 2005, one of Saban’s first big moves with the Miami Dolphins was trading Surtain Sr.

Some at Alabama thought that might be an issue during the recruiting process, that the dad may hold a grudge about being let go.

That wasn’t the case, though. One of the main reasons: Surtain Sr. got a $51 million contract extension from the Kansas City Chiefs shortly after the trade.

“He made a point to mention it to me because people were saying, ‘How can you trade the guy and then try to recruit his son?’” Surtain Sr. said. “He was like, ‘You know, Pat, we wanted to keep you. You were probably our best DB. But we just couldn’t pay you at the time.’ So he told me jokingly, ‘I look at it as I made you a lot of money.’ And I said, ‘You sure did.’”

Now, it’s his son who has the look of someone who could one day earn a big NFL contract.

After initially working at nickel back when he first arrived at Alabama, Surtain switched to cornerback in early September and has started each of the last nine games.

Back during the recruiting process, people around the Alabama program compared Surtain to Fitzpatrick, the former Tide first-team All-American. They still do — and not just because the two are built similarly. As one Alabama insider said, Surtain is technically sound, very mature for his age and very much focused on continuing to get better, “a lot like Minkah.”

“Half the battle is knowing the defense,” said Surtain Sr., who’s the head coach at American Heritage. “A lot of true freshmen come in and they can’t pick up the defense. But he was able to go in and pick it up. And I think the cerebral part of the game, especially as a true freshman, is more important than the physical ability. And sometimes I sit out there and marvel because he’s a true freshman out there starting for Alabama and teams are shying away from him and not throwing his way, as a true freshman. That’s a credit to him and how he’s held his own throughout the year. He’s become better and better and you can see him getting more confident each and every week.”

As recently as a few weeks ago, it looked like both American Heritage cornerbacks would be starting in the SEC title game.

Surtain was starting for Alabama and Campbell was a starter for Georgia. But after starting the Bulldogs’ first 10 games, Campbell was benched during the team’s win over Auburn in early November and it’s unclear how much he’ll play against Alabama on Saturday.

Still, Campbell — a big-time athlete who reminded Tide coaches of former Alabama star Marlon Humphrey during the recruiting process — has a lot of potential.

So does Surtain.

“Tyson’s more raw than Patrick because Pat’s played the position longer, but his upside is tremendous,” Surtain Sr. said. “But the sky’s the limit for both of those guys.”

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.