Alabama football has a recruiting trend we haven’t seen recently, and it certainly isn’t a good thing
When you think of the recruiting powers in college football over the last 20 years, the Alabama Crimson Tide are on the shortlist, and probably in the top spot for most. The impact they were able to make on the trail under head coach Nick Saban was remarkable. In a lot of ways, they set […]
When you think of the recruiting powers in college football over the last 20 years, the Alabama Crimson Tide are on the shortlist, and probably in the top spot for most. The impact they were able to make on the trail under head coach Nick Saban was remarkable. In a lot of ways, they set the standard for dominance in talent acquisition.
A big reason why some SEC schools tend to do really well on the recruiting trail is the proximity to talent. There is a ton of high school talent down South, with states like Texas, Florida, and Georgia putting out an unreal amount of players seemingly every year. The state of Alabama is no different.
For the Crimson Tide, the formula is simple: Keep the best talent at home, and dip into other talent pools you feel make you a better team. With Kalen DeBoer now leading the program, it appears that the formula may be changing a little bit. At least it appears so when considering the 2025 recruiting class.
During this cycle, Alabama signed 21 talented football players, and ended with the No. 2 ranked overall class according to 247Sports. Of those 21 players, only two came from the state of Alabama. Neither of them was considered at the top of the state from a rankings perspective either, with offensive tackle Micah DeBose ranked as the No. 15 player in the state, while fellow offensive lineman Mal Waldrop sits at No. 26.
It’s pretty bizarre but according to On3, Alabama didn’t sign a single one of the top 10 players in the state on the Industry ranking. Rival Auburn signed eight, the Ohio State Buckeyes signed one, and Oregon signed the top ranked player in cornerback Na’eem Offord. It is a weird feeling not to see the Alabama emblem next to a single player on the list.
While it didn’t end up hurting Alabama in this instance, it will be interesting to see if this was just a random year, or if they intend to not emphasize recruiting in the state. It feels like a formula that has a lot of success, but it’s very possible that ideology has changed.
It will be most interesting to see the parallels between Alabama and Auburn moving forward. The Tigers are in a rough spot currently, but they are beginning to recruit at a very high level. Keeping the talent in the state could be a key to continuing their ascension.
