Tua Tagovailoa's parents could swing recruiting battle in Alabama's favor as Texas and Michigan fight for elite prospect
The fallout from a massive recruiting weekend for the Alabama Crimson Tide continues to come out. With June's arrival, we'll see a constant swinging out the pendulum for top recruits as they decide a big part of the life and future. Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer hopes this offseason will be the foundation of […]
The fallout from a massive recruiting weekend for the Alabama Crimson Tide continues to come out. With June's arrival, we'll see a constant swinging out the pendulum for top recruits as they decide a big part of the life and future.
Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer hopes this offseason will be the foundation of a long, successful tenure in Tuscaloosa. He pulled out all the stops to lure in Hawaii four-stack offensive tackle Malakai Lee, including bringing back a campus legend's parents to get involved.
According to On3's Steve Wiltfong, Alabama now has "a great shot" to get Lee after they brought Tua Tagovailoa's parents on campus to sell the pipeline.
“Being in Tuscaloosa for the weekend with my family was awesome,” Lee said. “Galu and Diane Tagovailoa came to hang out with my parents and talk to the other recruits about their process and that was really cool.
Michigan, Texas, and Georgia are also in Lee's final four. He brought his parents and five siblings to campus, making this truly a family affair.
“The Bama staff really showed us a good time, and I enjoyed hanging out with the coaches and players.
“Meeting with Coach Kap, Coach DeBoer and Coach (Ryan) Grubb got me really fired up because of the vision they have for Alabama football, and are very specific about where they see me and have a plan to get me there.
“Bama is definitely up there for me after this visit.”
Upcoming trips to Texas, Georgia, and Michigan over the next three weekends could prove to be the deciding moments in this race. With Lee playing in Hawaii, it remains to be seen as to whether he'll be able to visit any campus in the fall for game day. That'd be a shame, given each of these schools is so drastically different.
“Bama is like a factory,” Lee said. “They have really nice facilities and I like that it’s super chill there so there’s no distractions. You can focus on school and football. Coach Kap has been really great and I had a good time with the boys while I was there.”
The ninth-ranked tackle and top 85 overall prospect stands 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds. Michigan has been given a crystal ball prediction previously, but that tide could be turning in real time.
Here is 247Sports' scouting report on Lee:
From a traits standpoint, offensive linemen don’t come much better looking than Lee. He’s all of 6-6, 325 pounds with verified 36” arms and an 85”+ wingspan. He’s a fluid mover as well and has the feet, balance and frame to project as a tackle and could line up on either side, right or left in college. He plays a little hoops as well and checks off the multi-sport box for us. He uses his length well and has the ability to slide and mirror opposing edge rushers. He has added some physicality in the run game over the last year. He’s putting guys on their backs more but playing with a more aggressive edge to him is an area we think Lee can still improve on. Saying that, he’s an easy high Power 4 prospect and if he hits his ceiling, he will be playing football for a very long time.
